erialc 2 Posted February 3, 2006 Share Posted February 3, 2006 I'm half Irish half Yorkshire lol (the north of England), and growing up I heard some really odd expressions, most that made absolutely no sense either!...and I often find myself saying them now (eek isn't that a sign of getting old?) Anyway, here a few, I'll put where I think they originated Ireland or Yorkshire/UK I'll put my foot down with a firm hand (Ireland) meaning I'll make my point strongly! Off to see a man about a dog (both Ireland & UK) meaning I'm going out and mind your own business as to with whom and where That'll learn ya (Ireland) Obvious really He's got long white hair and black curly teeth (Ireland) a bit like the man about a dog reference, lol often hear that from my Dad when asking him to describe someone. Thas got more rattle than a can o mabs (Yorkshire) Thas is you, rattle to make a lot of noise, can of mabs is a can of marbles, so, you talk too much! I heard that ALL the time hahaha Awww unfortunately the clock is now against me but I'll add some more later I'd love to hear some more from everyone else Link to comment
Llama8 8 Posted February 3, 2006 Share Posted February 3, 2006 Mine are likely to be the same as yours Claire, but less northern (and therefore less odd... ). Link to comment
Schot 407 Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Well heres an expression that I really never understood yet used so many times. Its fairly common in Canada and US. Atchou! "gesundheit" Pronounced: Guh-zoon-tite Gesundheit is the German word for health. When a person sneezes, Germans typically say Gesundheit! to wish them good health. This expression has found its way into the English language via Ashkenazi Jews who were immigrating in large masses to the United States during the early twentieth century. It is sometimes used instead of the more common "bless you". Also, in Germany it is a common phrase used before giving a toast. Gesundheit is also used in Australia. It was imported to South Australia through the Evangelical Lutheran refugees who fled the established Lutheran church in the east of Germany. These Silesian immigrants spoke their own language until the two World Wars caused a dramatic decline in the use of German in Australia. Gesundheit was used until recent times by the majority English speaking population. Its usage seems now to have declined. There are different theories regarding the origin of this phrase. One idea is that the expression stems from the Middle Ages when the Bubonic Plague was threatening European health. In this case the person saying gesundheit was actually wishing good health upon themselves, since they may have been infected by the one who sneezed. During this time it was also commonly believed that sneezing made one's body vulnerable to evil spirits. Thus another plausible explanation is that gesundheit was a blessing to ward off demons while the sneezer's body was defenseless. Superstitions date back as early as Ancient Greece (ref. Herodotus, History 440 BCE). The soul was thought to leave the body through the nose upon death, so a powerful sneeze was thus considered an ominous event. Thanx to this thread, now I know... Its a magical word that battles evol spirits! :yikes: Hehe, GESUNDHEIT! Link to comment
toret 0 Posted February 10, 2006 Share Posted February 10, 2006 Atchou! "gesundheit" Here in Norway we say "Prosit" when someone sneezes. I have no idea what it means though. Not a Norwegian word I think. lol I love this smilie: Link to comment
PureAcid 0 Posted February 17, 2006 Share Posted February 17, 2006 hehe we say "prosit" in sweden too..in germany that is similiar to "Cheers or "A toast to" or some, dunno why we have this word ... for sure I don't want to share my sneezigns .. Link to comment
erialc 2 Posted February 23, 2006 Author Share Posted February 23, 2006 Ahh gesundheit is also said here to. I guess the most common expression for sneezing is 'Atishoo' which is thought to originate from the plague years in Britain and the old rhyme 'Ring around the roses' Which I am trying my hardest to remember without googling lol..it goes something like this Ring around the roses atishoo atishoo we all fall down... Sneezing being a symptom of the Bubonic Plague at that time and well we all fall down...being dead! ahh now I am going to have to find the whole rhyme...I taught it to my kids and I was taught it before but amnesia has creapt in and I can't remember it in it's entirity...google here I come! Ring around the rosy A pocketful of posies "Ashes, Ashes" We all fall down! Ring-a-Ring o'Rosies A Pocket full