Tagged Questions
-1
votes
1answer
84 views
Meaning of 'take it to the hoes'
I came across the following sentence:
You can just take it to the hoes on Broadway if you need to get your freak on.
And not only can I not understand the phrase 'take it to the hoes' but I also ...
4
votes
2answers
100 views
What's a useful replacement idiom for “money shot?”
I'm afraid I have been somewhat innocently causing offense by using the term "money shot" in its general, non-pornographic sense. My coworkers either have dirty minds or lack awareness of the other ...
7
votes
5answers
4k views
What connotation does “to fork one's repo” have?
In a recent news item, an employee was fired partly for making jokes about "big dongle" and "forking repos", which were alleged to be inappropriate sexual jokes. The employee admitted the dongle joke ...
-1
votes
1answer
57 views
9
votes
4answers
1k views
Meaning and acceptability of “One fifty” when speaking of dollars
I was watching Errol Morris' ‘11 Excellent Reasons Not to Vote?’. At some point, the dialog goes this way:
― If I could sell my vote, I probably would.
― How much?
― How much? Psssh... ...
8
votes
2answers
135 views
Etymology of “catch a bosso”
Reading Look to the Lady, by Margery Allingham, I came across the apparent slang "catch a bosso," used by Lugg, the Cockney manservant, at the beginning of Chapter 6:
As soon as I caught a bosso ...
3
votes
3answers
723 views
What does “and then some” mean and why is it used that way?
It seems that a good explanation of "and then some" is:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/and+then+some
and then some
(Informal) With considerably more in addition: This
project will take ...
0
votes
2answers
2k views
Full of (piss|pith) and vinegar
Re: the expression:
"Full of (piss|pith) and vinegar"
Are both correct/acceptable? Is one preferred?
6
votes
1answer
530 views
What is the origin of the idiom “Hong Kong dog”?
Does anybody know the origin of the idiom "Hong Kong dog"?
EDIT: I'm more interested in how the idiom came into being rather than when it first appeared in mainstream media. Something like the guess ...
4
votes
3answers
687 views
A negative person [closed]
What is the best word that I could use to describe a person that seems to attract negative situations? Every time I am around him/her, something bad always seems to happen. Is there a word to describe ...
33
votes
8answers
2k views
Why “job” in “nut job”
Why are crazy people called nut jobs? Why are they called a job? Wiktionary is of no help here.
4
votes
1answer
303 views
Chicks - Girls, Cats - Boys?
The 1950's song Fever (covered, among others, by Elvis Presley) contains the following lines:
Now you've listened to my story
Here's the point that I have made
Cats were born to give chicks ...
9
votes
3answers
648 views
Use of “them” as an article, not a pronoun
I've seen a lot of times the pronoun them used like an article. For example, in the title of the Delta Rhythm Boys Them bones, or in the first sentence of "Money for nothing":
Now look at them ...
4
votes
3answers
1k views
Where did the phrase “shut up” as an expression of disbelief or amazement originate?
I recently heard shut up used according to this definition in Urban dictionary.
shut·up (shuht-up)
--interjection
1. An expression of disbelief.
2. Amazement; astonishment.
I've only ...
2
votes
3answers
1k views
Is it better to be “hung like a pike” or “hung like a stickleback”?
More from the British movie The Football Factory. The background is that the main character and his best friend have picked up these two girls at a bar; things proceed swimmingly, and the two head ...
1
vote
4answers
752 views
Is the phrase “move over” an official English idiom? And if so, is it only in American English?
Is the phrase "move over" an official English idiom known worldwide? I would like to know:
Is it an official English idiom (not slang or colloquial)?
Is it known outside of the US (e.g. in the UK, ...
3
votes
2answers
560 views
“Hot Diggity …”
Ok, perhaps the last one was too easy :) Here's one that a friend of mine uses, and I'd love to know if it's something he coined, or is it a more common expression than I think:
Hot ...
4
votes
3answers
909 views
Why is “ass” considered obscene?
Spam filters replace obscene "Ass" for "butt"
Meanwhile, in literature, newspaper articles, forum posts, sayings, proverbs, etc. I am encountering many more expressions with ass but not with butt. ...
2
votes
2answers
426 views
What's the deep meaning in the lyrics of “Heavy Traffic” by Elton John?
In the lyrics, some pieces I couldn't understand very well:
Shakey wake up thirsty from a night in the bar
And snake hips Joe is Mr. Cool
What's snake hips? And, does the name Joe have a ...
1
vote
1answer
323 views
On being golden
Saying that [someone] is golden means that person is in a desirable situation that will likely lead to some sort of success.
I am trying to find out the origin of this phrase. So far, I have found ...
10
votes
2answers
4k views
What does the “atta” mean in “attaboy” and “attagirl”?
What does the prefix atta mean? What is it trying to abbreviate? What a? Wiktionary claims that it stands for that's a or that's the, but I do not see the resemblance to atta.
