is "tickety-boo."

Good job hardly anyone actually says that!

I've moved to the North from the South ten years ago and still find strange sayings and phrases crop up. Although, I did hear a good one yesterday at work, "May as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb", meaning if you're going to commit a misdeed, you may as well go big.

For American turn of phrases I nominate "could care less". In context, clearly you couldN'T care less.

Any phrase that contains the word "piss" that doesn't refer to urination.

Particularly "taking the piss".

vikkyvik wrote:

Any phrase that contains the word "piss" that doesn't refer to urination.

Particularly "taking the piss".

Which Americans are also guilty of... "I am so pissed" (which means 'I am so drunk' here, rather than 'I am so annoyed).

When someone says "F**k you" ,you know they don't want to.

BlueberryWheats wrote:

For American turn of phrases I nominate "could care less". In context, clearly you couldN'T care less.

No, that's not true. That actually is the correct way to say it.

BlueberryWheats wrote:

Good job hardly anyone actually says that!

Sam said it on an episode of Foyle's War.

DarkSnowyNight wrote:

BlueberryWheats wrote:

For American turn of phrases I nominate "could care less". In context, clearly you couldN'T care less.

No, that's not true. That actually is the correct way to say it.

Why? How does the American way make sense?

The phrase when used is intended to show you don't care at all about the subject - the American saying literally says the opposite in that you have a level of care that you could reduce, so you do actually care.

Tickety bloody boo?

Seriously though, language evolves and that's an expression that has more or less had its day. Nobody would use it in ordinary conversation nowadays apart from prats like Rees-Mogg or people born before World War Two. It might crop up in period drama but that's it.

moo wrote:

DarkSnowyNight wrote:

BlueberryWheats wrote:

For American turn of phrases I nominate "could care less". In context, clearly you couldN'T care less.

No, that's not true. That actually is the correct way to say it.

Why? How does the American way make sense?

The phrase when used is intended to show you don't care at all about the subject - the American saying literally says the opposite in that you have a level of care that you could reduce, so you do actually care.

That's because you're only saying half the expression.

It's very similar the the have your cake and eat it too.

Just because people are unwilling to look up an expression in its entirety doesn't mean it's wrong.

DarkSnowyNight wrote:

moo wrote:

DarkSnowyNight wrote:

No, that's not true. That actually is the correct way to say it.

Why? How does the American way make sense?

The phrase when used is intended to show you don't care at all about the subject - the American saying literally says the opposite in that you have a level of care that you could reduce, so you do actually care.

That's because you're only saying half the expression.

It's very similar the the have your cake and eat it too.

Just because people are unwilling to look up an expression in its entirety doesn't mean it's wrong.

So what's the full phrase then for "I could care less"? Because that's all we hear on US shows, from Americans on the internet etc...

And according to multiple sources, there is no other half of the expression:

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define. ... are%20less

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dicti ... -care-less

https://english.stackexchange.com/quest ... -care-less

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictio ... -care-less

And those are just a few I reviewed before responding here... looks like it is nothing more than just a corruption of the original, correct phrase, rather than a contraction of a longer phrase. So and my point stands.

You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!

moo wrote:

...the full phrase...?

Look harder? The expression is "I could care less than you."

It's an implied comparison, and has been in regular use here as long as I can remember. As much as I do still hear it in its regular form, I do not get how people can (try to) pedant on that one.

https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/0 ... think.html

Scroll to no.3.

DarkSnowyNight wrote:

moo wrote:

...the full phrase...?

Look harder? The expression is "I could care less than you."

It's an implied comparison, and has been in regular use here as long as I can remember. As much as I do still hear it in its regular form, I do not get how people can (try to) pedant on that one.

https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/0 ... think.html

Scroll to no.3.

Interesting that no dictionary or grammar site has that, and it's interesting that even Slate considers it third on a list and even then as a supposition of a potential origin...

And even so, it still makes Americans sound stupid when they use it.

readytotaxi wrote:

When someone says "F**k you" ,you know they don't want to.

In the American South, "Well, bless your heart!" means the same thing.

moo wrote:

...

Cling your heart out, dude. You can drag a horse to water *...







* feel free to let me know if I need to explain that one too,

'Couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery' is my favourite.

I could never understand the phrase, "It's cheap at half the price",....shouldn't it be, "Its cheap at twice the price"?

When people say "that's a load of tripe", but aren't referring to tripe.

DocLightning wrote:

readytotaxi wrote:

When someone says "F**k you" ,you know they don't want to.

In the American South, "Well, bless your heart!" means the same thing.

So true.

DarkSnowyNight wrote:

moo wrote:

...the full phrase...?

Look harder? The expression is "I could care less than you."

It's an implied comparison, and has been in regular use here as long as I can remember. As much as I do still hear it in its regular form, I do not get how people can (try to) pedant on that one.

https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/0 ... think.html

Scroll to no.3.

No. It's because Americans are lazy in their speech, and don't enunciate couldn'T so it just gets garbled into couldcareless. The T gets dropped a lot. Trying saying 'literally' or 'Continental', it sounds like you're either drunk or having a stroke.

dressed a chicken

A few favourites.

