Odd Expressions

[Guild B301]

“The hogs are really stomping in the Crisco, now”

I hope you all can figure out that one.
I believe it is an old Austin/Central Texas expression.
So many people from other places have moved to Austin, you never hear it anymore. ‘Cause you only run into a native Austinite 1 in every 100 people.

 

[Lagado]

"Red sky at night, shepherd's delight.
Red sky in the morning, you're all going to die."

 

[Guild B301]

"Red sky at night, shepherd's delight.
Red sky in the morning, you're all going to die."

There is another part of that that goes
“Red sky’s in morning
Sailors take warning”

 

[DirtDog]

Burn the hatchet at both ends.

 

[Lagado]

"A Robin Redbreast in a Cage
Puts all Heaven in a Rage."

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Getting out of the bag is a real big deal for the cat though.

My cat loves going in bags if boxes are not available.

(When people discuss Schroedinger's cat people seem to miss part of the beauty of it is that it is a cat in a box - the man had a sense of humour).

 

[-Asdfgh-]

• There's no solid historical evidence that Marie Antoinette ever uttered anything even close to the phrase, "Let them eat cake." Yet they guillotined her anyway. Tough crowd!
• The alt-rock band Cake didn't particularly enjoy cake.

If I was in an international, touring rock and roll band my rider would probably include a nice slice of victoria sponge and a cup of tea, except on Sundays when I might like a trifle.

 

[Tom Bomb]

An erstwhile girlfriend liked to say "*u** me dead and bury me" all the time. Hard to get more currency lass than that. Incongruously, she was a lapsed Sevie — and quite a piece of work. Done like a dinner. May her chooks turn into emus and kick her dunny down

 

[Lagado]

"If you pull the other one, it's got bells on it."

 

[charlie monroe]

It's better to beg forgiveness, that ask permission.
Fishheadjoe

I think "It's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission"

Also;

Doing ___ is like nailing Jello to the wall

 

[Lagado]

"Take the biscuit."

Someone's got to have the biscuit. What's so special about that biscuit?

 

[Downunderwonder]

"Take the biscuit."

Someone's got to have the biscuit. What's so special about that biscuit?

It's the last one.

 

[Downunderwonder]

“Let the cat out of the bag” like it’s some sort of big reveal.

let me tell you, if you’ve ever stuffed a cat into a bag, it’s pretty darn obvious to anybody nearby what’s going on.

“Cats Pyjamas” is also ridiculous.
Don’t even try putting pyjamas on a cat.

Letting the cat out references the commotion that ensues.

I wouldn't mind a fur coat for pyjamas in the winter time.

 

[FilterFunk]

I'm going to Google this later, but this is something I read a long time ago:

"Let the cat out of the bag" and "A pig in a poke" are related sayings. "Poke" is another word for "bag." In noisy, crowded marketplaces long ago, suckling pigs for sale were carried in pokes. Sometimes, unscrupulous sellers would put cats in the pokes to fool potential buyers.

Once the poke (bag) was opened...well, you can figure it out from there!

 

[bassdude51]

Google takes the fun out of nearly everything now. It's just tooooooo easy to look stuff up and get answers.

14 Expressions with Origins that You Would Never Have Guessed

Weird English phrases and their meaning | EF English Live

 

[Michedelic]

“slap my happy ass and call me Christmas”...
Uh, OK....

 

[-Asdfgh-]

14 Expressions with Origins that You Would Never Have Guessed

A couple of them at least I wouldn't have guessed because those are not the origins! In particular:

Go the whole nine yards
Meaning: To try your best at something

Origin: During World War II, the fighter pilots were equipped with nine yards of ammunition. When they ran out, it meant that they had tried their best at fighting off the target with the entirety of their ammunition.

Since ammunition wasn't supplied in nine-yard lengths, it's unlikely. In some WW2 fighters, such as the P-51, the guns had different amounts of ammunition for the inner pair. We can be pretty sure it's not a Russian or German expression, at least.

P-40E - 281 rounds per gun, P-51D - 270 and 400, P-47 - 350, F4U - 391, B-17 - 400 to 500. Or if it was a Lancaster - 1000 to 2500.

Nine yards is apparently 313 rounds of 50 calibre ammunition which matches absolutely no WW2 US aircraft! If it was 'the whole ten yards' it would at least match the P-47...

 

[Fishheadjoe]

I think "It's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission"

Please forgive me
Fishheadjoe

 

[charlie monroe]

Full point

 

[two fingers]

"It is what it is"

A popular statement that illustrates, explains, or illuminates exactly nothing... it has been making my ears hurt since the first day.

"It is what it is" is a way of dismissing someone's complaints. You're essentially saying "That's the way it is and I refuse to consider it one second more. It's not open for debate."

I have taken this to mean, "Nothing you can do to change it".

It being a negative outcome.

I always took it as a positive. I read into it that the sooner you deal with the reality of the situation (rather than complaining about it) the sooner you can get about dealing with that reality. This, of course, doesn't apply in situations that are blatantly unjust.

Let's say I get in the car to go to work and I'm running late AND need to stop for gas. I can a) complain about it and drive like a maniac trying to make up late and gas pump time or b) realize that "it is what it is" and that you're going to be a few minutes late. Call work. Get gas. Go on with your day.