Sayings you dont understand

[edudogel]

"Sells like hotcakes."

What are hotcakes and why do they sell so well?

carnival food like funnel cake in older times people loved em and bought them alot

 

[Sir Boss]

Knocked head over heels
please, it's been bugging me for years

 

[Llil]

Knocked head over heels
please, it's been bugging me for years

Yeah, it would make more sense to say "knocked heels over head", as in you fall and the heels of your shoes go higher than your head. But head over heels? My head is always above my heels!

 

[A Free Man]

"There's more then one way to skin a cat".......There is?!?!?! if so i really don't want to know how....

I don't think I've heard this one but could I ask in what context did you hear this? hahahahaha

 

[WolfThomas]

A used to think a stich in time saves nine had something to do with Doctor Who, not that by placing a stich in a piece of clothing when its first noticed to have a tear is better than having to place nine because you left it alone.

Another one is the exception that proves the rule, lots of people use this incorrectly. The scenario I use is that if you have a rule "I can park here on a saturday" and there's a sign saying "No Parking Monday-Friday", that is an exception that proves the rule.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." I have never been able to grasp this concept, I mean its sound on paper I suppose. But when you apply it in real life its really flawed logic, just because you have an enemy that has another enemy doesn't mean you and enemy of your enemy should be buddies. For all you know enemy of your enemy is also your enemy, but you guys both just happen to have a common enemy.

I knew an Armenian who used to say "The enemy of enemy (Turkey) is still a stinking Kurd!" Which pretty much somes up what you said.

 

[gruggins]

"less haste more speed"
wait, what?
or even better:
"i dont know 'im for a bar 'o soap"
serously...why?

captcha: aptinewi STFU

 

[ZodiacMaster101]

"it's raining cats and dogs" never made a lick of sense to me. anyone care to explain?

Back during the medieval times, or something like that, people started moving into large cities where buildings had roofs made of hay, cats and dogs would sleep on top of the hay because the hay was good at trapping heat. Whenever it would rain it would soften up the roof quite a bit, and the cats and dogs would fall through the roof, making it seem like it was raining cats and dogs.

 

[ENKC]

When in Rome...

The rest of the phrase goes "...do as the Romans do." Why they chose Rome of all places is beyond me.

Well, it was attributed to this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose

He was one of the most important figures in the Roman Catholic Church at a time when Rome was still the pre-eminent world power, albeit very much on the wain.

 

[A Free Man]

Not necessarily. For example, nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. That is a rule. There is no exception to it, and yet it is still a rule. If there was an exception to it, then it would disprove the rule.

yes, im just saying that if something has an EXCEPTION then the rest of it is a rule. im not saying that all rules have exceptions.

this saying exist only because of definition of word exception. exception means that one (or few) things dont follow the rule, but that there is one thus proving the rule.

However, I have not heard it said that the exception proves the rule, because if it is an exception, then it goes against the rule. I have only ever heard it said that the exception disproves the rule

Yeh this is one I don't like also, I get that there can be certain exceptions to a specific rule but in no way do they ever actually prove the rule that they are an exception to. Perhaps this saying was originally a joke and because people are stupid we just started using it.

 

[MrTiki]

Ah, I just thought of an exceptionally awesome one : "enough room to swing a cat"
I wonder how they first started using it

 

[WolfThomas]

Ah, I just thought of an exceptionally awesome one : "enough room to swing a cat"
I wonder how they first started using it

A cat o' nine tails or a particularly vicious whip. Often a punishment in the Army and Navy from around 200-300 years ago. Having enough room to swing a cat, means there's enough space to flog a man effectively, a largeish room or deck.

Edit: Apparently it may be predated that with people putting cats in bottles and swinging them for a target to shoot at. But it's debateable.

 

[Jakub324]

"it's raining cats and dogs" never made a lick of sense to me. anyone care to explain?

I heard it's because of the way medieval peasant houses were built. All sorts of animals used to live in the roofs and when it rained, they often fell out in great quantities and everything went to shit. Understand?

 

[Jakub324]

Every phrase in which the word "heart" replaces "brain" or "subconscious". I know the rots of these, but they're outdated, clichéd and should change.

 

[Mr. Underson]

"Same difference". Huh?

 

[MrTiki]

Ah that does make sense actually. I didn't think of that. Thanks!

 

[Jaythulhu]

Not so much a saying or anything, but I get mightily confused when black americans call me "cracker" on ventrillo. No amount of googling has lead me to any understanding as to what the hell they're calling me. Down here a "cracker" is such a fuckin' good joke that it makes you laugh so hard you cry, spit drink everywhere and nearly suffocate from being unable to draw breath.

Any explanations as to WTF??!?! this means in yank-speak would be appreciated. Don't you lot call savoury biscuits crackers?

 

[someperson1423]

"It was in the last place I looked"

Well hopefully if you found it, you wouldn't continue looking for it...

I think it is supposed to be "It was in the last place I would've looked" as in "It was in the last place I would have expected."

"Quote, [text], unquote."

You just quoted it. Why would you unquote what you just quoted?

I always thought this one was used when having a verbal conversation so the listener would know when you stopped quoting someone. End quote makes more sense to me anyway.

"More or less"

The most meaningless expression I've ever heard. More or less...well, you've covered two-thirds of the possibilities there.

There's a lot of other one's I can't remember. Living in the Southern US, there's tons of incomprehensible expressions around.

More or less is like saying approximately. It makes more sense if they say "more or less the same"

One I heard when I was visiting relatives from the south is "Same difference". It makes sense if you're saying item A has the same difference as item B to Item C, but that is never how I heard it used.

Edit:

"Same difference". Huh?

Gah! Ninjaed :'(

 

[ExileNZ]

"The exception that proves the rule". What the fuck does that mean? If its an exception, it doesn't prove anything!

"Proves" in this case actually means "tests", rather than "proves it right".
It's like when people say "The proof in the pudding is in the tasting".
Same thing again, what it means is that it's the outcome (in this case the taste) that really tests an endeavour, not the method.

 

[Queen Michael]

"The exception that proves the rule". What the fuck does that mean? If its an exception, it doesn't prove anything!

Thank you. I've been thinking for years that it ought to be "The exception thta DISproves the rule".

 

[Pyroguekenesis]

"I've had it up to here"
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- I dunno....somewhere around that distance? I still don't get it..