Phrases you've never understood.

[PSYCHOxDRAGON]

"How?s the road to Tinue?" can be confusing.

Yes, but don't stick a spoon in your eye over it.

 

[Death God]

"You can ____ 'till the cows come home."
Why aren't the cows already home? And why would I do something until my cows come back? Also:
"You can go tell that to Joe Blow down the street for all I care!"
????

Its meant that the cows are out in the pasture and it takes them all day to make it back home. *I'm a cattle farmer*

That would make some sense now. Very interesting phrase.

 

[darkless]

"They get along like a house on fire" to describe two people who get on well

House's don't usually get along with fire.

OP said "you want to have your cake and eat it" I agree with him, what I can't do is eat my cake and have it.

 

[Aiedail256]

4) "It's always darkest before dawn". This makes no sense at all - it's equally dark before 1 hour before dawn as it is 4 hours before dawn (at least in most parts of the world). In fact, juuuuuuust before dawn, the sky starts to get a little brighter. Whoever came up with this phrase obviously never saw a sunrise.

This isn't meant to be literal. The idea is that, when things are going bad, they always get really really bad just before they start getting better. Or that, if one doesn't go to sleep, the constant dark of night will seem to get darker for lack of sunlight thus it's darkest right before the sun starts to rise.

the constant dark of night will seem to get darker for lack of sunlight

the constant dark of night will seem to get darker

Um, no. Your eyes get used to the dark over time (~20 minutes), so it actually seems darkest right after dusk.

I think a lot of people need to understand the concept of a metaphor.

That wouldn't help. Some of these are similes.

Simile is a sub-category of metaphor. Zing!

"What's up?" That's the question that literally has no answer besides: the sky, the ceiling, the lights, birds, clouds, the sun, or anything that actually would be above you.

"Up is a direction!"
-1337f0x

Seriously though, I'm thinking it might mean, what's of highest importance (i.e. up) of what's going on right now...?

 

[Athinira]

"Way to ruin a song" <-- Heard when someone hears a Remix of a song, and they don't like the Remix.

I just don't get it. How can a remix of a song spoil the original? If you don't like the Remix then go back to listen to the original, while those of us who prefer the remix listen to that instead.

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

Tit for tat. I know what a tit is, but wtf is a tat?

This is a "tat".

Spoiler

 

[Jake Lewis Clayton]

"Same difference"...that's an oxymoron, so I don't know what you mean.

Actually thats ones an easy one.

It's just an acceptance of what your saying, without saying well yeah, generally.

But.


I have heard of it as starting as a way to wind someone up, and thats how I use it personally.

Technically it's acknowledgeing there does exist a difference and it's the same either way you look at it (the difference between the two things), which quite alot of people fail to get when hearing it and start argueing that the two things are different.

It's basically a way to be a grammar nazi in an annoying way in real life through speach.

 

[Robert Ewing]

'Another one bites the dust.'

Why are you eating thousands of fabric particles and billions of dead skin cells? That shit can induce asthma. Dangerous, very dangerous.

 

[necromanzer52]

"What's up?" That's the question that literally has no answer besides: the sky, the ceiling, the lights, birds, clouds, the sun, or anything that actually would be above you.

My current response to that question is "unemployment".

 

[smearyllama]

I still don't see the connection between whining and tiny violins. It isn't like it makes a difference.

Somebody's been maiking lots of threads.

Sad violin music is played in dramatic situations-> The whiner is whining about a tiny problem, thus the violin is also tiny.

 

[Sight Unseen]

In sports when commentators say "He's as good as anyone at _____" If he's as good as anyone then what's so great about him?

It means that there's no-one better. Like how even if someone was absolutely amazing at a sport, this player would be as good, if not better than them.

But if he's as good as anyone, than anyone is as good as him... Therefore he's average. That's why I don't get it.

 

[Jake Lewis Clayton]

Also, "When shit hits the fan" and it's related phrases.

Why would the shit hit the fan? Is it piling up in a room and it's about to reach the roof? Or is there a fan oscillating and the shit is slowly approaching? Or is someone gonna toss the shit at the fan and it will cause it to splatter everywhere?

