Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
blackbird
Trad climber
over yonder en th' holler
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 13, 2008 - 06:30pm PT
|
Always the phrase or word to catch your ear and make you either smile or scratch your head or roll your eyes or all of the above...
I was talking with some friends this afternoon and somehow we got on the subject and man did we roll with it... One of those "Oh, and how 'bout this one!" and "My grandma used to say this.." kind of sessions where we all were grinnin' at the end.
some of the ones we came up with (all southern, of course) included: divan (sofa/couch); chiffarobe (wardrobe); dusky dark (a truly Appalachian phrase that I haven't heard in years referring to that time of day when it isn't quite dusk yet it isn't quite dark... well beyond twilight, kind of hard to explain but you know it when you see it); drunker than a 9 eyed billygoat (duh!); afghan (a crocheted blanket typically found on the backs of divans); ken (to know, as in "reckon". Don't ask about the spelling, that's just how I've seen them both written over the years); cut (referring to electricity and turning something off or on); fixin' (getting ready to do something)...
The list goes on, but these are the first to come to mind as I sit and muse... I reckon I'll come up with some others later...
Got any to add from other parts of the country?? I'd be curious to see any similarities!
BB
|
|
TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 06:38pm PT
|
O dark 30.
Standing on line.
tonic (NH - pronounced more like tawnic) Soda, pop, etc. in other places.
Could care less. (instead of couldn't)
Find a ways. (You may have heard a prominent person say this.)
A whole nother. NY. maybe other places as well.
|
|
caughtinside
Social climber
Davis, CA
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 06:43pm PT
|
Once upon a time, I had a boss who only spoke in colloquialisms and cliches. Drove me absolutely nuts.
Skin in the game
gather 'round the campfire
feet to the flames
go round the horn (he especially liked sports ones)
shudder. That is really just the tip of the iceberg. Any time we were at a meeting and he'd lay one of those on us (at least 10 per meeting minimum) I used to wink at my compadre Amy and watch her try not to melt down into laughter. Made things bearable.
Because he liked them so much, we figured we could get him to adopt them too. So I came up with one that sounds like it means something... but doesn't.
So, the next meeting, I trot it out. "Dave, where are we with X?" "Well" I reply, "We're really at a 4 way stop on this one."
He blinks. he looks at me. blinks again. "Ok, well keep me up to date."
Within two weeks, he used 'We're at a 4 way stop on this' at a meeting.
I had to excuse myself because I was choking.
|
|
TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 06:45pm PT
|
When I was a kid in N. Utah, "ubetcha" seemed to mean "thank you".
|
|
Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 06:49pm PT
|
I think we need to ping Hank Caylor on this one.
He's King of said usage.
In a pig's eye
Can't put lipstick on a pig
Turd in the punchbowl
Fly in the ointment
At the end of the day
|
|
bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 06:50pm PT
|
caughtinside, that's hilarious.
|
|
Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 06:50pm PT
|
And welcome back to the fracas there Black Birdie!
|
|
SammyLee2
Trad climber
Memphis, TN
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 06:59pm PT
|
till the cows come home.
coming up a cloud.
fell out.
kissing cousins.
rode hard and put up wet.
blue blazes.
horney as a three pecked goat.
useless as tits on a boar hog.
rock with lips.
two mules fighting over a turnip.
love is blind, the neighbors are not.
scared spitless.
laid up.
sick as a dog.
drunk as Cooter Brown.
Chinese fire drill.
tied one on.
btw Good to see you around the campfire BB.
|
|
TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 07:02pm PT
|
pissed - has an entirely different meaning in England.
|
|
426
Sport climber
Buzzard Point, TN
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 07:03pm PT
|
pfffft...
there's one
|
|
scuffy b
climber
Stump with a backrest
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 07:05pm PT
|
I never heard sofa or divan when I was little.
The big piece of furniture was called a Chesterfield.
I've only heard ubetcha used as "you're welcome" in Idaho
Montana and Wyoming, never as "thank you."
|
|
Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 07:13pm PT
|
Sofa, couch, chesterfield ...how 'bout: "davenport".
The one we used converted into a bed.
|
|
Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 07:14pm PT
|
That's because SO Cal freeways are f#ckin' monumental.
|
|
Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 07:16pm PT
|
I'm not "takin' the hit" on this one kiddo.
Why don't you "toe the line" buster.
|
|
TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 07:18pm PT
|
scuffy - Nice catch.
"you're welcome" - I know that is what I meant to type.
|
|
Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 07:21pm PT
|
Going forward, and looking backward, there's lots. From the OP (welcome back, BB!):
Divan - I think it's a Turkish word for sofa.
Ken - archaic word in many Germanic languages, for "know"
Afghan - we use that word here, too, for the same thing.
I'll try to remember some local ones - there's a whole dictionary of (English) Canadian usages, and of course there are some very colourful ones from the Maritimes.
Another thread might be "Fatuous expressions that may justify homicide".
|
|
TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 07:25pm PT
|
"up and coming" bothers an editor I know so much that if he finds it, the culprit is soon "down and going"
ken probably from kennen - which means to know or understand in German.
|
|
scuffy b
climber
Stump with a backrest
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 07:26pm PT
|
sigh of relief, TIG.
I was totally thrown (more furniture terminology) by Ottoman at
an advanced age, like maybe 20. Like, how to fit an Empire
centered in Asia Minor into the sentence I heard, which was
something about putting one's feet up to rest.
You mean, that upholstered footstool is called an Ottoman????
|
|
TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 07:29pm PT
|
more English stuff...
boot - trunk of a car.
lift - elevator
flat - not a tire condition
quim - not suitable for explaining here and usually not available for a quid.
|
|
Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
|
|
|
Feb 13, 2008 - 07:33pm PT
|
as useless as tits on a bull
fallin' ass over teacup
don't know sh#t from shinola
don't know his ass from a hole in the ground
My grandma was always threatening to put a tin ear on me when I was misbehaving.
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!