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Screwed up phrases people use
I was reading a bunch of comments about Ebays new rules and there were a few of them that caught my eye for using phrases that were just not quite right.
Here are a couple from just a 5 minute read: "Ebay will be foisted by their own pitard" "Ebay is cutting off their nose despite their face" Another odd term I found was when I bought a set of magnifying lenses that you wear on your head. They are fitted to each individual using a Velcro strap. The description read: "Please enjoy your sticky buckle head tape." Anybody else got some good ones? Steve |
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Why Sentence Structure is so Important.... The boss had to lay someone off, and he narrowed it down to one of two people, Connie or Jack. It was an impossible decision because they were both super workers. Rather than flip a coin, he decided he would lay off the first one who used the water cooler the next morning. Connie came in the next morning with a horrible hangover after partying all night. She went to the cooler to take an aspirin. The boss approached her and said: "Connie, I've never done this before but I have to lay you or Jack off." "Could you you do it yourself?" she says. "I feel like crap." ... |
Talking of "Hoist by one's own petard", I am amazed at how many people use this phrase with NO idea what a 'petard' is/was!!!!!! and that it is "hoist", NOT "hoisted"!!!!!
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GlynMeek,
Yep - I have heard some crazy ones for that. A friend of mine thought it was a form of pantyhose, and that you are basically getting a wedgie. I exhaled beer out of my nose when he told me that in mid-swig a few years ago. :eek: The Shakespeare is 'hoist', but hoisted would be accurate for a past tense application. Do you remember if it was King Lear or Hamlet? Steve |
a wedgie?.....rofl
Hamlet...while we're on the subject of 'use of English', in my days as a self-important executive :) I used to give aspiring assistants a simple test...three things... a) what is the correct pronunciation of the * symbol b) what's the difference in usage between i.e. and e.g. and if they got those correct (hardly anyone ever did!!!) c) what does e.g. and i.e. stand for in the original Latin Only one person ever got all of them...LOL Glyn |
I had to look those to up as I frequently us them but I didn't know their meining.
Here's what I found I find sayings and the origins of words very interesting. We often take these words and phrases for granted without really stopping to think about their real meanings. A simple one like "Lock, Stock and Barrel" is easy enough to work out. In the days of fighting with muzzel loader weapons a soldier would fire a shot (lock) then hit the enemy with the but of the gun (stock) and then bring the barrel down on the enemy or use the bayonet (barrel). Then you get words like Tampon which gets its origin from the word tampion which is a plug used in the end of a ships cannon to keep the water out. Would women think the same way about them if they knew the origin of the word? :LOL: Cheers |
You just leave my freakin petard alone. Got it? If anybody be hoistin it, it'll be me.
Mike |
Daffynition of a petard......
A metal half-round housing, packed with an explosive charge, used to breach a castle wall or door. It was fastened to the door , the fuse was lit, and the blast went through the door. Medieval stuff!! Bob |
Interesting Thread.
Definition of petard from the Wikitionary ( petard - Wiktionary ): ================================================== =============== petard English Etymology Latin; pedere "to break wind" via Middle French; from peter "to break wind" from pet "expulsion of intestinal gas" Pronunciation SAMPA: {{{1}}} /pE."tArd/ IPA: /p?.'t??d/ Rhymes: -??(r)d Noun petard (plural petards) 1) A hat shaped explosive device, now rarely used. 2) Anything potentially explosive in a non-literal sense ___For tis the sport to haue the enginer / Hoist with his owne petar - Hamlet, Shakespeare 3) A loud firecracker. Derived terms hoist by one's own petard This page was last modified 23:57, 4 October 2007. ================================================== ============= Wikitionary said ..."break wind" ...Heh Heh :LOL: ... |
Wow!
Does this mean.. to hoist a petard is to "blow the door in with a pet fart"? I feel smarter already, Bill |
The term 'hoist by his own petard' means, basically, 'destroyed by your own hand'. The petard usually blew up the guys holding it against the wall or gate.
People that pronounce supposedly 'supposebly' drive me nuts. Roscoe |
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Its surprising how many of these phrases have military origins. I didn't know the Petard one but I'll file that away.
How about "caught napping" you would think it meant getting caught having a sleep when it actually refers to napping flint. A musket man finding his flint lock not making enough sparks to ignite the powder would chip away at the edge of the flint with a tool to reveal fresh flint. Not a good thing to be doing when the enemy is sudenly upon you. This also leads to the phrase "flash in the pan" which actually refers to the powder in the flint locks pan ignighting but not setting off the charge behind the musket ball. Cheers |
The whole 9 yards is from WWII. The machine gun ammo loads in the fighter planes were 9 yards long. When they used it all, it took the whole 9 yards.
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how 'bout "for all intensive purposes"...
(I was guilty of this grammar faux pas for the longest time, til I figured it out) |
I guess that brings up COLD ENOUGH TO FREEZE THE BALLS OFF OF A BRASS MONKEY since we are talking military terms
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Joe - it is!!!!!
Imagine2frolic - "...brass monkey" is one of my favorites from the old sailing ship days, as is "three square meals a day", as the wooden plates on sailing ships in the British Navy were all made square for easier storage and so they wouldn't roll around on a ship. ...and most folks think that the good old southern expression "God willing and the creek don't rise" refers to some long lost meandering stream (creek) that will rise and flood you out. It actually comes from the Creek Indian uprising of 1813 and so it it really "God willing and the Creek don't rise" Glyn |
Some people bandy about (look that phrase up!) the word "Real" as well. lol !!!
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how about "physical year" (I hate that one!, its fiscal)
or "six and one half dozen or the other" Oh, and "making ends meet" has nothing to do with cloning cows. Mike |
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