Misunderstood Phrase 1

[BJCooperIT]

When I was a kid I saw an ad that claimed:

"Lettuce $.32 a head - none higher!"

I started lauging hysterically because I thought it meant that you could not find a higher price anywhere. I had to ask someone why the store would brag about having the highest price in town. It was embarrassing to discover that I had totally misunderstood the intent of "none higher".

What phrases have a muddled meaning to you?

[sup]Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.[/sup][sup] ~George Bernard Shaw[/sup]
Consultant Developer/Analyst Oracle, Forms, Reports & PL/SQL (Windows)
My website: Emu Products Plus

 

[strongm]

>There was also a French drink in the 1960s called pshitt

There still is:

http://www.pschitt.fr/

 

[SantaMufasa]

<side bar>Columb, once people see your name, do they ever confuse you with Colm Meaney who played the DEA Agent in "Con Air", or the bar keep in "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain", or Chief Miles O'Brien in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", et cetera?
</side bar>

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[

http://www.dasages.com:

Providing low-cost remote Database Admin services]
Click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips if you use Oracle in Utah USA.

 

[tsdragon]

On TV last night I heard that a man was shot in the parking lot. I'll bet that hurts! I'd rather be shot in the foot.

Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[BoxHead]

As a kid, I never understood why people kept passing by the highway signs that read "DO NOT PASS".

I'm still not sure what sort of legal trouble you will get in if some crisis exceeds 2 hours when the signs read
"EMERGENCY STOPPING ONLY - Two hour Limit"



John

 

[ChrisW75]

As a programmer, I'm a fan of phrases with If in them, for instance

"If you're interested, I'll be in the pub on Friday night".

My first thought whenever I hear that is "Where will you be if I'm not interested?

 

[columb]

Mufasa
Appologies to everyone else for being off-topic
If you're Irish then Columb, or Colum, or Colm is a reasonably common first name. St Columb was a major Irish saint who wrote the Book Of Kells.

As I live in Blackpool UK I get called Colin a lot. When I vist our sister office in Glasgow I get called Callum. If you have a (locally) uncommon name you have to live this sort of thing. I also can never find named mugs, key rings etc. except when I visit Eire.

Columb Healy

 

[CRilliterate]

IIf ((you're interested), (I'll be in the pub on Friday night), (I'll be in the pub on Friday night))

 

[kalistoh]

from a golf course [can't remember which one] in the North of Scotland:

Anyone caught collecting golf balls on this course
will be prosecuted and have their balls removed.

I have seen this posted on various joke sites on the net, but this one's legit, it was posted outside the clubhouse.


---------
...and this is my trusty servant Patsy...
coconut halves are provided

 

[LFI]

As a kid, I too was confused by the "No Passing" signs!

I always love it when someone asks a question in the negative:

Annoying guest: Don't you love it when I stop by unannounced?
Me: Yes. I don't.

...or, more commonly:

Forgiving Friend: Didn't you go away this weekend?
Me: Yes.
Forgiving Friend: You did?
Me: No.

Or how about the universal-type questions:

Annoyed parent: Who didn't close the refrigerator door?
Wise-ass kid: EVERYONE!

--Dave


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
O Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!

 

[BoxHead]

Several Walgreens drug stores in the Chicago area have all of their doors labeled with "ENTER ONLY" on the outside of the doors and "EXIT ONLY" on the inside.

I'm glad they cleared that up.

John

 

[CajunCenturion]

While at the pharmacy last night to pick up a prescription, I saw the following sign on the back wall:

Free Crutch Rental with $40 Deposit

--------------
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[SantaMufasa]

Columb,

I, too, suffered from regional-(mis)pronunciation issues while I lived in the UK. If I introduced myself with my traditional pronunciation as "David Hunt", the spelling I would see for my surname would be "Hant"; if I wanted my name spelled properly, I had to introduce myself as "David Oont".

While in Wales, I just rolled with the flow and accepted my given name spelling as "Daffyd".

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[

http://www.dasages.com:

Providing low-cost remote Database Admin services]
Click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips if you use Oracle in Utah USA.

 

[Stella740pl]

CC,

Free Crutch Rental with $40 Deposit

I don't see a problem with this one. $40 is a security deposit. Bring back the crutches, and you will get your money back. Thus, the rental is free. If you lose/break them, you effectively bought them for $40.

 

[flapeyre]

Stella,

I can verify that - my wife sprained her ankle badly and needed crutches for 2 weeks. Any Walgreens will provide crutch rental for free with the deposit (which you get back when you return the crutches).

Feles mala! Cur cista non uteris? Stramentum novum in ea posui!

 

[SimonSellick]

I believe that the meaning of 'The exception that proves the rule' simply refers to the fact that there cannot be an exception if there is no rule. In other words, the existence of an exception proves the existence of a rule - which, like all rules, is made to be broken.

 

[BeenThereDoneThat]

In my hometown we recently had a murder, but it was where it happened that led to the headline...

POLICE FIND DEAD MAN IN CEMETERY

 

[LFI]

Any Walgreens will provide crutch rental for free

I would call this a loan, then. To me, rental implies that there is a cost involved. The deposit makes sense, but "free rental" is a bit of an oxymoron, yeah?

Still... very nice of Walgreens!

Dave


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
O Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!

 

[CRilliterate]

Yeah, give crutches to man for free and you will call it a gift. Not rental. So deposit is Walgreen's insurance. Sounds legit to me.

 

[Turkbear]

Hi,
Actually, SimonSellik , my previous posting about the use and meaning of 'proves the rule' shows how it developed..

But its actual origins may be quite different then the commonly ( like by me) accepted modern usage:

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-exc1.htm

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

 

[columb]

SimonSellick and Turkbear

I think this is going to be one of those 'pick your authority' debates. I read in Bill Bryson's schollarly 'The Mother Tongue' an explanation of the type described by World Wide Words as mistaken. i.e. in coding terms 'Test your code with unusual cases'.

Where the truth lies is another matter.

Columb Healy