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#187431 - 10/25/09 03:57 PM Re: sparrow's grass [Re: zmjezhd]
latishya Offline
enthusiast

Registered: 11/24/07
Posts: 387
Loc: कहीं &...
Originally Posted By: zmjezhd


Sparrow's grass for asparagus is my favorite folk etymology.


that is excellent. i was hopelessly confused by the person who said that their friend had studied the roma as part of an interest in all things roman but i did guess that your 'sparrow's grass' was a pun on asparagus.

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#187434 - 10/25/09 04:53 PM Re: sparrow's grass [Re: zmjezhd]
BranShea Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 3755
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
Oh my gosh, you may certainly say so. What a mishmash. I think the Romani coming this way from medieval India were struck by identity crisis on reaching Central and Eastern Europe, which kept them on the move all these ages.
Romani

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#187437 - 10/25/09 10:10 PM Re: sparrow('s) grass [Re: BranShea]
Faldage Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/01/00
Posts: 12529
Just an aside, but I've never heard sparrow's grass. It's always been sparrow grass.

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#187445 - 10/26/09 11:44 AM Re: sparrow('s) grass [Re: Faldage]
BranShea Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 3755
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
Not five minutes after I'd read your post there was a massive invasion of sparrows in our backyards' space. ( they haven't been around for many years) They were whirling back and forth the trees like a tornado. Now I'm superstitious and have a stiff neck from trying to photograph them.

The Birds

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#187463 - 10/26/09 10:41 PM Re: sparrow('s) grass [Re: BranShea]
Jackie Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 03/15/00
Posts: 10392
Loc: Louisville, Kentucky
Not half an hour before reading your post, I read a message by a friend in England who remarked how the crows were "mobbing" the field next door.
Must be the time of year.

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#187467 - 10/27/09 04:47 AM Re: sparrow('s) grass [Re: Jackie]
BranShea Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 3755
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
Of course it is the time of the year. They are gathering for migration. But they never showed up in our enclosed backyard area and what I meant is that the word provoqued the event. (superstitiously speaking)

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