| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #4914 is a reply to message #4875 ] |
Wed, 12 November 2008 23:34   |
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 Kathy_S
Messages: 313
Registered: October 2008
Location: Indiana |
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| Blogmom wrote on Wed, 12 November 2008 19:37 |
| Kathy_S wrote on Sun, 09 November 2008 01:14 |
This is such an interesting thread!
My own language is a bit mongrelized, between a mother from Virginia, a father from the "y'uns" part of Pennsylvania (short for "you ones" via "you'uns"), and enough time to pick up language in several states.
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Is this a part of Pennsylvania where people haspirate their haitches or not? I always thought that I had the generic American English accent until a linguist friend of mine pointed out that I didn't aspirate the aitch in who, what, when, where and this was a legacy of my father's West Pennsylvania upbringing.
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I'm trying now to reproduce sounds in my mind and am not entirely sure about the hwhat hwhere. I know I've heard it, but am having a hard time pinning down where. Or hwhere. Who is always hoo though.
| Blogmom wrote on Wed, 12 November 2008 19:37 |
Do you have the construction, "the thing is is that" embedded in your speech?
-- Karen (wot?)
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Only with one is
| Susan from Athens wrote |
One that always gets me is how many Americans pronounce nuclear as nucular. If it was supposed to be pronounced that way, why wouldn't they spell it that way? And that goes especially for the man with his finger on the button of all that nucular weaponry.
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Before today, I would have said I'd heard "nuke'-yə-ler" almost entirely from politicians trying to cultivate a folksy image. However, today a Ph.D. biologist giving a seminar used that pronunciation for "nuclear" as in cellular nuclei. Should I send my students to his graduate program?
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #4929 is a reply to message #4858 ] |
Thu, 13 November 2008 01:11 |
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Shalea, that's how we use it, too. You find something on the internet and then you order it off the internet.
Maybe it's akin to finding a book on the shelf and then taking it off the shelf?
300 was not nearly as bad as I was dreading. I actually really liked it(apart from the nekkid scenes near the beginning and the credits with their animated gore). There were some time when I had to look away, but not too often. I did have to keep pausing it, though, because I'd get so caught up in the action and forget to take notes...
"The center of every man's existence is a dream. Death, disease, insanity, are merely material accidents, like a toothache or a twisted ankle. That these brutal forces always besiege and often capture the citadel does not prove that they are the citadel."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #4943 is a reply to message #4873 ] |
Thu, 13 November 2008 07:40 |
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L.R.K.
Messages: 1080
Registered: October 2008
Location: Sweden |
Senior Member |
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| Blogmom wrote on Thu, 13 November 2008 01:30 |
| L.R.K. wrote on Sat, 08 November 2008 16:10 |
In Pakistan/India "mother" is a term of utmost respect (a mother is sacred) - and my father, when he first came to Sweden (he came in '66 when he was 21), called a Swedish elderly woman "mother" and she was very offended: "I'm not your mother!" Culture clash...
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So what is 'auntie'? I suspected it was less than complimentary since it was used by children following us as we were struggling up the steep hill from the bus station in Simla on our way to the YWCA (the old Viceregal Lodge) up on the ridge back in the 70s.
'Memsahib' was a bit disconcerting at first. But a childhood reading Kipling prepared me well.
-- Karen (Who feels a spell of ending sentences with "isn't it" and shaking her head yes coming on. Being a reflexive mimic is truly a burden.)
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Well, actually "auntie" is generally polite - and familiar. Perhaps they were trying to seem friendly - were they begging/offering to carry your bags? As a child I always called my father's friends "uncle" and their wives "auntie". (It is a matter of if people are younger or older than you - and if older how much older? If they are only a few years older they are titulated as one would one's older sister or brother; this is much easier when one is a child! [One does not address a person older than oneself by their first name only - that is exceedingly rude!] "Uncle" and "auntie" are used more for acquaintance than relations - because then there are many different names depending on what type of aunt or uncle it is - but I won't digress into that!)
"Memsahib" is of course class-related, and I've no experience of it since I've spent most time in Pakistan with my relations. "Sahib" on the other hand can be used in a similar way, but also between equals as "sir" or "mr". Naturally "memsahib" can also be used in jest/ironically as for instance "Are you going to honour us with your presence soon, memsahib, we're waiting!"
I don't know if I've managed to answer your question properly, or only babbled on - but perhaps there's something useful in the midst of it! 
Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean, like butter that has been scraped over too much bread.
