All Questions
Tagged with dialects expressions
18 questions
3
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1
answer
570
views
Meaning and usage of "head(s) AND tails above"?
I've come across the expression "head(s) and tails above" (the rest, the competition etc; different from something like "can't make head or tail of something" i.e. can't figure it ...
- 481
9
votes
1
answer
1k
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Where does the idiom/story "You know what happened to the man who forced his pig" come from?
This phrase comes from my dad, who is of Bristolian stock, so it may be highly regional. I've only heard it spoken, and not written down.
He uses it, I believe, when it looks like somebody is ...
- 1,042
1
vote
0
answers
37
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Bibs & Bobs vs. Bits & Bobs [duplicate]
When I was a relative newcomer to Yorkshire, in the North of England, I was slightly annoyed when I heard people talking about 'bibs and bobs' (meaning odds and ends). I wanted to correct them by ...
0
votes
1
answer
488
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What does the phrase ‘back the road’ mean?
Could someone explain to me the meaning of the phrase ‘back the road’ in the following sentence: “My father still lives back the road past the weir in the cottage I was reared in”?
Does it mean ‘next ...
0
votes
1
answer
49
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Origin and of the phrase "problem that needed solved" [duplicate]
I recently listened to a podcast in which the narrator described an unresolved obstacle as a "problem that needed solved." My initial assumption was that he had meant to say "problem that needed to be ...
- 299
8
votes
1
answer
808
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Is "Time is short and the water's risin'" a Southernism?
My Georgia-born mother used to say, "Time is short and the water's risin'."
I think the expression was the title of a recent memoir, but couldn't find it on Amazon.
Is anyone familiar with its ...
- 81
3
votes
3
answers
40k
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"Who are you?" vs "Who you are?" [closed]
Is there a context in which it is correct/standard to use the expression "Who you are?" as a question? or is "Who are you?" the only possible correct form?
Googling "Who you are?" doesn't help ...
- 57
2
votes
1
answer
90
views
Lost Out of Sky - Local Usage (India) or Typo
I was reading a news story about a jet crash in the UK from a site hosted in India, and I believe the author may also be from there.
In it, I saw the sentence:
The jet which appeared to have lost ...
- 188
6
votes
2
answers
435
views
Why "enough for to fill" instead of "enough to fill" in this sentence?
"I drank enough drink for to fill Galway Bay". This is from an old Irish drinking song called "Drink it up, men", by the Dubliners. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niOHxjdKQ-c
My question is:
Is ...
- 50.2k
6
votes
3
answers
2k
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Eve-teasing... are such words used only in the country of origin
I was reading a newspaper published in Indonesia and while quoting sexual harassment , the term 'eve-teasing" was repeatedly used.
E.g. The Bontang police arrested two residents for eve-teasing,
...
- 69
6
votes
5
answers
2k
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How toffee-nosed is "toffee-nosed"?
Not being a speaker of British English, I was much amused on discovering the new adjective toffee-nosed. The American Heritage dictionary doesn't list it at all, but I found a definition in Collins:
...
- 55.7k
3
votes
5
answers
28k
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What is the origin of “I calls ’em like I sees ’em”?
This expression seems to be pretty widespread, for example being in Wiktionary and Futurama. Does anyone know what the origin is? Also, what kind of dialect might I calls or I sees be?
- 241
1
vote
1
answer
2k
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What are some colloquial English expressions for comparing hot/cold weather to something else? [closed]
I'm looking for colloquial expressions that compare hot, cold, and wet weather to something else. For example, “It’s hotter than two goats in a pepper patch”, “Colder than a witch’s tit”, etc. Often ...
- 11
8
votes
3
answers
2k
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Morally speaking, 1+1=2
I asked a question over on math.SE and as part of an exchange someone said:
Morally the function is csc φ in the limit for the reason you mention.
...a pretty funny thing to say. I asked them ...
- 840
8
votes
5
answers
7k
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Was your fender "stove-in" after your car was hit by that truck?
Is stove-in — smashed inward — an archaic expression?
Is it a regional expression? I was speaking with someone from my hometown (Salem, MA), and he used the word during our conversation. Made me ...
- 169
8
votes
6
answers
3k
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What metaphor do countries that don't play baseball use for intercourse?
Related question: In sex talk, how many bases are there and what do they all mean?
There are lots of English-speaking (or English-learning) countries where baseball simply isn't played much if at all....
- 320
5
votes
7
answers
3k
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"Mic" as an abbreviation for microwave
Last week, I was among a group of friends and commented on the fact that someone had removed a sticker from their microwave. I used the word "mic" to abbreviate microwave, and people thought I was ...
- 219
22
votes
5
answers
104k
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Which is correct: "standing on line" or "standing in line"?
I'm curious to hear from folks in the the Northeast United States (or anyone, really) an explanation of why "standing on line" seems preferable to "standing in line" in the US northeast.
I imagine ...
- 3,446