“That’s knocked me for 6!” Said In Relation to a shocking incident or period of illness.

“Well I’ll go to the foot of our stairs.” Yorkshire based colloquialism espousing a sense of disbelief.

“As much use as a chocolate tea pot” to express dismay at a person or items lack of suitability for a task. Or to express the failure of a person or item.

DocLightning wrote:

readytotaxi wrote:

When someone says "F**k you" ,you know they don't want to.

In the American South, "Well, bless your heart!" means the same thing.

No, it doesn't. When what some might consider excessive politeness at all times is the rule of the day, sometimes things are left unsaid in deference to good manners that do need to be acknowledged eventually… in more crass terms, occasionally one needs to cut through all the bullshit and tell it like it is. The inclusion of the phrase "Bless your heart" in a sentence means What I am saying is a summation of the whole, plain, unvarnished truth as I see it delivered without rancor. An example of this usage would be a mother who, upon hearing from her daughter of the daughter's fourth husband in a row filing for divorce, saying "Bless your heart, you just can't seem to keep a man".

There is also an element of helpless commiseration, i.e. I feel bad for you but there's nothing I can do to make the situation better, in the phrase "Bless your heart", particularly when used by itself. An example of that usage would be a farmer telling his neighbor how his cows broke down a fence and all got out on a foggy night, wandered on to the freeway, and got killed by oncoming vehicles while also causing a major pileup, to which the neighbor can only reply "Bless your heart".

I've always liked "you're having a laugh" or 'absolutely mullered'

Mutton dressed as lamb. Meaning a older woman wearing clothes and trying to make themselves look younger in the process.

bombayduck wrote:

Mutton dressed as lamb. Meaning a older woman wearing clothes and trying to make themselves look younger in the process.

Yes that's true. Generally older woman should wear clothes. Our version of Mutton dressed as a lamb would be one word. "Cougar". Which includes the expectation that there is desperation attached to the individual.

DarkSnowyNight wrote:

moo wrote:

...

Cling your heart out, dude. You can drag a horse to water *...







* feel free to let me know if I need to explain that one too,

No, you are utterly wrong. The phrase is, and always has been "I could NOT care less" meaning, logically, you already have ZERO care for the subject.

Just think about the actual words said in the American version. Even your supposed extended version doesn't make sense; "I could care less than you" has TWO qualifiers in it ("could", not definitive, and "than you", subjective), rendering it basically meaningless without additional context.

"I could care less than you, but maybe I don't", "I could care less than you, how much do you care?"...

In contrast "I could not care less" is a statement of fact and has no such vagueness.

For the "I could care less" discussion, I found this blog post to be somewhat helpful. Nothing really definitive, but some plausible theories. http://mentalfloss.com/article/55388/4- ... -care-less

stratclub wrote:

bombayduck wrote:

Mutton dressed as lamb. Meaning a older woman wearing clothes and trying to make themselves look younger in the process.

Yes that's true. Generally older woman should wear clothes. Our version of Mutton dressed as a lamb would be one word. "Cougar". Which includes the expectation that there is desperation attached to the individual.

What's the male equivalent called?

bgm wrote:

stratclub wrote:

bombayduck wrote:

Mutton dressed as lamb. Meaning a older woman wearing clothes and trying to make themselves look younger in the process.

Yes that's true. Generally older woman should wear clothes. Our version of Mutton dressed as a lamb would be one word. "Cougar". Which includes the expectation that there is desperation attached to the individual.

What's the male equivalent called?

A creep.

Maybe we could go with "A Harvey"

Idk, just seems less socially acceptable? Perhaps a bit misogynist I suppose.

My old mum used to say "fur coat and no knickers" meaning elegant and beautiful to look at but actually very common.

stratclub wrote:

bombayduck wrote:

Mutton dressed as lamb. Meaning a older woman wearing clothes and trying to make themselves look younger in the process.

Yes that's true. Generally older woman should wear clothes. Our version of Mutton dressed as a lamb would be one word. "Cougar". Which includes the expectation that there is desperation attached to the individual.

I thought cougar was defined as; an older woman preying on/'seeking the company of' a younger man rather than the clothes one wears.
"Mutton dressed as lamb", refers to an older woman wearing clothes she has no real business wearing, ie that are much better suited to those much younger than herself. A woman who is "mutton dressed as lamb" is not necessarily trying to pick up a younger man but rather trying and failing to dress as someone much younger than she is (or laughably trying keep up with the latest fashion of the younger gen/kid herself).

A cougar may often be mutton dressed as lamb but mutton dressed as lamb may not be a cougar.

ChrisKen wrote:

stratclub wrote:

bombayduck wrote:

Mutton dressed as lamb. Meaning a older woman wearing clothes and trying to make themselves look younger in the process.

Yes that's true. Generally older woman should wear clothes. Our version of Mutton dressed as a lamb would be one word. "Cougar". Which includes the expectation that there is desperation attached to the individual.