of Posies "A-tishoo! A-tishoo!" We all fall Down! ahh so easy how could I have forgotten it! The posies part of the rhyme describes the infunsion of herbs which was wrapped in muslim cloth and carried in the pocket as it was belived to ward off the Buibonic Plague...ofc it didn't! ...The plague was finally quelled in London by 'The Great Fire of London' which was started in a bakers in Pudding Lane! (1666)) Actually talking of the bubonic plague there is a village very near to me called Eyam where the bubonic plague took a very great toll upon the small village community. I read a book not so long ago called 'Years of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks' a fictional piece of writing based upon facts but it was a very moving story of those days and what it would have been like to have lived through those harrowing times. As you drive out of the centre of the village Eyam there are a row of cottages called 'The Plague Cottages' these are some of the original homes of the first plague victims. The plague was apparently brought to the village by a travelling tailor from London. I understand there are at least 2 families who still live in Eyam that are on the same farms and that can trace their direct family line back to the Plague years. Their family names can be found on the death rolls of that time. It's a small world Atishoo! Link to comment
Arianna 1 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 Contradictory to popular belief, us Aussies do NOT say, "Throw another shrimp on the barbie" or "Flaming Galahs!" or "strewth!" or "bloody oath!", in fact most of us don't even say, "G'day Mate" - these things are only said to take the mickey out of foreigners who think we actually say said things We do however say, "Bloody Hell" and "Bugger" alot. And some of us use the terms "bloke" and "sheila", but I don't... The only sayings I can remember from childhood may be universal *looks suspiciously at Mars* Things like... "Better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick", "What am I? A ball of fog?" (when someone ignores you), "I'll give you a black pipe beating" (Dad always used to threaten us with that - lol), "I see, said the deaf man to his blind son over the phone", "Just west of East Wudgymultha (sp?)" (referring to somewhere far away) and, "I'll beat you to a bloody pulp!" (another of Dad's threats hehe)... Oooh and another thing dad said was "Drill for oil!" (how am I going to explain this so it doesn't sound wrong? lol - as he was saying this he would dig a knuckle into a ticklish spot on our backs...) I know my dad sounds like a child abuser, but he wasn't really... though he did give me stitches on my best friend's front lawn without an anasthetic and he used a sheep ring to desex our dog I'm sure there are heaps more, maybe Aur, Ince, Coops, Velo, Bef or Lex can think of some... Link to comment
Lexian 0 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 There are some of dads that youve forgotten 'Goin off like a frog in a sock' 'Smarter than a two bob watch' 'Bobs your uncle' Link to comment
Arianna 1 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 The "smarter" part can be changed for anything... "As cheap as..." etc. Oooh and I remember some more... "As ugly as a robber's dog" "Fanny's your aunt" "Crazy as a cut snake"... which somehow morphed into "Crazy as a cut coconut" :rotfl[1]: I wonder if these sayings originated in Scotland, I could imagine Granddag saying them (yes we called our Grandfather, "Granddag" - lol) Link to comment
Master of the Nuts 0 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 take the mickey out of foreigners I think I understand what this means but do explain. Link to comment
Arianna 1 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 LOL okay... When a "foreigner" finds out I am Aussie, I often get barraged with "quaint", apparently Aussie sayings, so I play along and pretend that we do say stuff like that... When I was at summer camp in Canada, when I was 11, everyone kept asking me to say stuff... it was annoying but I liked that I was famous at Camp Big Canoe :rotfl[1]: so I guess, "Taking the mickey", means "making a fool of" (but in a nice way)... You wouldn't believe some of the things I have been asked... Someone asked me if I had ever "seen an Aborigine"!! You also wouldn't believe some of the stories we told backpackers when I was staying in Youth Hostels in Sydney and Melbourne LOL I think sarcasm is the mainstay of Aussie humour.... we are a smarmy bunch of convicts :wink_smile[1]: Link to comment
