Wierd sayings - Page 2

lumberjim · 10-28-2005, 12:39 PM

hand....which side IS the back? the dorsal side, or ventral?

dar512 · 10-28-2005, 12:48 PM

back of the hand - opposite of the palm

lumberjim · 10-28-2005, 01:09 PM

well, i know the front of my hand better than the back.....of my hand

wolf · 10-28-2005, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyclefrance

Cuts the mustard - meaning: comes up to scratch (which could be another one except I think it has connections with golf and being a scratch/zero handicap player, but it may pre-date this)

Cuts as in dilutes rather than separates, perhaps? Makes palatable?? Undiluted mustard is pretty strong stuff, after all, and overwhelms the tastebuds.

You know ... this might make an interesting party game.

I thought maybe someone already had done this, but the objective of Wise and Otherwise is to complete a maxim, not explain it.

wolf · 10-28-2005, 01:30 PM

I'd rather be broccoli.

Elspode · 10-28-2005, 01:58 PM

Opening a can of worms usually means "making a bigger problem than the one you were trying to solve", because it is harder to deal with an open can of worms than a closed one. When the can is closed, you at least know roughly how many worms you have and where they can be found. Open the can, and the squiggle all over, and it is nearly impossible to put them back in.

Now..."Piss like a racehorse"...that's one that has always baffled the piss out of me. Are racehorses known for producing more urine than, say, a plough horse? Or is this related to the drug testing they make racehorses endure? I thought that was done via saliva, so shouldn't it in that case be "spit like a racehorse"?

Stupid sayings...

Lucy · 10-28-2005, 02:07 PM

Drier then a popcorn fart. One of my favorites..
This one always gets me...

Cuter then a fat puppies ass..or Cuter then a bug's ear.

Drunker the Cooter Brown.

Huh?

barefoot serpent · 10-28-2005, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elspode

Now..."Piss like a racehorse"...that's one that has always baffled the piss out of me.

Race horses are given the diuretic Lasix that in addition to making them piss a lot also helps to prevent them bleeding in the lungs from the exertion during races.

LabRat · 10-28-2005, 03:56 PM

Hey! My dad used to say this, although I seem to remember it being 'piss like a Russian racehorse'. Huh. Who knew.

capnhowdy · 10-28-2005, 04:39 PM

" a right smart"

EX: "He has a right smart of money".
"Yes, There were a right smart of people there"
***AND***

SAM HILL
Now what the Sam Hill does that 'spose to mean?

Clodfobble · 10-28-2005, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dar512

It is carrot and stick. The phrase implies reward for doing well and punishment for doing poorly.

I disagree. I think Sundae Girl and xoxoxoBruce are right on this one.

Cyclefrance · 10-28-2005, 06:41 PM

Jesus H Christ! You have wierder ones in the US than in the UK.

Sam Hill??? Who the Dickens is Sam Hill??? And 'right smart' is another one I've never come across, unless it arises north of Watford (over to Sundae Girl...)

Piss like a racehorse - now I think that is a corruption of 'piss (it) like a racehorse', Where the idea of 'piss it' means to accomplish it easily, as in the English cockney 'it was a piece of piss' meaning it was really very easy, as it is to piss (or pass water*) when you need to (although we also use another phrase for the same thing describing something easy as 'being a right doddle' - and I have absolutely no (zilch??) idea about where that one comes from...!)

* there's a joke about this: guy goes to doctors complaining about feeling poorly, to which the doctor asks 'do you find you have trouble passing water?' to which the guy replies 'funny you should ask that, I came over real dizzy on the bus the other day, just as it was going past the local reservoir!' Oh well some you do, some you don't!

lumberjim · 10-28-2005, 07:34 PM

SAM HILL = hell

[Q] From Doug Hickey: “I have often heard in American movies and on television phrases like ‘What in the Sam Hill is going on?’ Or, ‘What the Sam Hill happened here?’ Or, some such exclamation. I have not been able to find the basis of this expression.”

[A] There is a story sometimes told (for example in Edwin Mitchell’s Encyclopedia of American Politics in 1946) that one Colonel Samuel Hill of Guilford, Connecticut, would often run for political office at some point in the early nineteenth century but always without success. Hence, “to run like Sam Hill” or “go like Sam Hill”. The problem is that nobody has found any trace of this monumentally unsuccessful candidate.

On the other hand, an article in the New England Magazine in December 1889 entitled Two Centuries and a Half in Guilford Connecticut mentioned that, “Between 1727 and 1752 Mr. Sam. Hill represented Guilford in forty-three out of forty-nine sessions of the Legislature, and when he was gathered to his fathers, his son Nathaniel reigned in his stead” and a footnote queried whether this might be the source of the “popular Connecticut adjuration to ‘Give ‘em Sam Hill’?” So the tale has long legs.

The expression has been known since the late 1830s. Despite the story, it seems to be no more than a personalised euphemism for “hell”.

darclauz · 10-28-2005, 08:06 PM

that's just a hard goddamned fact of life.

Elspode · 10-28-2005, 08:47 PM

I thought we were just going to speculate wildly and offer our own bullheaded opinions on these sayings. Now LJ has gone and brought apparent factual information into the mix. Damn, you can't fake anything anymore.

