No-one knows for certain, but that wonderful word balderdash for “rubbish; nonsense; senseless words” may derive from the Welsh word baldorddu; certainly flummery, originally a sort of sweet food made with eggs, flour and milk but now usually having the meaning “nonsense; humbug; idle flattery”, comes from the Welsh llymru.
Nick
[This message has been edited by fierofetish (edited 10-12-2006).]
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07:05 PM
civicduty13 Member
Posts: 342 From: Sioux Falls, South Dakota USA Registered: Jul 2004
my personal lexicon is peppered with a sprinkling of words and phrases from the edwardian era thru the 70's i use 'give 'em a sound thrashing' a lot, along with 'masher', 'cad', and 'fisticuffs'
'the cat's pajamas','groovy' 'kooky' and 'swell'
'prestadigitation'
'a hip, swingin' tasty bag'
'my tender constitution'
and anything i picked up from Alan Moore.
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08:21 PM
NEPTUNE Member
Posts: 10199 From: Ticlaw FL, and some other places. Registered: Aug 2001
my personal lexicon is peppered with a sprinkling of words and phrases from the edwardian era thru the 70's i use 'give 'em a sound thrashing' a lot, along with 'masher', 'cad', and 'fisticuffs'
'the cat's pajamas','groovy' 'kooky' and 'swell'
'prestadigitation'
'a hip, swingin' tasty bag'
'my tender constitution'
and anything i picked up from Alan Moore.
^ ^
[This message has been edited by NEPTUNE (edited 10-12-2006).]
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08:49 PM
Patrick's Dad Member
Posts: 5154 From: Weymouth MA USA Registered: Feb 2000
In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb" --------------------------------------- Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down." It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.
[This message has been edited by texasfiero (edited 10-13-2006).]
I'm still trying to find the origin of Bum F...... Egypt. I think it's British from the 19th century but I don't know for sure.
It actually exists, and it's spelled Bumfuk, but pronounced somewhat differently than the offensive slang usually associated with it. Wikipedia says "usually abbreviated BFE, refers to somewhere undesirable you have to travel to (usually on foot) that is far away (e.g. Man, you parked way the hell out in BFE) or the many extremely remote and inhospitable military outposts where U.S service men or women are assigned to serve, especially any Middle East tour of duty."
A lot of things like that come from the Army, etc. so I bet it was from some campaign within the last 100-150 years. It would certainly have to be after the appearance of the slang which sounds similar to the town's name...
I don't use the reeeeal old slang like middle-ages, but lately I've used a few retro slang words lately, like "the bee's knees". I've also been known to use the geek-chic "ye gods", or sometimes just egad which was derived from ye gods. "The cat's pajamas"..? I think I'll borrow that one too.
[This message has been edited by FieroGT42 (edited 10-13-2006).]
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01:11 AM
PFF
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fogglethorpe Member
Posts: 4828 From: Valley of the Sun Registered: Jul 2001
'I realy cleaned his plow.' 'He got his clock cleaned.' 'I laid him up side of his head.' ' Hey Sanca.' The last one I understand the background, 'Sanca' used to advertise that 'All active ingredients have been removed from the bean'.
------------------ Ol' Paint, 88 Base coupe auto. Turning white on top, like owner. Leaks a little, like owner. Doesn't smoke, unlike owner
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02:10 AM
fogglethorpe Member
Posts: 4828 From: Valley of the Sun Registered: Jul 2001
Awww! Bloody hell! I sometimes say things like "getting my ashes hauled" and "I'm your huckleberry." Does that float your boat? Not to mention a few other terms like "piddley squat."
^