Aurora 2 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 Awwww you took me back Ari Whether that is a good or a bad thing I am yet to decide I cant think of any others at the moment but isnt "I see, said the deaf man to his blind son over the phone", Meant to be "I see, said the blind man to his deaf son over the phone" :rotfl[1]: OMG I am so confused Link to comment
Master of the Nuts 0 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 You mean to tell me that all of you australians do not sound exactly like Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter? Here are a few good quotes from him. Crikey, mate. You're far safer dealing with crocodiles and western diamondback rattlesnakes than the executives and the producers and all those sharks in the big MGM building. I have no fear of losing my life - if I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it. Sharks, I've been self-trained as well, and crocodiles, naturally. I've been catching them since I was nine. No problem. haha, just giving you guys a hard time. Link to comment
Aurora 2 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 :rotfl[1]: Yeah of course, I talk like that every day...... Catching crocs is a daily occurence for me mate :wink_smile[1]: Link to comment
Llama8 8 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 Ari, please could you pronounce cut properly, I keep on thinking that you're saying something slightly different. With a single letter added.... Anyway... "Cuppa char guv'nah?" "More tea Vicar?" And threatening to beat someone to a bloody pulp is a reference to, erm, beating them into a pulp, but with lots of (their) blood, nothing odd about that. Unless you don't know what pulp is. Link to comment
Lexian 0 Posted May 5, 2006 Share Posted May 5, 2006 Some Aussie Sayings... Some I use... Some I use and would never admit to using... And some are reserved for the poor poor people stuck with the drawling-I-cant-open-my-mouth-when-I-speak-in-case-a-fly-gets-in Australian accent. she'll be Apples ....every thing will be all right to bag someone...to criticise someone, usually behind their back she is his better half... spouse crazy as a cut snake... or cut one - self explanitory as noisy as a Dunny door in a storm......very noisy Happy as a pig in FECAL MATTER!....very happy a few Kangaroos loose in the top paddock......mentally deficient (haha. thats just funny) May your chooks turn into emus and kick your dunny down Flat out like a lizard drinking Spittin' chips Chucking a wobbly Mad as a cut snake Cranky as a shearers cook He's a six pack but he lacks the wrapping (for people who aren't too smart) When the Sahara freezes over and the camels come home with skates on (in other words NEVER!) The room's not big enough to swing a cat Nutty as a fruitcake or crazy as a wheel Laughing like a fat spider up a Christmas tree (when something good happens to you) He couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag So hungry I could eat the crutch out of a low flying duck - my personal favourite Queer as a three pound note (for anything suspect) It's about as useful as a waterproof teabag Wouldn't it rip the fork out of your nightie (when something shocking or unbelievable happens) It fits like a stocking on a chook's lip (means it fits very nicely) Dry as the sole of an Arab's sandshoe Full as a goog A real mess is a 'dog's breakfast' When someone is very thirsty they are 'dry as a pom's towel' Chip off the old block How much can a koala bear Got a face like a twisted mallee root About as much use as a hip pocket in a singlet Behind like a cow's tail A sausage short of a BBQ Mutton done up as lamb Useful as an inflatable dartboard Cold enough to free the walls off a bark humpy The wind is so strong it'll blow a dog off the chain Now is that AUSSIE enough for ya... that was almost too cringeworthy a post to write. :rotfl[1]: Link to comment
erialc 2 Posted May 13, 2006 Author Share Posted May 13, 2006 OMG Lexi they are excellent sayings! /rofl Keep em coming. I like this one for today: 'You'll be going for a long walk off a short plank' 'Thick as 2 short planks' 'Shut thee gob' lol to ask someone to be quiet...Gob being mouth (yorkshire expression) and this is great....'Geeore nah'...pronounced 'gee orr naaah' anyway it's Yorskire for Give over now 'He 'ad a face like a bag o hammers' aww thats not so nice but I can't help chuckling and it's pretty self explanitory /rofl Link to comment
Lexian 0 Posted May 13, 2006 Share Posted May 13, 2006 ahahha I like that one claire... its like the ozzie Caaaarrrrrnnnnn (come on) Link to comment
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