I had never heard that either, about spade.
Huh. I thought it was something most people knew.
It's in the lyrics to a song from Hair.
eta: I think.
Now, I can hold a note for a long time...actually I can hold a note forever. But eventually that's just noise. It's the change we're listening for. The note coming after, and the one after that. That's what makes it music.
Host ,'Why We Fight'
Natter 70: Hookers and Blow
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
tommyrot - May 25, 2012 7:09:59 am PDT #6654 of 30001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
Ginger - May 25, 2012 7:10:38 am PDT #6655 of 30001
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda
Spade from "black as the ace of spades" is racist.
"Call a spade a spade" is way older than playing cards. The first use is a Greek play.
Then there's Oscar Wilde in "The Importance of Being Earnest:"
Cecily: When I see a spade I call it a spade.
Gwendolen: I am glad to say I have never seen a spade. It is obvious that our social spheres have been widely different.
amych - May 25, 2012 7:11:47 am PDT #6656 of 30001
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?
I knew about "spade", but I've only encountered in 19th-century texts. Unlike some other nasties, which you would think would be dead and then keep coming back.
INTERNET PLEASE DON'T PROVE ME WRONG ON THIS
Connie Neil - May 25, 2012 7:13:06 am PDT #6657 of 30001
brillig
the phrase "NASA has given the go to connect with the Dragon capsule" sounds like the blurb on the back of an SF book.
I knew about the racial angle to spade, but the most frequent use I've heard is re: cards and shovels.
DavidS - May 25, 2012 7:13:13 am PDT #6658 of 30001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
And some of us don't have friends with weird sex things in their past.
Don't you consider me a friend, tommy?
tommyrot - May 25, 2012 7:15:00 am PDT #6659 of 30001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
Don't you consider me a friend, tommy?
I have obviously failed to ask you about your weird sex past.
How do you feel about doorknobs?
smonster - May 25, 2012 7:16:48 am PDT #6660 of 30001
We won’t stop until everyone is gay.
I was also unaware of the racist spade connotation. Huh.
tommyrot - May 25, 2012 7:17:22 am PDT #6661 of 30001
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.
Oh wait--I also had two friends, both male, who had sex with their brothers.
How did I forget this stuff?
DavidS - May 25, 2012 7:17:52 am PDT #6662 of 30001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
I have obviously failed to ask you about your weird sex past.
Because I've already volunteered all that information!
How do you feel about doorknobs?
I don't want to fuck a doorknob. Cross that off the list.
DavidS - May 25, 2012 7:18:12 am PDT #6663 of 30001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
How did I forget this stuff?
Freud calls it "repression."