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Post by Don Cuevas on Dec 20, 2009 13:29:50 GMT
It dawned on me that I forgot the obvious one. The one which causes more scratching of heads when I am not in Scotland than any other. shopping for one item: I am going shopping shopping for more than one item: I am going to do the messages! Its a fantastic pure colloquialism from Edinburgh! Oddly, the phrase in Mexico, at least in Michoacán, for going shopping to the mercado, is "Ir a los mandados." It literally means, "To go to the commands (or "messages").
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2009 17:05:13 GMT
"Stop being such a horse's ass!" I have no idea if the expression concerns the posterior of a horse or of the possibility of the horse possessing a donkey.
Now let me see if I can look it up...
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2009 17:08:09 GMT
Mules come from crossing a female horse with a (male) jackass. A horse's ass would be an ass kept for breeding purposes. Considered a low form of life, like a gigolo.
I have no idea if this explanation is authentic.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2009 17:24:32 GMT
;D
Sounds very accurate to me.
What are female horses called that mate with jackasses? Answer: Backside-asses.
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Post by imec on Dec 20, 2009 17:27:42 GMT
What are female horses called that mate with jackasses? desperate
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2009 17:33:24 GMT
;D ;D
*gets fit of giggles*
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Post by traveler63 on Jan 30, 2010 16:29:45 GMT
How about bee's knees?
A bee's "corbiculae", or pollen-baskets, are located on its tibiae (midsegments of its legs). The phrase "the bee's knees", meaning "the height of excellence", became popular in the U.S. in the 1920s, along with "the cat's whiskers" (possibly from the use of these in radio crystal sets), "the cat's pajamas" (pyjamas were still new enough to be daring), and similar phrases which made less sense and didn't endure: "the eel's ankle", "the elephant's instep", "the snake's hip". Stories in circulation about the phrase's origin include: "b's and e's", short for "be-alls and end-alls"; and a corruption of "business".
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2011 16:29:09 GMT
In a recent conversation with some friends the term "Jinnie Woman",(am not sure of the spelling of.)came up. I have only heard this term used here in New Orleans, My husband remembers hearing it used through out his childhood. ( Let me say,I do not mean to insult anyone,should someone deem this "politically incorrect" as it were,please.) Anyway,the term is used to describe a male who behaves in a hysteric type fashion,throws a hissy fit as it were,usually more attributable to a female. It was much more commonly used in the 40's and 50's than it is nowadays. I remember my mother in law using it one time playfully when an uncle was up in arms about something,she said,"Oh quit acting like a Jinnie Woman!" I have never heard it used at all to describe anyone who is homosexual,it is strictly used to describe heterosexual men who are deemed behaving in an over emotional fashion.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Mar 30, 2011 17:03:49 GMT
There are a few that my Nan used to say when she was surprised....
'Well I'll go to the foot of our stairs'
'Well cut of my legs and call me 'shorty''
She was a Leicester lass...
More Leicester sayings...
'Ayup meduck' = Hello my dear
The Leicester accent is quite strange...we seem to lack a lot of constonants
'Ayer gorrany?'= Have you got any?
;D
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2011 17:36:57 GMT
I found this in the "Dictionary of Playground Slang," casimira. Playground? ginny woman n. Pronounced "jinny". A non-homosexual male who seems to display personality characteristics normally associated with a female. For example he acts 'womanly' or 'wimpy' and/or whines/complains a lot. Source: circa 2001, CAN
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2011 17:55:37 GMT
OMG !!!!!!! I can't wait to tell my husband about this!!!! We bantered,a group of us last night over this for a real long time!!Some were native New Orleanian,some not. That's so f'n bizarre!!!