I thought cougar was defined as; an older woman preying on/seeking the company of a younger man rather than the clothes one wears.
"Mutton dressed as lamb", refers to an older woman wearing clothes she has no real business wearing, ie that are much better suited to those much younger than herself. A woman who is "mutton dressed as lamb" is not necessarily trying to pick up a younger man but rather trying and failing to dress as someone much younger than she is (or laughably trying keep up with the latest fashion of the younger gen/kid herself).

I agree, I think the two are quite different. Though, in practice, many "cougars" seem (at least in my experience) have a particular way of dressing, such that it is obvious. I suppose there are others who don't dress similarly, but they fade into the background and thus don't seem to get the same scarlet letter, if you will.

>my face when americans call chips "french fries"
>my face when americans call crisps "chips"
>my face when americans call chocolate globbernaughts "candy bars"
>my face when americans call motorized rollinghams "cars"
>my face when americans call merry fizzlebombs "fireworks"
>my face when americans call meat water "gravy"
>my face when americans call beef wellington ensemble with lettuce a "burger"
>my face when americans call whimsy flimsy mark and scribblers "pens"
>my face when americans call breaddystack a "sandwich"
>my face when americans call their hoighty toighty tippy typers "keyboards"
>my face when americans call nutty-gum and fruit spleggings "peanut butter and jelly"
>my face when americans call an upsy stairsy the "escalator"
>my face when americans call a knittedy wittedy sheepity sleepity a "sweater"
>my face when americans call a rickedy-pop a "gear shift"
>my face when americans call a pip pip gollywock a "screwdriver"
>my face when americans call a rooty tooty point-n-shooty a "gun"
>my face when americans call ceiling-bright a "Lightbulb"
>my face when americans call a slippery dippery long mover a "snake"
>my face when americans call cobble-stone-clippity-clops "roads"

SomebodyInTLS wrote:

DarkSnowyNight wrote:

moo wrote:

...

Cling your heart out, dude. You can drag a horse to water *...







* feel free to let me know if I need to explain that one too,

No, you are utterly wrong. The phrase is, and always has been "I could NOT care less" meaning, logically, you already have ZERO care for the subject.

Just think about the actual words said in the American version. Even your supposed extended version doesn't make sense; "I could care less than you" has TWO qualifiers in it ("could", not definitive, and "than you", subjective), rendering it basically meaningless without additional context.

"I could care less than you, but maybe I don't", "I could care less than you, how much do you care?"...

In contrast "I could not care less" is a statement of fact and has no such vagueness.

There are not words for how much I could care less than you about all of that. Thanks for the effort though...

DarkSnowyNight wrote:

There are not words for how much I could care less than you about all of that. Thanks for the effort though...

Glad you care...

" I have a bone to pick with you". terrible expression

ChrisKen wrote:

stratclub wrote:

bombayduck wrote:

Mutton dressed as lamb. Meaning a older woman wearing clothes and trying to make themselves look younger in the process.

Yes that's true. Generally older woman should wear clothes. Our version of Mutton dressed as a lamb would be one word. "Cougar". Which includes the expectation that there is desperation attached to the individual.

I thought cougar was defined as; an older woman preying on/'seeking the company of' a younger man rather than the clothes one wears.
"Mutton dressed as lamb", refers to an older woman wearing clothes she has no real business wearing, ie that are much better suited to those much younger than herself. A woman who is "mutton dressed as lamb" is not necessarily trying to pick up a younger man but rather trying and failing to dress as someone much younger than she is (or laughably trying keep up with the latest fashion of the younger gen/kid herself).

A cougar may often be mutton dressed as lamb but mutton dressed as lamb may not be a cougar.

the phrase may have changed it's meaning, but 'Mutton dressed as lamb' was originally a disparaging description of a woman aiming to deceive men into believing she was younger than she really was - it being an economic necessity for a woman to marry while still of childbearing age.

sparrow fart, someone mentioned it here recently, i had to go look up the meaning i had never heard it used before.

bgm wrote:

stratclub wrote:

bombayduck wrote:

Mutton dressed as lamb. Meaning a older woman wearing clothes and trying to make themselves look younger in the process.

Yes that's true. Generally older woman should wear clothes. Our version of Mutton dressed as a lamb would be one word. "Cougar". Which includes the expectation that there is desperation attached to the individual.

What's the male equivalent called?

Oldest Swinger in Town?

(I[ve got a copy of that record somewhere)

I taught primary school in England. I'm an American. A boy named Stephen, at ten years old, came up to me and said, "You know what? Mr. Crawford (the music teacher) is a wally." I ROFLed...

JThompson wrote:

I could never understand the phrase, "It's cheap at half the price",....

~~== "get good value at 60% of price tag paid"

isn't:

JThompson wrote:

shouldn't it be, "Its cheap at twice the price"?

Channex757 wrote:

Oldest Swinger in Town?

(I[ve got a copy of that record somewhere)

if they offer you a chair in the disco ..
if your kids "borrow" your best outfit for carnival ..

your are ..
That was the absolute hoot at the time.
( when Tommy Vance and Nancas the horse still were on BFBS Radio in Germany.)

"When it takes you all night to do what you used to do all night...."