Sayings or statements that don't make sense (1 Viewer)

[Greg_R]

Seems straightforward to me... you aren't stupid unless you perform stupid actions.

 

[Citizen87645]

This doesn't shed a light on "why" but the Chinese civilization/culture has over a couple thousand years head start and proverbs continue to be thrown around quite a bit. I don't know if particular sayings can be traced to a particular philosopher or figure and it may be that no one really cares by this point. It's just a part of the culture, a part of the way people converse. Granted, I only know the ones my mom has shared. Of course most lose a bit in the translation and ultimately sound much more eloquent in the original language.

The one that is similar to "Don't cry over spilled milk." comes out as "Dead horse? Start walking."

 

[MarkHastings]

Kind of like "There aren't any bad people, just good people who do bad things"


Ok, I've posted this one in a few other threads, but in case you missed it:

The term "quit Joshing me" refers to a man named Josh who tried to trick store owners into thinking his 5 cents coins were $5 coins...

Years ago, there was a silver 5 cent piece and a gold 5 dollar piece that looked exactly the same, the only difference was the metal they were made of. This guy Josh (I forget his last name) found that he could sprinkle a cheap amount of gold dust on the 5 cent pieces and pass tham off as 5 dollar pieces.

So the term "quit joshing me" refers to someone who tries to trick you and you discover what he's up to.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Absolutely. When studying Chinese in school, we were required to study these proverbs, most of which are exactly 4 words/characters long. They are usually a very elegant and concise way of conveying a particular situation or circumstance. In the same way, many English sayings do too, although not within the same "structure" of the Chinese 4-word/character proverb.

 

[Eric_L]

I think 'Larry' is the rainbow guy from the Howard Stern/Oprah thread...

 

[Brandon_T]

Starvin like Marvin.


Who is marvin?

Gotta piss like a race horse.

Don't other horses piss?

 

[MarkHastings]

I believe it had to do with the fact that the jockeys would give the horses diuretics which would make them piss really bad before a race, making them lighter and faster.

 

[MarkHastings]

 

[DaveF]

Cameron - thanks, that's great! I think that will be useful at work.

 

[JamesCB]

"Jesus H. Christ"

What the heck does the "H." stand for?

 

[Mike Wladyka]

My favorite:

"Happy Pappy"

 

[BrettB]

Six and one half dozen the other.

Some of you would have a tough row to hoe 'round these parts.

 

[MarkHastings]

This sounds like a reasonable explanation:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_033.html

 

[Kevin T]

my favorite....though possibly only popular in the south is:

"he's good people"

wtf!? is he schizo or does he have an mpd?

kevin t

 

[RobertR]

Some flaw that affects its perceived value, such as it being struck wrong.

 

[Bill Williams]

Here's one I couldn't figure out for the longest time: "Od's bodkins." Though I do have a partial explanation for it:

This goes back to 16th century England, when the phrase used to be "God's bodkins," but because of British censorship of plays at that time, any and all references to God had to be deleted from plays, even Shakespeare's plays. So the phrase became "Od's bodkins." (And you think censorship today is bad...)

But there's still one thing that doesn't make sense: What in heck is a "bodkin"?

 

[Holadem]

Well, er.. um... :b

--
H

 

[Stevan Lay]

"The whole nine yards"
Why precisely nine yards? What does that refer to?

"To sweat like a pig"
Please correct if I'm wrong but pigs do not have sweat glands so they cannot perspirate anyway.

 

[Mike Wladyka]

i believe that refers to the bomber planes during WWII, they had a bomb storage that was 9 yards long...so they would drop the whole nine yards...

 

[MarkHastings]

I don't think the whole 9 yards has a definite origin. I read it may refer to the old cement mixers that held 9 yards worth of cement. It also may relate to a seasmstress who had to use 9 yards worth of material to make a suit (or a wedding veil).