10-28-2005, 12:39 PM	#16
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	hand....which side IS the back? the dorsal side, or ventral? __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan Last edited by lumberjim; 10-28-2005 at 01:09 PM. Reason: sp

10-28-2005, 12:48 PM	#17
dar512 dar512 is now Pete Zicato Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chicago suburb Posts: 4,968	back of the hand - opposite of the palm __________________ "Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain." -- Friedrich Schiller

10-28-2005, 01:09 PM	#18
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	well, i know the front of my hand better than the back.....of my hand __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

10-28-2005, 01:30 PM	#20
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I'd rather be broccoli. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

10-28-2005, 01:58 PM	#21
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	Opening a can of worms usually means "making a bigger problem than the one you were trying to solve", because it is harder to deal with an open can of worms than a closed one. When the can is closed, you at least know roughly how many worms you have and where they can be found. Open the can, and the squiggle all over, and it is nearly impossible to put them back in. Now..."Piss like a racehorse"...that's one that has always baffled the piss out of me. Are racehorses known for producing more urine than, say, a plough horse? Or is this related to the drug testing they make racehorses endure? I thought that was done via saliva, so shouldn't it in that case be "spit like a racehorse"? Stupid sayings... __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

10-28-2005, 02:07 PM	#22
Lucy Colloquialist Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Georgia Posts: 75	Drier then a popcorn fart. One of my favorites.. This one always gets me... Cuter then a fat puppies ass..or Cuter then a bug's ear. Drunker the Cooter Brown. Huh? Last edited by Lucy; 10-28-2005 at 02:13 PM.

10-28-2005, 03:56 PM	#24
LabRat twatfaced two legged bumhole Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 3,143	Hey! My dad used to say this, although I seem to remember it being 'piss like a Russian racehorse'. Huh. Who knew. __________________ Strength does not come from how much weight you can lift, or how many miles you can run. It comes from knowing that you set a goal, and rose to the challenge. Strength comes from within.

10-28-2005, 04:39 PM	#25
capnhowdy Blatantly Homosapien Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 6,200	" a right smart" EX: "He has a right smart of money". "Yes, There were a right smart of people there" *AND* SAM HILL Now what the Sam Hill does that 'spose to mean? __________________ Please type slowly. I can't read very fast............... and no holy water, please.

10-28-2005, 06:41 PM	#27
Cyclefrance Pump my ride! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Deep countryside of Surrey , England Posts: 1,890	Jesus H Christ! You have wierder ones in the US than in the UK. Sam Hill??? Who the Dickens is Sam Hill??? And 'right smart' is another one I've never come across, unless it arises north of Watford (over to Sundae Girl...) Piss like a racehorse - now I think that is a corruption of 'piss (it) like a racehorse', Where the idea of 'piss it' means to accomplish it easily, as in the English cockney 'it was a piece of piss' meaning it was really very easy, as it is to piss (or pass water) when you need to (although we also use another phrase for the same thing describing something easy as 'being a right doddle' - and I have absolutely no (zilch??) idea about where that one comes from...!) there's a joke about this: guy goes to doctors complaining about feeling poorly, to which the doctor asks 'do you find you have trouble passing water?' to which the guy replies 'funny you should ask that, I came over real dizzy on the bus the other day, just as it was going past the local reservoir!' Oh well some you do, some you don't! __________________ Always sufficient hills - never sufficient gears

10-28-2005, 07:34 PM	#28
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	SAM HILL = hell [Q] From Doug Hickey: “I have often heard in American movies and on television phrases like ‘What in the Sam Hill is going on?’ Or, ‘What the Sam Hill happened here?’ Or, some such exclamation. I have not been able to find the basis of this expression.” [A] There is a story sometimes told (for example in Edwin Mitchell’s Encyclopedia of American Politics in 1946) that one Colonel Samuel Hill of Guilford, Connecticut, would often run for political office at some point in the early nineteenth century but always without success. Hence, “to run like Sam Hill” or “go like Sam Hill”. The problem is that nobody has found any trace of this monumentally unsuccessful candidate. On the other hand, an article in the New England Magazine in December 1889 entitled Two Centuries and a Half in Guilford Connecticut mentioned that, “Between 1727 and 1752 Mr. Sam. Hill represented Guilford in forty-three out of forty-nine sessions of the Legislature, and when he was gathered to his fathers, his son Nathaniel reigned in his stead” and a footnote queried whether this might be the source of the “popular Connecticut adjuration to ‘Give ‘em Sam Hill’?” So the tale has long legs. The expression has been known since the late 1830s. Despite the story, it seems to be no more than a personalised euphemism for “hell”. __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

10-28-2005, 08:06 PM	#29
darclauz Breathing into a paper bag Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 334	that's just a hard goddamned fact of life. __________________ Taking up smoking to lose weight.

10-28-2005, 08:47 PM	#30
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	I thought we were just going to speculate wildly and offer our own bullheaded opinions on these sayings. Now LJ has gone and brought apparent factual information into the mix. Damn, you can't fake anything anymore. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

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