Any Port in a Storm - Expressions you don't understand

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May 22, 2013, 6:50pm

Any Port in a Storm :: On the Plaza :: Where Words Collide :: Expressions you don't understand

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #120 on Jun 7, 2010, 12:13pm »

Also, a 'shift' is an undergarment known to the French as a chemise. Undesirable women, fallen women, for ease of access, never wore one. This led to a characterisation of lazy good-for-nothings as being shiftless.

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #121 on Jun 7, 2010, 12:15pm »

Also, a shift is a period of time spent at work, e.g. a night shift. People who are lazy often had no job to go to, thus were 'shiftless'.

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bixaorellana
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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #122 on Jun 7, 2010, 3:33pm »

#121

========================================================================

What are the Ps and Qs we are supposed to be minding?

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #123 on Jun 7, 2010, 3:42pm »

Possibly those you used when you printed in the old days when they looked similar but all the letters had to be reversed on the plate. Thus is was easy to confuse the two, hence you had to be careful.

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #124 on Jun 7, 2010, 4:37pm »

Oh ~~ of course, that could be it! Great explanation.

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hwinpp
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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #125 on Jun 8, 2010, 9:25am »

But why would undesirable women need ease of access?

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #126 on Jun 8, 2010, 10:32am »

Ok, I'll fall for that one - prostitutes probably don't want to have to waste time getting all their kit off.

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #127 on Jun 8, 2010, 5:35pm »

True. They need to shift into position quickly. They could lose customers if they were too shiftless. On the other hand, they could lose customers by refusing to be shift-less.

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dahuffy
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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #128 on Jul 9, 2010, 10:07pm »

Oct 3, 2009, 5:44pm, patricklondon wrote:

Quote:

"I'm sweating cobs!"

Yes, that's still pretty current. My old OED cites various uses of "cob" to mean anything large, or anything like a lump or something rounded (including testicles). So I suppose it's an index of excess either in quantity or size.

A vulgar comparator might be "peeing hot conkers" to indicate excessive nerves or anxiety!

"I'm dryer than a cob"

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dahuffy
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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #129 on Jul 9, 2010, 10:22pm »

Nov 25, 2009, 7:52pm, kimby wrote:

Need a list manager here!
1. Don't get your panties in a twist = don't get your knickers in a knot, to some people

Don't get your panties in a wad.

"Until Hell freezes over" not freezers

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dahuffy
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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #130 on Jul 9, 2010, 10:39pm »

The way the crow flys
That's the way the cookie crumbles
The apple dosen't fall far from the tree
Let sleeping dogs lie
For crying out loud!
For crimeny sakes
Horse play
Up shit creek without a paddle
Well,I'll be go to hell
Looney as a toon
Dryer than a popcorn fart (my mom's favorite)
Holy balls ( my gramma's favorite)

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kimby
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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #131 on Jul 12, 2010, 2:14pm »

Jul 9, 2010, 10:07pm, dahuffy wrote:

Oct 3, 2009, 5:44pm, patricklondon wrote:

"I'm dryer than a cob"

Any connection here to "cob" as in spider?

« Last Edit: Jul 12, 2010, 2:15pm by kimby »

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #132 on Jul 12, 2010, 2:42pm »

Quote:

Dryer than a popcorn fart (my mom's favorite)

My father used to say "as hot as a popcorn fart". Not being a popcorn fart expert, I am confused by the mysterious powers of this particular form of flatulence.

Quote:

Holy balls ( my gramma's favorite)

Could this be a variation of "Hell's bells!" ? Just as mysterious to me in any case.

« Last Edit: Jul 12, 2010, 2:42pm by kerouac2 »

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kimby
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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #133 on Jul 12, 2010, 3:45pm »

Or is "hell's bells" a polite euphemism for Holy Balls!

Like "darn" and "shucks" and "fricken"

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #134 on Aug 22, 2010, 11:19pm »

What is shucks a euphemism for?

Has this one been asked already: more than one way to skin a cat ?-?-?

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cristina
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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #135 on Aug 23, 2010, 6:16am »

While trying to think of the "shucks" question, I started thinking about all of the words my mother used when she was trying to avoid swearing.

Criminey comes to mind. Where did that come from? (Clearly I do not know how to spell it, but she used it an awful lot. :-[

)

I will sleep on "shucks."

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #136 on Aug 23, 2010, 6:23am »

But they're so noisy and scratchy!

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #137 on Aug 23, 2010, 12:17pm »

People used to say Jiminy Cricket to avoid saying Jesus Christ. Perhaps Criminy is a fusion of the expression.

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #138 on Aug 23, 2010, 3:20pm »

Rather like "for rice cakes" instead of "for Christ's sakes".

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #139 on Aug 23, 2010, 3:26pm »

My Dad used to say "stand up, stand up for Jesus. Sit down, sit down for Christ's sake".

My grandchildren think it hilarious................

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #140 on Aug 28, 2010, 8:23pm »

On another site, there is a fascinating discussion about a "clip joint" regarding which someone was a victim. I think we know the use of joint, but what is the clip?

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #141 on Aug 28, 2010, 11:44pm »

I know! I know!

Clip is an old slang word meaning to be cheated. If someone has been clipped, they have usually been the victim of a scam.

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #142 on Sept 13, 2010, 1:43pm »

I think "shucks" and "shavings" are both used in place of another word that starts with sh...

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #143 on Sept 13, 2010, 2:40pm »

I never heard "shavings" but I have heard "sugar".

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #144 on Sept 13, 2010, 2:51pm »

I didn't know that about clip joint. I think clip for cheating may come from a time when coinage was not standard, so bits of metal could be clipped off, reducing the value of the coin. Don't know where I got this "information", nor whether it's accurate.

Shavings? Maybe that word is particular to your family, Kimby.

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #145 on Sept 15, 2010, 11:36am »

"Heavens to Betsy!"

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Re: Expressions you don't understand
« Reply #146 on Sept 15, 2010, 11:48am »

Quote:

I never heard "shavings" but I have heard "sugar".

Oh, so have I. Many years ago, when I had just started on the near-compulsory penpal relationship with a French boy, my mother was getting increasingly frustrated with the hinges on the drop-down door on the gas oven - she would rest the Sunday roast on it to baste, and not surprisingly it started to droop off the horizontal. It wasn't at all uncommon for our Sunday pre-lunch to be interrupted with a loud crash and cries of "Oh sh....." from my mother. Eventually the time came for my penpal and I to do exchange trips, so my mother tried to moderate her language, and we got used to hearing the crash followed by "Oh sh-......ugar".

On the day Jean-Laurent arrived, mum had prepared a full roast dinner, to keep up our country's culinary reputation. As we stiltedly coaxed along his conversational English, there came a loud crash from the kitchen, followed by"Oh sugaring sh*tbags!!!"

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