Say What!?!?!?!

[giggles7p]

LMAO, these are great. You know what i think is awesome about this thread? Its hearing all the different sayings from other countries.....some of these i have never heard before and they crack me up...and now i know what to say when in a foreign country and someone of something pisses me off!! lollllllllllllllllllllll

Here's another one from the US...."Dead as a door nob".???.....if your dead as a door nob, does that make you more dead than normal??? lol

[wagerjunction]

"Break a leg" meaning "Good luck" - where does this one come from?!? I get nervous when someone says "break a leg" to me before I play football!!

Actually yes, "Break a leg" is a well-known idiom in theatre which means "good luck." It is typically said to actors and musicians before they go out onto stage to perform.

The expression reflects a theatrical superstition in which wishing a person "good luck" is considered bad luck. The expression is sometimes used outside the theatre as superstitions and customs travel through other professions and then into common use.

[ElaineGardiner]

In Scotland when someone is annoying we say "nipping ma heed(head)"

I used to hear it all the time as child when I was eager for some sweets, my mum would say "Wheest will ya', stop nipping ma heed"

[PremTips]

Actually yes, "Break a leg" is a well-known idiom in theatre which means "good luck." It is typically said to actors and musicians before they go out onto stage to perform.

The expression reflects a theatrical superstition in which wishing a person "good luck" is considered bad luck. The expression is sometimes used outside the theatre as superstitions and customs travel through other professions and then into common use.

Thanks! I refrain from using the expression myself though.

[DaftDog]

The Western Cape in South Africa has some colourful people with very colourful expressions:

If you **** somebody off they could say the following to you, "Jou f@%$ mal auntie!" which is Afrikaans for "Your f@%$ mad auntie!"

[Renee]

The Western Cape in South Africa has some colourful people with very colourful expressions:

If you **** somebody off they could say the following to you, "Jou f@%$ mal auntie!" which is Afrikaans for "Your f@%$ mad auntie!"

There is another afrikaans saying that I hear often from the boys..

Jou ma se p%%%

Pretty offensive to most people.. but in London there was a song being sung... in a fish shaped box or something. Can't remember exactly. Ixian I'm sure you know which one I'm talking about.

I'm starting Afrikaans lessons at a school in April so I may have better ones later!

[graham]

How about "drunk as a skunk"... sure they rhyme, but do skunks have drinking problems?

[giggles7p]

How about "drunk as a skunk"... sure they rhyme, but do skunks have drinking problems?

Lmaooo. just picturing a drunk skunk! lollll

How about his one..."clean as a whistle"? does that even make any sense?? loll

[Topboss]

Going back to the being stingy ones - heres a rather crude one

"as tight as a nun's xxxxx "

[PokerSpnsor2-0]

I have one too, when you are waiting at a bus stop and someone asks "has the bus been yet?" come on if it had I would be on it not waiting here lol

[CasinoTom]

I'm starting Afrikaans lessons at a school in April so I may have better ones later!

If you want to get some training in before starting the course, listen to 'Die Antwoord'. You'd definitely learn some new sayings from them!

[wagerjunction]

How about his one..."clean as a whistle"? does that even make any sense?? loll

Apparently one possibility is that the old simile describes the whistling sound of a sword as it swishes through the air to decapitate someone, and an early 19th century quotation does suggest this connection: 'A first rate shot.(his) head taken off as clean as a whistle.' The expression is proverbial, at least since the 18th century, when Robert Burns used a variation on it. More likely the basic idea suggests the clear, pure sound a whistle makes, or the slippery smooth surface of a willow stick debarked to make a whistle. But there is also a chance that the phrase may have originally been 'as clean as a whittle,' referring to a piece of smooth wood after it is whittled.'"

[giggles7p]

Apparently one possibility is that the old simile describes the whistling sound of a sword as it swishes through the air to decapitate someone, and an early 19th century quotation does suggest this connection: 'A first rate shot.(his) head taken off as clean as a whistle.' The expression is proverbial, at least since the 18th century, when Robert Burns used a variation on it. More likely the basic idea suggests the clear, pure sound a whistle makes, or the slippery smooth surface of a willow stick debarked to make a whistle. But there is also a chance that the phrase may have originally been 'as clean as a whittle,' referring to a piece of smooth wood after it is whittled.'"

Nice Job Amy!...I recommend this post as the most informative so far on the "Say What" subjects!.....

[universal4]

I would have thought that the whistle being clean might have had something with getting blown.

Rick
Universal4

[DaftDog]

I would have thought that the whistle being clean might have had something with getting blown.

Rick
Universal4

The same reason why the chicken crossed the basketball court, he heard that the Ref was blowing fowls on the other side.

Hope the fowl had a clean whistle.

[DaftDog]

There is another afrikaans saying that I hear often from the boys..

Jou ma se p%%%

You can still add a touch more emphasis to this, if you need to, as follows "Jou ma se blou p%%%".

Pretty offensive to most people.. but in London there was a song being sung... in a fish shaped box or something. Can't remember exactly. Ixian I'm sure you know which one I'm talking about.

Sorry I don't know the song.

[Chips]

How about...

"**** fire, save matches!"

"loose as a goose"

"Smells like a French *****"

he's "Right as rain"
!

[giggles7p]

the same reason why the chicken crossed the basketball court, he heard that the ref was blowing fowls on the other side.

Hope the fowl had a clean whistle.

hahahahahahahahahahaahah!!

[giggles7p]

How about...

"**** fire, save matches!"

"loose as a goose"

"Smells like a French *****"

he's "Right as rain"
!

Smells like a French *****???? LMAOOOOO.....and just what does that smell like may i ask????

Loose as a Goose??? How is that measured i wonder? by a farmer?? LOLLLLLL

[wagerjunction]

How about...

"Smells like a French *****"

The expression “smells like a French whore” has its origins in the nineteenth century. In fact, at the time, some French were infamous for not bathing, especially the prostitutes of Paris. As a result, they would smell really bad because of perspiration, and because they were not hygienic they would also catch some diseases, so they used to perfume themselves with a very strong cheap kind of perfume to cover up the smell.