A Wee Bit of Trivia

[tubman13]

Q.. If you were to spell out numbers,

how far would you have to go until you
would find the letter 'A'?

A. One thousand

In English pubs, ale
is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England ,
when customers got unruly,
the bartender would yell at them
'Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.' . . .

It's where we get
the phrase 'mind your P's and Q's'

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse
has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle.
If the horse has one front leg in the air,
the person died because of wounds received in battle.
If the horse has all four legs on the ground,
the person died of natural causes.

Many years ago in
England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked
into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups.
When they needed a refill , they used the whistle
to get some service.
'Wet your whistle' is the phrase
inspired by this practice. 


Two of these are for you Ian.

Regards,

Tom

[jodak]

For Dave -

Signs You Were Raised in the South

If there’s such a thing as cultural shorthand, the South has it. And while nobody teaches it, somehow we all learn it. It allows us to say—or at least signal—things to each other without actually talking. And when we do talk, the intel really flies. With just a few questions, we can find out whether your people and our people are of the same ilk. And while there are regional peculiarities unique to particular places, like Texas, Louisiana, or North Carolina, some cultural quirks cut across state lines and speak to all of us. Here are just a few of them:
You’ve got sense enough to know that “yes, ma’am” and “no, ma’am” are required, not optional, if you want anybody to think you (or your children) were raised right.
You believe it’s important to be raised right.
You believe it’s just as important to bake with White Lily, fry with Crisco, and make your chicken salad with Hellman’s.
You felt incomplete until you could successfully grow azaleas.
You took childhood rides in the back of a pickup truck with your legs dangling off the open tailgate. (But you strap your own children into a government-approved safety seat facing in the appropriate direction and properly belted.)
You see no need for the NFL as long as we’ve got the SEC.
You have “carried food” to a fellowship hall, new mom, or elderly “shut-in” neighbor in a 9 x 13 casserole dish with your name masking-taped to the bottom.
You have ever asked your mother, “Would it be tacky to...” (Wear shorts to a summer funeral? YES! )
Related: As a show of respect, you pull over to the side of the road when you meet a funeral procession on the highway.
Cheese grits + macaroni and cheese + fried green tomatoes = vegetable plate.
Speaking of which, you live for tomato season. And peach season. And football season.

[dave]

jodak
Great post full of real sayings by Southerners.
Don't forget the all inclusive expression "Bless their hearts!"
You don't have to explain the meaning of "bare butt fishing on the bank" for goggledeyed perch.
Regards
Dave

[Yan Taylor]

Nice one Tom, may I just add that when you come over and visit one of the local pubs, don't expect to be served beer in quarts or a whistle in you vessel, what we normally do is go the bar and ask for a pint of beer for yourself and a half pint for your good lady.

The beer pumps along the bar will probably serve three or four types of lager, and a couple of types of bitter, also you can get "mild" which is rubbish and they will have a cider and Guinness pump too.

I like the statue facts, and if you drink enough of the 5% lager (around six or seven pints) your legs will be in the air, but you won't be dead but "sloshed"

Dave, do you use the phrase "bless your cotton socks"?

Wait till you meet some of cockneys down south, they have their own slang and if one of them says "I am Hank Marvin and I could eat a couple of dolls eyes, then it mean that he is starving and could eat a couple of meat pies.

Yan.

[dave]

Yan
We only bless hearts not socks. I have a brother in law, Jim, from Greenwich who has lived here in the states since 1974 and I have a hard time understanding him in person and can not when he is on the phone. 

Whoever it was---Shaw, Wilde or anonymous---who said about two countries being separated by a common language is correct though I often wonder if we have a common language. Words such as aluminum, patriotism and garage are pronounced differently and so many other words have such differences. I remember Jim telling us when his oldest was entering the first grade how confused the teacher was when he told her his son had his rubber in his school bag. Turns out in England an eraser is called a rubber.
Regards
Dave

[Yan Taylor]

Well Dave erasers are made out of rubber in England, did he ever mention about "up the apples and pears"?

[dave]

Yan 
He probably did mention apples and pears but I am sure I did not understand what he said. He speaks with his lips together and sounds like he is clearing his throat. I bet if he went back to Greenwich he probably would speak with a Southern accent which would confuse the daylights out of the natives!

I know very little about linguistics but would love to know why Canadians sound like Yankee Americans except for saying out and about, yet Australians and South African have distinct accents compared to Americans or Brits. I know isolation is a great part of the difference but wonder if the colonists wanted to shed themselves of as much as possible of any English accent, words and customs? I know Australia was the destination for prisoners but suspect many were sent to American and Canada also. Not sure about South Africa but I am certain someone will know and post the info for us.

I will also admit there are various accents here in the States especially the New York/New Jersey area and New England. Also the Wisconsin, Minnesota and Dakotas have funny accents as well. The all speak so quickly like they are in a hurry to make it to the store before closing and they do move faster as well. Languid is a word unknown North of Interstate 40. Everyone in the Mid West and West Coast sound like game show emcees who have no accents at all!
Regards
Dave