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #4949 is a reply to message #4943 ] |
Thu, 13 November 2008 10:51 |
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I have been accidentally called "auntie" by an Indian guy before - to be fair to him, I don't think he quite saw me when he said it. I was playing Rummikub with a group of older Indian women and a guy my age walked into the room and remarked about the aunties playing their game. He turned so red when I turned around to look at him and realized who it was.
"The center of every man's existence is a dream. Death, disease, insanity, are merely material accidents, like a toothache or a twisted ankle. That these brutal forces always besiege and often capture the citadel does not prove that they are the citadel."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #4974 is a reply to message #3367 ] |
Thu, 13 November 2008 16:26 |
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If I'm not thinking about what I'm saying, I have a tendency to slip into pronouncing it "nucular". I don't really know why. When I'm paying attention to what I'm saying I know that it should be "nuclear"...
"The center of every man's existence is a dream. Death, disease, insanity, are merely material accidents, like a toothache or a twisted ankle. That these brutal forces always besiege and often capture the citadel does not prove that they are the citadel."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5009 is a reply to message #5008 ] |
Thu, 13 November 2008 22:13 |
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| Quote: |
"If I would have such and such I would have something or other" instead of "had" and "would have."
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When I translate this into Texan, I get "If I'da just <insert action here> I might coulda <insert other action here>."
"The center of every man's existence is a dream. Death, disease, insanity, are merely material accidents, like a toothache or a twisted ankle. That these brutal forces always besiege and often capture the citadel does not prove that they are the citadel."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5012 is a reply to message #5010 ] |
Thu, 13 November 2008 22:27 |
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Well, it's not too far off your Maryland version, it's just contracted in some places and expanded in others. If you pull the contractions out into words again you get "If I had just <insert>, I might could have <insert>".*
*It could also be considered as "If I would have just...etc"
"The center of every man's existence is a dream. Death, disease, insanity, are merely material accidents, like a toothache or a twisted ankle. That these brutal forces always besiege and often capture the citadel does not prove that they are the citadel."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5090 is a reply to message #3367 ] |
Fri, 14 November 2008 15:28 |
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Don't you be dissing "might could" now...
;-}
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5325 is a reply to message #4897 ] |
Mon, 17 November 2008 13:35 |
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I'm sorry to come so late to the discussion, it's really interesting. It's unfortunate there aren't any Newfoundlanders on this conversation - they have the absolute best expressions.
| skating librarian wrote on Wed, 12 November 2008 22:14 |
Of course New England is rich in localisms of all sorts.
One of my mother's favorites was "It's going to clear, there's a patch of blue (sky) big enough to mend a Dutchman's britches."
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My grandmother's version is if the sky is big enough to make a pair of sailor's trousers. I think she learned it from her mother. They are both from Nova Scotia (as am I) but my great-grandmother was one of the thousands of Nova Scotia women who travelled to the "Boston States" from the 1870s-1930s to nurse, so she may have developed her variation from that. Of course, the Maritimes and the Boston States had a shared cultural and economic history up until WW2, so it could be common to both areas.
Canadians call it "pop" pretty much across the country, I don't know about any exceptions. My Scottish friend thinks it sounds ridiculous, but she calls them "fizzy drinks" and all lemonade is carbonated, so I think we're even. 
I wonder how many people are familiar with the phrase "sooky-baby" and its variations? I don't think it is restricted to Canada's East Coast, but I know pronunciation is different depending on where you are. In Ontario, for instance, they say you are being a "suck" or a "sucky-baby" instead of "sook".
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5337 is a reply to message #5325 ] |
Mon, 17 November 2008 15:45 |
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| scosborne wrote on Tue, 18 November 2008 07:35 |
*snip*
I wonder how many people are familiar with the phrase "sooky-baby" and its variations? I don't think it is restricted to Canada's East Coast, but I know pronunciation is different depending on where you are. In Ontario, for instance, they say you are being a "suck" or a "sucky-baby" instead of "sook".
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Not a term I have used or heard in many many years, but yes, 'being a sook ' is a term I have heard used here in NZ
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5349 is a reply to message #3367 ] |
Mon, 17 November 2008 18:48 |
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My son is being a sooky baby right now. I think. Depends on what it really means.
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5412 is a reply to message #5349 ] |
Tue, 18 November 2008 11:19 |
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Yes, you have the meaning. A sook is a whiner, complainer, and also sort of wimpy. But the term is not strong enough to be an insult - more of a chiding, a reminder to someone they are being unreasonable.
"It's nothing to cry about, don't be such a sook." "She complains about everything, she's such a sooky-baby."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5463 is a reply to message #3367 ] |
Tue, 18 November 2008 20:25 |
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Thanks!
