h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Michael, thought I'd continue the conversation from Gosho's page here.

I guess sayings like 'not the brightest spark in the pack' and 'the wheel's going round, but the hamster's missing' are quirky British ways of saying some is/or acting as if, they are of low intelligence.

There was a thread ages ago, is Askh2g2 I think, that asked what saying people used for this, some of them were quite amusing.

Emmily

Emmily...

I was joking. I was only joking.

When I first used it "poke fun" it was because I thought it was just a funny mixed metaphor. (That's why I said 'any metaphor is a breath of sunshine' which actually is a horribly mixed metaphor.)

There are plenty of America versions, as well... (after all, America, it seems has far far more than its share of folks who are 'a few ships short of a fleet.'

Off the top of my head (so to speak):
> ...not the sharpest knife in the drawer
> ...a few clowns short of a circus
> ...a few peas short of a potpie
> ...not the sharpest pencil in the box
> ...not the brightest light in the harbour

and my personal favorite...

'He couldn't pour [water] out of a boot if the instructions were printed on the heel.'



Nice to see you here!!!

Keep in touch
m

>"I was joking. I was only joking. "

Hmmmm are you sure about that? We on this side of the pond are always being told, yous on that side of the pond don't have a sense of humour, and can't understand our humour.

I seem to recall you took one of our best comedies, 'Men Behaving Badly' and re-made it American style, and sort of lost the humour along the way.

Emmily

...and some more...

That, dear Emmily, is one of the (many) reasons I've chosen to live on _your_ side of the pond, as it were!

(I live in Krakow, Poland.)



m

an American with a sense of humour and taste

Well, 'I'll go to the foot of my stairs'.

Ever heard of that saying Michael?

I think my next Guide Entry will be about English sayings, and their origins, if I can find enough interesting ones.

Is it ok if I put you on my frinds list, so I don't have to search back pages on my space to find this thread.?

Emmily

I don't know the "foot of the stairs" expression, but I have a feeling I'm really going to appreciate it.

I for one would love to see an entry about English expressions. If you choose to take on the task, let me know; perhaps I'll try to write a parallel "American expressions" bit. (My Polish is still far too far from anything resembling fluent to even attept a "Polish expressions" piece!)

As for your friends list, I'd be honored! May I do likewise?

Oh no. I have a feeling I really meant 'honoured'. . .

And I'm trying SO hard...


m

"Well, 'I'll go to the foot of my stairs'" is an old Yorkshire saying indicating shock or surprise.

(I think I got that a little wrong, it's 'Well, 'I'll go to the foot of our stairs')


It's just after 1.30am, I'll add you for FL, your welcome to add me, then I'm off to bed, where hopefully I will 'sleep tight'.

Emmily

My grandmother would have said: 'Sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite.'

Sweet dreams, Emmily!

m

I think 'Sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite.' might be a mixture of two sayings put together.

I gave a lot of thought to 'English Sayings and their origins' Entry, and decided there were too many obstacles and complications.

A lot of the so-called English saying, were also/more American, so I couldn't use 'English' in the title.

If I used 'Popular Sayings etc' I'd have to use the popular sayings from all over the world, it would be an endless Entry.

Then I thought I could limit it, but doing 'A-Z of Popular Sayings etc', with just one 'saying etc' for each letter, but there wasn't one for every letter of the alphabet.

So, I'll have to put my 'thinking cap' on, and think of something else.

Emmily

>> 'but there wasn't one for every letter of the alphabet'

Maybe we could join forces and just make up 'popular' old sayings from A to Z just to see if anyone notices.



Yes, yes... I'm only kidding. (Though it would be great fun anyway!)

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

m