As in the shit would be sent flying everywhere by splattering off the fan.

Seriously, I think some of you are over thinking some of these in an attempt to find fault with ones that haven't been suggested.

Actually, my friends and me have discussed this before but we've never agreed on a single definition for it. I think someone tosses shit at the fan. My friend thinks the shit is piling up in a room. Either way, we know it means bad news. But I would like to know where the idea came from. You know, "When time runs out" makes more sense. But "Shit hits the fan"? Why? ._ .

Shit hitting the fan comes from the old saying.

When the pie hits the fan, or soup hits the fan, it's a reference to food hitting electric fans back when they generally didn't have front covers, in kitchens in the first half of the 20th century.

Obviously it meant the food went everywhere and that was where the bad conatation came from, then over time it got changed to shit in slang.

 

[StorytellingIsAMust]

"What's up?" That's the question that literally has no answer besides: the sky, the ceiling, the lights, birds, clouds, the sun, or anything that actually would be above you.

"Up is a direction!"
-1337f0x

Seriously though, I'm thinking it might mean, what's of highest importance (i.e. up) of what's going on right now...?[/quote]

That makes sense.

 

[Jake Lewis Clayton]

"They get along like a house on fire" to describe two people who get on well

Earliest reference to this i have seen is 1741.


Now this is just speculation on my part, but it could be to do with houses being mostly furnished in wood, built in most parts of the world from wood, and without adequate fire fighting equipment.


I've also heard the phrase "they took to each other like a house on fire"

Which would make even more sense as flames can be said to take to something.

hope this helps

 

[Jake Lewis Clayton]

"I could care less."

People say that. I've heard it. They use it when they intend the opposite. They try to say I'm incorrect whenever I correct it.

I can't tell if it's a misunderstanding on my part, or theirs?

It's theirs, the correct english term is, I couldn't care less, as in you literally do not want to know about it.


Americans (about 95%) don't seem to get it though and say I could care less, which as you said means the opposite.

 

[Eveonline100]

I remember as a child my sister burst into tears and my dad said "if you don't be quiet i'll give you something to cry about".

Er, dad ... she's already crying numbnuts your comment made no sense.

Another parent one and i'm guilty of using this myself.

"Dad, can we go to the beach"

"No"

"Aww dad why not?"

"Just because"

Just because. Because bloody what?

just because:
A) i don't have a have very good reason
B) DOn't want to
C) too tired
edit

 

[Eveonline100]

"snip"
i really am really confused by this one.

 

[pwnzerstick]

"Thats remarkable" basicly all you are saying is that it is possible to make a statement about the thing in question. I could say "This piece of paper is remarkable" because I can make a remark about it by saying, "It is white" or even just "This is a piece of paper". The word/phrase is meaningless.

 

[Eveonline100]

To "pay out the ass". Does currency suddenly skyrocket in value if you pay with the Conrad Butt Slam? Am I fiscally irresponsible for not keeping my cash stored in my colon?

I've never heard that statement.

But pay through the nose has an interesting backstory to it.

Care to explain it? I've never understood that one, either.

\
something that is very expensive for example
a new BMW is expensive as so.
Friend a: God that new BMW is good i wonder how much it is?
Friend b: $70,000 so be prepared "to pay out of your ass."

 

[Jake Lewis Clayton]

To "pay out the ass". Does currency suddenly skyrocket in value if you pay with the Conrad Butt Slam? Am I fiscally irresponsible for not keeping my cash stored in my colon?

I've never heard that statement.

But pay through the nose has an interesting backstory to it.

Care to explain it? I've never understood that one, either.

It's unsure which place coined the phrase, but there have been multiple places where the forfeit for not paying a debt/taxes was to have your nose slit at the bottom. So, when you can't pay your contract you must pay the higher price of your nose, pay through the nose.

New phrase not understood

Spitting image.

It means an exact copy basically, some people think it comes from splitting image, splitting a plank to get a butterfly wing like effect.

But sadly that isn't the case as theres too many variations of spitting image (spit and image, spitten image) for it to have plausably come from splitting.

No-one knows its exact origions i'm afraid.