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5471 is a reply to message #3367 ] |
Tue, 18 November 2008 20:40 |
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Here they say just "sixes." "It's sixes, you know? Now sure what to do."
Always thought that was a bit minimalist.
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5489 is a reply to message #5468 ] |
Tue, 18 November 2008 22:46 |
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| Susan from Athens wrote on Wed, 19 November 2008 14:37 |
*snip*.
I know others say "it's six of one and half a dozen of the other".
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Im one of these people, I have never heard the other options. This is such an interesting thread!
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5507 is a reply to message #5468 ] |
Wed, 19 November 2008 01:24 |
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We've always said "six of one, half a dozen of the other", though is can occasionally be shortened to "six of one...". Plate of shrimply, I saw a book on the library shelf this afternoon titled "VI Of One, 1/2 Dozen Of The Other" and thought it was interesting that they used the symbols rather than the words for the numbers...
"The center of every man's existence is a dream. Death, disease, insanity, are merely material accidents, like a toothache or a twisted ankle. That these brutal forces always besiege and often capture the citadel does not prove that they are the citadel."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5571 is a reply to message #3367 ] |
Wed, 19 November 2008 16:57 |
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Six and two threes is kind of cool, I think.
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5579 is a reply to message #5468 ] |
Wed, 19 November 2008 17:31 |
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I am so thick! I have been teaching myself to crochet this last two weeks, and have been trying to puzzle out the meaning of the "six and two threes" phrase. I just realized it has nothing to do with how knitting directions might be the same as crochet directions. Lol. Thanks for this! Now I am going to try and use it.
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5638 is a reply to message #5507 ] |
Thu, 20 November 2008 12:44 |
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| Reading Angel wrote on Wed, 19 November 2008 06:24 |
<snip> Plate of shrimply ...
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Hee hee!
Someone says "pie" and we all go on alert, like meercats. "Pie? Where?" - Blackbear
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5644 is a reply to message #5638 ] |
Thu, 20 November 2008 13:46 |
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I hadn't even thought of that as an odd phrase, Southdowner. I use it so much... Should I try and define it? I think Shelley should know what it means, since I first encountered it on Readerville.
"The center of every man's existence is a dream. Death, disease, insanity, are merely material accidents, like a toothache or a twisted ankle. That these brutal forces always besiege and often capture the citadel does not prove that they are the citadel."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5672 is a reply to message #3367 ] |
Thu, 20 November 2008 18:13 |
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Plate o' shrimp is easy to understand but difficult to explain. Which makes no sense. (I was always secretly afraid I was using it wrong at RV--but wait! I can trace down Oblivia, and ask her, for she uses this phrase a LOT.)
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5677 is a reply to message #3367 ] |
Thu, 20 November 2008 18:52 |
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"Plate of Shrimp!" basically means "What a crazy coincidence!" - the explanation that I have heard and used is that when something comes to your attention suddenly you notice it everywhere, just a series of coincidences connected to a word or phrase or thing. For example, you go out to lunch and the restaurant has a sign saying the special is "Plate of Shrimp" and then on the radio you hear people talking about Shrimp and on the news there is a story about Shrimp, and then in the book you are reading the characters have a plate of shrimp for dinner. So, as I used it there it meant more "Coincidentally, ..." but with a stronger sense of having just encountered that thing...
I'm not entirely sure that explanation actually cleared it up...
[Updated on: Thu, 20 November 2008 18:54]
"The center of every man's existence is a dream. Death, disease, insanity, are merely material accidents, like a toothache or a twisted ankle. That these brutal forces always besiege and often capture the citadel does not prove that they are the citadel."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5678 is a reply to message #3367 ] |
Thu, 20 November 2008 18:56 |
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What Angel said above. And also, I found out that this saying dates back to 1984 and the film "Repo Man." Here's a quote from the movie:
"Suppose you're thinking about a plate of shrimp. Suddenly somebody will say like 'plate' or 'shrimp' or 'plate of shrimp', out of the blue, no explanation. No point in looking for one either; it's all part of the cosmic unconsciousness."
Still waiting on what O will say, though.
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
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| Re: Local Phrases and Sayings [message #5681 is a reply to message #5678 ] |
Thu, 20 November 2008 19:02 |
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I found a Wikipedia article here which explains about Synchronicity and refers to the Plate o' Shrimp theory in Repo Man as an explanation of it.
"The center of every man's existence is a dream. Death, disease, insanity, are merely material accidents, like a toothache or a twisted ankle. That these brutal forces always besiege and often capture the citadel does not prove that they are the citadel."
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