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Etymology and the Origins of Words & Expressions
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Anybody know where this common "feline not-so-fine" expression originates?
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I swear. This is my brain. This is my brain on age...
Barrel of monkeys.Sack of cats.
Kettle of fish.
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three dog night
dog-gone tired
gone to the dogs
(Is someone supposed to be looking these up? Let the dog fetch the answers...)
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Alas, Allie Cat is no more. And what a cat! A cat that acted like a dog (well, sometimes). That's cat worth its weight in dog pounds (woof).
Now I see fewer and fewer "outdoor cats" to control the local rodent population (especially the damned chipmunks which ate my garden last spring). Reason being, we now have all manner of coyotes and fishers in the surrounding woods. Both are happy to eat cats and your little dog, too (insert Wicked Witch of the West cackle here)...
can of wormsbag of tricks
pail of steam
bag of wind, but not
*chest of tools
*hat of rabbit
Outdoor cats do kill ground nesting birds.
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And every now and then the 'bird will turn'. My current cat (Jubjub - not my fault) made such inroads into the unfledged blackbird chicks in the trees around my neighbourhood that one bereft pair started divebombing him every time he poked a whisker outside! (they worked in tandem - first one and then the other in a finely coordinated attack). It got to the stage where he would make a valiant dash for the garage, only to dash back again, a quivering and cowering wreck!! The blackbirds actually drew blood a couple of times...grazing the top of his head.
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I'm wondering where the expression "stumping", as in "stumping for votes" originated?Anyone have a clue?
it's an acronym--"Soiling The Universe with Mendacious Prattle."Everyone knows that ;->
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there's more than one way to skin a cat (yah but they're all pretty gross)
and the place's too small to swing a cat
(again what's with all the cat abuse?)
"the place's too small to swing a cat"I think this is from the naval use, during the days of sail, of the "cat o' nine tails" (a type of whip) used in punishing miscreants. Certain areas of the ship were cramped and with low decks so punishment was carried out on the open deck to allow a suitable swing of "the cat".
Remember the dead cat scene from Huckleberry Finn.
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Check them out at http://www.goodreads.com/search/searc...
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Bunny, I was lucky enough to receive the entire Oxford set of Twain's unabridged works a while back. A gift from the Good Wyfe for my birthday.
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Courtesy of H. Rider Haggard and John Mortimer, I designate her with a Rumpolean "She Who Must Be Obeyed." Wouldn't trade her in for a Lemon Tart, either.
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I got it from Rumpole, but Rumpole got the phrase from H. Rider Haggard's She. Colonialist fantasy novel, popular culcha of a bygone era.Speaking of bygones, Rumple was well played by an Aussie actor, the great Leo McKern.
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Château Thames Embankment. Lovely plonk, they say.
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1577, of unknown origin; Johnson's suggestion that it is from Fr. coeur mechant "evil heart" is no longer taken seriously; the first syllable may be cur "dog."
This is the best one...link for other theories follows...."Without having any real evidence, I think it's likely that curmudgeon has some connection with cur, which came into English early in the 12th century and is related to Germanic verbs meaning 'to growl'. As for the second part of the word, the Century Dictionary, published in 1889, suggests as a possible source either of two Scottish words, mudgeon, 'grimace', or murgeon 'mock or grumble'. "
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index...
" A curmudgeon's reputation for malevolence is undeserved. They're neither warped nor evil at heart. They don't hate mankind, just mankind's absurdities. They're just as sensitive and soft-hearted as the next guy, but they hide their vulnerability beneath a crust of misanthropy. They ease the pain by turning hurt into humor. . . . . . They attack maudlinism because it devalues genuine sentiment. . . . . . Nature, having failed to equip them with a servicable denial mechanism, has endowed them with astute perception and sly wit.
Curmudgeons are mockers and debunkers whose bitterness is a symptom rather than a disease. They can't compromise their standards and can't manage the suspension of disbelief necessary for feigned cheerfulness. Their awareness is a curse.
Perhaps curmudgeons have gotten a bad rap in the same way that the messenger is blamed for the message: They have the temerity to comment on the human condition without apology. They not only refuse to applaud mediocrity, they howl it down with morose glee. Their versions of the truth unsettle us, and we hold it against them, even though they soften it with humor. "
JON WINOKUR
http://www.curmudgeon-online.net/inde...
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ahhhso now i know why
i get hooted out of other groups
;)
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The word of the day for us gringos is, of course, "turkey."The "turkey" did not come from Turkey, but from the New World. The French call it dinde, which means "from India," and in Brazil it's called perú. All these origin theories are mistaken, I believe. The turkey was domesticated in Mexico, where it is known as guajolote, from the Nahuatl huexolotl, except among snobs, where it is known as pavo, or "pheasant."
These mistaken origins are not uncommon. What we call "Danish pastry" the Danes call Viennese.
An aside: turkey used to be a luxury food, as reflected in the Cole Porter song, "You're the Top" ("You're the top;/You're a turkey dinner;/You're the time/Of a Derby winner./I'm just in the way/As the French would say/De trop,/But if baby, I'm the bottom, you're the top.") Hyrbid turkeys having become relatively efficient converters of vegetable feed to protein, turkey is now a healthier substitute for other meats.
If you eat turkey, tofurkey, or pastries today, enjoy them.
I remember seeing an illumination from a manuscript (European and pre-1492 but can't remember the date) with what was a suspiciously turkey like bird about to be killed by a serf. Maybe a ptarmigan or grouse though, you know the licence illuminators used, but looked very like a turkey to me. I feel a trip to the chained book section looms...if I find it I'll try and post a pic.
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I've always suspected there was something not quite right about those creatures. And on top of their unsavory bottom feeding, I now find out they were once peasant food! Chalk this up to another triumph of marketing.
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As it's Friday I had fish also...haddock...not as exotic as crayfish or lobster.Battered and with lemon juice, very nice.
It must be Cole Porter month:"If I invite a guy some night
To dine on my fine finnan haddie
I just adore his asking for more
But my heart belongs to Daddy."
Finnan haddie is smoked haddock, from Findon, a place in Scotland.
In Boston, they call haddock "scrod," as in
"I've been in Boston for a week and I haven't got scrod."
"Must be the water."
Language & Grammar
Books mentioned in this topic
I is an Other: The Secret Life of Metaphor and How it Shapes the Way We See the World (other topics)Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There (other topics)
From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy Tales and Their Tellers (other topics)
The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (other topics)
Angela Carter's Book Of Fairy Tales (other topics)
More...
but i always seem to be removing my foot from my mouth