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 30, 2011 18:05:13 GMT
Wow, that's an oldy -- haven't heard it in years! I'm pretty sure it's a southern expression. I'm also pretty sure that the "non-homosexual male who seems to display personality characteristics normally associated with a female" is more a feature of the southern US than the northern. However, it seems certain that back in the 40s & 50s, many people hid their homosexuality even from themselves. For the absolute best delineation of this personality type, see Florence King's Southern Ladies & Gentlemen. www.amazon.com/Southern-Ladies-Gentlemen-Florence-King/dp/0312099150
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Post by onlymark on Mar 30, 2011 18:54:22 GMT
As regards Jinny/Ginny - the three most obvious reasons for that word I can't seem to fit to the circumstances. A Jinn is a supernatural creature in Arabic folklore, Gin is the alcoholic drink and Gin also is a machine, as in Cotton Gin. I must be missing something.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 30, 2011 19:36:57 GMT
Ginny is a woman's name, too. I'm only guessing, but it could come from the state of Virginia. Perhaps women from that state were once considered over-refined/delicate/nervous. So, Virginia, as in "carry me back to old Virginny" became ginny, i.e., ginny-woman.
Here's one that I certainly didn't know was a colloquialism. A friend of mine told me that when she moved from Philadelphia to Atlanta, her child, then @9, was totally mystified when the teacher told them to "put up" their books. Having used that expression my whole life, I didn't get why it would confuse the child. My friend says that "put away" is standard. Is that true?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2011 20:10:39 GMT
I don't think that I could put up with that expression.
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Post by Kimby on Apr 9, 2011 23:25:37 GMT
I'd answer that question if I wasn't busy putting up preserves.
When the jars cool, they'll be put away.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 14, 2011 23:07:11 GMT
Ginny is a woman's name, too. I'm only guessing, but it could come from the state of Virginia. Perhaps women from that state were once considered over-refined/delicate/nervous. So, Virginia, as in "carry me back to old Virginny" became ginny, i.e., ginny-woman. Here's one that I certainly didn't know was a colloquialism. A friend of mine told me that when she moved from Philadelphia to Atlanta, her child, then @9, was totally mystified when the teacher told them to "put up" their books. Having used that expression my whole life, I didn't get why it would confuse the child. My friend says that "put away" is standard. Is that true? I use "put up" but, only since living in the South. Up North, "put away" was the common usage.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2011 10:19:41 GMT
I don't think I've seen this one mentioned in this thread. Trick Bag. I'm not sure if it's regional but,I never heard it used up North. It refers to the situation one is put in when they are in when posed a question and no matter what response they reply,it's going to get them in trouble or be the wrong answer. Therefore,"you're putting me in a trick bag,if I answer that."
Here's a song by Earl King, (a NOLA music legend, describing it): The song is a NOLA 9th Ward standard.
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Post by spindrift on Jun 19, 2011 21:50:32 GMT
Ginny.... in Bengali 'gini' means 'Mrs'....I am thinking of the stories concerning Muckerjee Babu and his wife Muckerjee Gini...but this Gini is as in 'begin'.
Mark mentions 'Jinn' aka 'Djinn' - as in 'The Djinns of Delhi'....supernatural beings from Arabia to India!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2015 18:44:48 GMT
For the first time ever, I heard the expression in French "un lapin de six semaines" (a six week old rabbit). ("Do you think I'm a six week old rabbit?") Apparently it concerns being totally naive, particularly in politics. I am astonished that I had never encountered the expression since I heard it used on a Big Brother style reality show containing contestants who are not actually considered to be taking a break from working on their doctorates. Digging a little deeper into the origin or the expression, it turns out that baby rabbits are weaned after six weeks and must then eat whatever they find. A lot of them die then from eating the wrong things.
Frankly, I think this is an excellent expression.
Have any of you encountered similar discoveries?
