Idioms Cliches Colloquialisms Etc...

[kwbMitel]

There have been a number of threads recently where some idioms have been used where the meaning was lost for some readers. I wish I could remember the most recent one that was a great example but alas, it is not to be. (Something about a gentleman riding a trolley? - UK origin)

My father was a significant user of many sayings. Most confuse me to this day (He is a Newfoundlander with all that that entails)

One of his more colorful expressions was regarding the consumption of spicy food. He would say "Boy, That'll sure cauterise the hemorrhoids" This example does not require any interpretation, context or cultural exposure. I've found myself to be quite entertained by some of the colloquialisms that are out there that have meaning withing a select group of people but none outside of it.

I am reminded of an episode of Star Trek TNG where an alien species can only communicate via metaphor.

I'm sure we've all got some good ones.

Lets hear them, and give us the meaning if necessary and where it might be used.

I expect that quite a few of these might come from Australia but that may just be a bias on my part.

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> The devil's in the detail
To me that means that what sounds good on the surface may not be so clean once you look at the details. To tie that into another common phrase, "the end justifies the means", the end may be wonderful, but the means to get there, not so much. The devil is in the details.


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[IPGuru]

Surströmming from Sweden comes in a tin but you do not want to open it in a confined space! underwater is recommended.


Computers are like Air conditioners:-
Both stop working when you open Windows

 

[JCreamerII]

1DMF,

It means until you get into all of the details, you real don't know how bad a situation may be. That you have to understand all of the details before you know where you stand.

And I don't eat fish from a can or tin. Caught too many live ones to eat old fish. Also spend too much time looking in a barrel of bait!

Jim C.

 

[1DMF]

So the devil isn't in the detail if it's as good as it sounds?

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

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[kwbMitel]

@1DMF - Nothing is as good as it sounds = The devil is in the details.

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[DrB0b]

Straight from the horses mouth.

After a quick research I get what it means, just a bit odd taken literally..

"You don't know what you got, till its gone..
80's hair band Cinderella or ode to data backups???

 

[DrB0b]

@BBB - What is the origin of "Knock on wood"?

I can seem to find some speculation but nothing definitive...

"You don't know what you got, till its gone..
80's hair band Cinderella or ode to data backups???

 

[flapeyre]

Around the New Orleans area, a vehicle safety inspection sticker is known as a "brake tag", which stems from the fact that the City of New Orleans, unlike most of the the rest of Louisiana, has its own inspection station where every car registered in the city had to show up once a year (back in the 60's it was every six months). The station not only checks that you can stop the car; you drive onto a platform at about 3 m.p.h. and stop on command from the inspector, and it measures the stopping power of all four wheels.

When I was in high school, I had a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle that failed this inspection something like four times, until the (exasperated) dealer finally found a clogged brake line to the right-rear wheel and replaced it.

And not far from my house is a sign that offers "Break Tags".

Yeesh.

-- Francis
The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning, and does not stop until you get to the office.
--Robert Frost

 

[kwbMitel]

DrBob - My take on "straight from the horses mouth" sans research.

Related to "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth"

Observing a horses teeth/gums etc can give you great insights into its health and age much like counting rings on a tree stump.

Straight from the horses mouth therefore means:
- Getting accurate information (better than taking a sellers word for it anyway)

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[DrB0b]

@kwbMitel - Through my vigorous(about 2 minutes) research of Google, I didnt find anything like that. I like the thought process though. Being a deer hunter, I know you can tell a lot about deer via the dental structure, wear, etc. so it does correlate well with what I know already....



"You don't know what you got, till its gone..
80's hair band Cinderella or ode to data backups???

 

[JCreamerII]

Straight from the horses mouth, comes from horse racing. When you were passing along a tip, if you said it was straight from the horses mouth, ment it was a lock.

Jim C.

 

[BadBigBen]

DrBob,

about the Knock on wood (touch wood for you UKers) this is as good an explanation as it comes, (*) marks the one I think is probably the best explanation, and (+) the one that probably is not the root of the phrase at all:

From MORRIS DICTIONARY OF WORD AND PHRASE ORIGINS

KNOCK ON WOOD:

(+) There are several theories about the origin of this very common practice. One goes back to the child's game of `tag.' In one version of this game the child who is able to touch a tree, thereby touching wood, is free from capture.

Then there is a Biblical theory that the wood symbolizes the cross on which Christ was crucified. In Galatians (6:14) we find `But God forbid that I should glory, save the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.' The theory here is that if you have made an exaggerated boast you will be forgiven if you turn your thoughts to the Cross.

(*) Still another notion is that `knocking on wood' goes far back into ancient times, when spirits were thought to live in trees. So should danger threaten, simply rap on the trunk of a tree and summon up the aid of the good spirit within.

There is an Irish belief that you `knock on wood' to let the leprechauns know that you are thanking them for a bit of good luck. (this one goes with the one above)

A Jewish version says it originated during the Spanish Inquisition under Torquemada during the 1490s. During that time Jews were in flight and since temples and synagogues were built of wood, they evolved a code to use in knocking on doors to gain admission. Since this resulted in lives being saved, it became commonplace to `knock on wood' for good luck.

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
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[1DMF]

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth"

Thanks for clearing that up Mitel.

Makes sense, it was a gift, be grateful, don't go checking it out like you were buying it!

"In complete darkness we are all the same, only our knowledge and wisdom separates us, don't let your eyes deceive you."

"If a shortcut was meant to be easy, it wouldn't be a shortcut, it would be the way!"

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