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

[Jacinto]

I thought, at least in Shakespeare's use, that a bodkin was a dagger of some sort. As in "...when he himself might his quietus make with a bare bodkin?", esssentially meaning "when he could take his own life with an unsheathed dagger". The more modern definition is a thick needle with a large eye hole.

 

[andrew markworthy]

This usually means 'have reasons for an argument or dispute' - thus, 'X has an axe to grind with Y' means that X has reasons for being annoyed with Y. However, confusingly, it can also mean that someone has an ulterior motive.

 

[Stevan Lay]

"Everything but the kitchen sink"

I'm always puzzled by the symbolism associated with or the significance of the 'kitchen sink'.

 

[Malcolm R]

I think the kitchen sink thing is simply that most sinks/tubs/toilets are considered part of the structural plumbing and usually remain with whatever property they are attached to.

Implying that when someone moves, about all that's left behind is the sink, etc.

 

[MarkHastings]

"There's more than one way to skin a cat"

 

[Jay Taylor]

That makes more sense than what I thought it meant. I thought it referred to when you get a really ugly stained penney you make sure to get rid of it with your very next purchase. But then the next time you get change you get one just as ugly.

Jay Taylor

 

[Angelo.M]

"Your name is mud."

This becomes far more interesting when you learn that Dr. Samuel Mudd was a surgeon who helped John Wilkes Booth with his broken leg after he lept from the balcony. Mudd was convicted of conspiracy for his assistance! (This is alluded to in the story on the Alamo in this month's Smithsonian magazine).

However, I've also heard that the phrase pre-dates Mudd's predicament, and only later became associated with it.

 

[Angelo.M]

Related, but different...

A tired phrase that I wouldn't mind never hearing again:

"Don't go there." (declaratory)
"Don't even go there!" (declaratory/exclamatory)
"Don't even..." (abbreviated declaratory, when time is of the essence)
"Do not go there." (for contraction-phobes)
"Do not even go there!" (when you absolutely, positively must get your point across, and you're being formal about it)
"Let's not go there." (plural, conversational: a friendly warning to your pals)

There are others.

 

[MikeFR]

Dont even go there

 

[Shane Gralaw]

I was always confused by "Head over heels in love". When I was younger for some reason I pictured it in my mind as the opposite- "heels over head"- as this would indicate someone so in love it knocked him off his feet. But you are normally head over heels...

 

[andrew markworthy]

Alas, not joking. Cat fur was in wide use at one time.

 

[Jay Taylor]

Okay Shane, let’s not get too descriptive of the honeymoon on this forum please.

 

[Jason Boucher]

I just learned that "Naked as a Jaybird!" referred to centerfolds in a 60's British porno mag. Never made sense to me before.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Jason, I think that the phrase is earlier than the 1960s. When I finished writing my dictionary, I vowed I wouldn't do any similar work for at least a couple of years, so all my reference books are buried away. However, even without references to hand, I think that the phrase is several decades older. I think you'll find that Jaybird magazine is named after the phrase, not the other way round. I also think that jaybird chicks are noted for being featherless longer than other species, but I have no proof of this. Any ornithologists here?

 

[MarkHastings]

So the "free" refers to the fact that the chicks are feather-free for so long?

 

[andrew markworthy]

Curious how we pick up some odd phrases from our feathered friends:

for the birds
I.e. worthless or of little interest. Named after the pieces of grain dropped in the farmyard or passed undigested in animal droppings that only small birds would peck at.

an unkindness of ravens
A phrase no doubt invented by isolated rural folk and conclusive proof why it's a bad idea for cousins to marry.

sick as a parrot
A phrase hugely popular with Brit soccer players a few years ago, and a lot of people thus thought it was a modern expression. However, it dates back at least 300 years. It probably refers to a parrot plague that swept through Europe killing off many of these exotic pet birds (at one time a huge status symbol) but there are other plausible explanations.

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

I'll add my two cents to this thread....errrm where the hell did 'two cents' come from?

"Worth its salt"
"caught with your pants down"
"cuter than a bugs ear"
"face the music"
"hell in a handbasket"
"push the envelope"
"tongue in cheek"
"It's raining cats and dogs"


This could actually refer to catfish as they are difficult to skin.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Hmmm... I'd always thought myself a slight anglophile, and I've never heard this one. What's it mean? My brain wants to read it "a murder of crows", which is somewhat nonsensical on its own.

 

[John Watson]

Is that what made Monty Python's parrot dead, deceased, defunct, expired, perished, and so on?

The British slang of Bird (for chick) wasn't so common in North America, but still seems good as these terms go.

 

[andrew markworthy]

It simply means a group of ravens. Ditto murder of crows. There are loads of similar phrases. As I said, they are probably produced by inbred Brits from remote rural areas where six fingers on each hand are the norm and the phrase 'meet the wife and sister' refers to just one woman. Obviously the simple souls heard fancy ten dollar words spoken by posh visitors (i.e. anyone who could stand upright) and afterwards they couldn't remember what they meant, so used them as group terms instead.