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Post by questa on Dec 4, 2015 23:18:48 GMT
Having just used the word 'fireys' (or 'firies') in the weather thread, I though I should write about the Oz tradition of abbreviating every word possible. Experts say it is the Oz mentality of downplaying things stemming from the basic tenet of 'we are all equal, Jack is as good as his master' stuff. Anyway, how can the members of Parliament impress anyone when they are called 'Pollies' - politicians. Ambos = ambulance personnel. Firies are fire fighters, in rural areas they are vollies = volunteers. With Chrissie coming up, people are wrapping prezzies for the rellies and planning drinkies with friends. At this point I will C&P something from the 'interweb' scontent.fmel1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/v/t1.0-9/10696344_988878941126996_8164663484998193693_n.png?oh=c200a7ee828423b6bdbd9159598ebbec&oe=56E3BF53
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Post by Deleted on Feb 22, 2016 17:20:31 GMT
In prehistoric times when I was a TEFL teacher, obviously the range of people teaching English in Paris created quite a bit of discord. The students had to put up with constantly changing teachers from a variety of countries. The spin the school put on the situation (and which can be easily defended) is that people speak English differently in different countries, so it is important to learn the variations. A constant conflict was between the British and American teachers about being "in hospital" or "in the hospital."
However, it was a delightful Irish teacher who had the most interesting regional variation on a formulation, and even though I had never heard it before, it completely made sense. She claimed that the grammatically appalling "aren't I?" was generally rendered as "amn't I?" in Ireland. I have not known enough Irish people to know if she was pulling our leg or if that is really the standard formulation in Ireland. If ever an English language referendum is held, I will vote for "amn't I?"
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Post by whatagain on Feb 22, 2016 17:33:46 GMT
I just discover the rabbit - it is one of my favourite expression towards my daughters (tu me prends pour un lapin de 6 semaines) so it exists in Belgium but I have had to wait 40 years to hear it, then I adopted it. 'je ne suis pas né de la dernière pluie' (I wasn't born during the last rain) would be more academic, but not used much in Belgium - it never ceases to rain...
Aren't I is a nightmare for people learning english. I'm sure we are not that complicated... (je ne sache pas que nous fussions si compliqués)
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Post by bjd on Feb 22, 2016 17:35:04 GMT
It seems to me I saw that on a Speaking in Tongues thread on TT several years ago. It struck everyone but the Irish as odd.
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Post by patricklondon on Feb 22, 2016 18:27:52 GMT
'je ne suis pas né de la dernière pluie' (I wasn't born during the last rain) would be more academic, but not used much in Belgium - it never ceases to rain... In the UK we certainly say "I didn't come down in the last shower". But the only "rabbit" colloquialism I can think of is "Let the dog see the rabbit", when pushing obstructive ditherers to one side when one knows what the situation needs. My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam"
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Post by patricklondon on Feb 22, 2016 18:28:36 GMT
Oh, I forgot the habit of saying "rabbits" on the first day of the month. I don't think anyone knows where that comes from. My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam"
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Post by fumobici on Feb 22, 2016 18:41:34 GMT
In prehistoric times when I was a TEFL teacher, obviously the range of people teaching English in Paris created quite a bit of discord. The students had to put up with constantly changing teachers from a variety of countries. The spin the school put on the situation (and which can be easily defended) is that people speak English differently in different countries, so it is important to learn the variations. A constant conflict was between the British and American teachers about being "in hospital" or "in the hospital." However, it was a delightful Irish teacher who had the most interesting regional variation on a formulation, and even though I had never heard it before, it completely made sense. She claimed that the grammatically appalling "aren't I?" was generally rendered as "amn't I?" in Ireland. I have not known enough Irish people to know if she was pulling our leg or if that is really the standard formulation in Ireland. If ever an English language referendum is held, I will vote for "amn't I?" Here's a fine grammar rant on "aren't I?": motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/why-arent-i/
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Post by patricklondon on Feb 23, 2016 10:50:56 GMT
A regional variant I remember from my days in the Potteries (where the West Midlands meets the North West, so the accent and idioms can reflect both) - a stroppy teenager complaining about being ticked off for something he said he wasn't doing - "I ARNA!" My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam"
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