You're welcome, Connie. I'm fairly sure it's a "you have the attributes of something feminine" insult-- probably "you're like a girl's blouse" (frilly and lightweight?) comes first. Though your rendering does make grammatical sense.
Y'all see the man hanging out of the spaceship with the really big gun? Now I'm not saying you weren't easy to find. It was kinda out of our way, and he didn't want to come in the first place. Man's lookin' to kill some folk. So really it's his will y'all should worry about thwarting.
Mal ,'Safe'
All Ogle, No Cash -- It's Not Just Annoying, It's Un-American
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Am-Chau Yarkona - Feb 02, 2007 11:30:18 am PST #8386 of 9843
I bop to Wittgenstein. -- Nutty
DavidS - Feb 02, 2007 12:10:42 pm PST #8387 of 9843
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
"big girl's blouse"
It's not a rhyming slang thang?
Am-Chau Yarkona - Feb 02, 2007 12:57:49 pm PST #8388 of 9843
I bop to Wittgenstein. -- Nutty
I'm fairly sure it's not rhyming slang. For one thing, while it might be used anywhere in England now, I think it's a Northerner's phrase originally, rather than Cockney. For another, I've a fair bit of rhyming slang (my great-grandfather is reputed to have spoken it natively and the family is fond of dropping it into conversation) and I've never met it in that context.
ETA: and the use of 'big' at the start of the phrase would be atypical.
Volans - Feb 03, 2007 2:05:22 am PST #8389 of 9843
move out and draw fire
OK, so explain "go all pear-shaped" ??
Also, a co-worker just reminded me of the Brit slang "poofter" and I'm wondering if it's from the Greek "pufti" (homosexual, derogatory) or if the etymology is the other way round.
Theodosia - Feb 03, 2007 3:00:33 am PST #8390 of 9843
'we all walk this earth feeling we are frauds. The trick is to be grateful and hope the caper doesn't end any time soon"
On the basis of nothin', I'm thinking that it's the other way round. I can remember Monty Python using "poofter" in the late 60s, so the usage could have spread that way.
Am-Chau Yarkona - Feb 03, 2007 3:36:34 am PST #8391 of 9843
I bop to Wittgenstein. -- Nutty
'Go all pear-shaped' is a mystery to me, Raq. I've heard a couple of explanations so unconvicing that I've forgotten them, and that's all. I guess it's a case where folk entomology goes all pear-shaped.
esse - Feb 03, 2007 3:44:20 am PST #8392 of 9843
S to the A -- using they/them pronouns!
Amchau, how's it going? Are you enjoying school? I can't recall, are you at Nottingham, or am I misremembering?
dcp - Feb 03, 2007 9:41:49 am PST #8393 of 9843
The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know.
ISTR that "go all pear-shaped" came from tedious penmanship lessons, when eventual fatique and boredom made the practice "O"s turn out pear-shaped instead of circular.
Karl - Feb 03, 2007 11:02:34 am PST #8394 of 9843
I adore all you motherfuckers so much -- PMM.
folk entomology
I'm now picturing ancient tales of the ant and the grasshopper being told around campfires from generation to generation.
Am-Chau Yarkona - Feb 03, 2007 11:26:06 am PST #8395 of 9843
I bop to Wittgenstein. -- Nutty
how's it going? Are you enjoying school? I can't recall, are you at Nottingham, or am I misremembering?
Life is treating me quite well, really. I am enjoying almost all aspects of university life-- I am indeed at Nottingham. We must find a way to see each other while we're so comparatively close.
I'm now picturing ancient tales of the ant and the grasshopper being told around campfires from generation to generation.
Fine, mock my errors if you must. On this occassion, I will not go back and edit to make you look crazy because your post does that on its own. /teasing
... and then the grasshopper plunged his spear straight into the dragon's breast, and the fair ant maiden cried tears of joy...