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.

 

[SantaMufasa]

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
“People may forget what you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

 

[Turkbear]

Hi,
In a movie based on an Oscar Wilde play ( The Good Woman) I heard one character advise a woman not to pay attention to the gossip about her since it was "all cats and bags" anyway,

I can find nothing on this so does anyone know its origin?



To Paraphrase:"The Help you get is proportional to the Help you give.."

 

[BadBigBen]

>> That must be a twon mattress.
now that was hilarious...

see the Urban Dictionary as to what they say twon is...

>> I can find nothing on this so does anyone know its origin?
it's probably a variation of the old and venerable "Let the cat out of the Bag", with it's meaning having skewed over the ages...

have a read:

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/let-the-cat-out-of-the-bag.html

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[N1GHTEYES]

After the brick s#1thouse, here are some more brick-based idioms.

A phrase from a Wigan-born friend:
I'm so famished I could eat a buttered brick.

Another generally northern, brick-related expression (for use after one feels one has been insulted):
you talkin' t' me or chewin' a brick?

- the implication being that, either way, you are going to lose some teeth...

And to expand the "useless as..." sub-thread:
tha'rt as useless as a brick balloon

Tony
(generally a good egg and a real brick)

 

[hjgoldstein]

'The man On The Clapham Omnibus', by which we understand (or are given to understand by our 'betters' the legal profession), that whatever is being considered reasonable must also be regarded as reasonable by the 'average' (middle class) person who might conceivably travel on the Clapham Omnibus to his employment in The City of London or similar. Something of an antiquated consideration now, but still used occasionally.

I can't fully agree with your parenthesised comments, Ken.

The fact that "the man on the Clapham Omnibus" has been associated with the legal profession is due to the phrase being used in court proceedings to mean "any reasonable person" or "man-in-the-street".

Furthermore, the phrase does not suggest "middle class," the City of London or any particular profession or occupation.

It is time for pacifists to stand up and fight for their beliefs.

 

[KenCunningham]

In the spirit of your sig, hj, I would take issue with your dissing of my definition.

Tell you what, let's ask the man on the No. 88 shall we ;-)

The internet - allowing those who don't know what they're talking about to have their say.

 

[N1GHTEYES]

Ken,
I'm with hj to an extent, but I'm prepared to be enlightened. I'd always assumed that the phrase was simply equivalent to "the man in the street", aka "the average guy".

Why do you believe that it specifically implies middle class?

Tony

 

[hjgoldstein]

Ken,

I believe that you are in the Inverclyde area. If I look out of my office window (for the next couple of weeks, anyway) I may be able to see you. Wave a giant model of the Clapham Omnibus and I'll wave back.

It is time for pacifists to stand up and fight for their beliefs.

 

[KenCunningham]

Tony - nothing specific, merely that the feeling that the middle class view is generally taken as the barometer of goodness, badness or indifference. That may well be a reflection on my own prejudices of course!

hj - I'll see what I can do. Not sure McGills do a number 88 though!

The internet - allowing those who don't know what they're talking about to have their say.

 

[sleipnir214]

On occasions when my father felt the need to curse in company who might not approve of it, he was known to utter a sotto voce "aah, sh*t and two is eight".



Want to ask the best questions? Read Eric S. Raymond's essay "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way". TANSTAAFL!

 

[kwbMitel]

@sleipnir214 - I notice one in your signature. For those that read Heinlein anyway. TANSTAAFL!

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

 

[flapeyre]

Or, as the ancient Romans might have put it, Nullam gratuitum prandium.

-- 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

 

[BadBigBen]

@kwbMitel and Sleipnir214,

I love lunches... ;-)

back in the 80's, I used to be an avid reader of SciFi&Fantasy, and Heinlein was one of the more favored authors of mine (Asimov, Bradley, etc. being some of the others), which brings me back to par with the thread, "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls" was also a darn good novel...



Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[IPGuru]

Time is relative, Lunch time doubly so. Douglas Adams

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

 

[1DMF]

One saying that realy annoys me and I find pointless is

You can't have your cake and eat it

What's the point in having a cake if you can't eat it? If I can't eat it, I don't want it!


another phrase my dad used to use , which took me years before I got it, is

Dead bodies don't fall out of windows!

"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!"

MIME::Lite TLS Email Encryption - Perl v0.02 beta

 

[N1GHTEYES]

I think the point about the cake saying is meant to be that after eating you can't still have it.

So, you can have your cake THEN eat it, but you can't have it AND eat it.

Tony

 

[1DMF]

I thought the phrase implied you can't have everything not that the 'have' , meant to eat, perhaps that's why I never got 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!"

MIME::Lite TLS Email Encryption - Perl v0.02 beta

 

[1DMF]

no wait, are you saying the phrase means after using/eating something , you can't be left with it?

So you can't have a fag and smoke 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!"

MIME::Lite TLS Email Encryption - Perl v0.02 beta

 

[N1GHTEYES]

I wasn't saying that the "have" meant to "eat". In this context, "have" means "continue to possess". So you cannot "continue to possess" your cake after you have eaten it.

My understanding is that the phrase reflects the fact that there exist certain situations with mutually exclusive states. For example, in most cases at least, when gambling, you can have a "sure thing" or "good odds", but not both. In more uncertain realms, if you know precisely the momentum of a particle, you cannot know its position.

Tony

 

[kwbMitel]

Re:Have your cake and eat it too.

I have the same understanding as N1GHTEYES. It is a statement defining a paradox of 2 mutually exlusive states. I find it best to reverse the statement to clarify the meaning. Eat your cake and have it too. Once you have eaten your cake, you no longer have it. You cannot have (retain) your cake after you have eaten it.

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