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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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In reply to:
No idea of the origin but to be "sent to Coventry" means no one speaks to you or acknowleges your presence.
It's said to date back to the Civil War (1640s) when Royalist prisoners of war were detained in Coventry, a Midlands town which was a staunch Parlimentarian stronghold, and ostracised by the townsfolk there.
One phrase much used as a mild expletive by a Dorset lass I know is "Do things to ducks."
Bingley
Bingley
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old hand
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old hand
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écoute, c'est pas la mer ŕ boire / listen up, it's not the sea to drink
A rather common one in the UK (and probably an import from across the pond, given our sometimes archaic technology) is: "It's not exactly rocket science, is it?", implying its not an intellectually taxing job.
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addict
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addict
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"My grandfather's clock" was written by Henry Clay Work. There's a wonderful recording of the song made by 'Flotsam and Jetsam' (Malcolm McEachern and F C Hilliam) in the 1920s or early 1930s. The only other song of Work's that I know is "Poor Kitty Popcorn" on a recording made by Joan Morris and William Bolcom.
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veteran
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veteran
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"One of its legs are both the same"
Not what it's quacked up to be, really.
"How long is a piece of string?" reminds me of a (at the time fashionably) miserable local band that advertised themselves with the strapline:
"How low can you get?"
To which some wag added:
"Lower."
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veteran
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veteran
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the delightful English television comedy "Chef" in which the conversation between the chef and the waiters was a model of abuseIsn't this the case worldwide, Father? I couldn't imagine a state of affairs where chefs were polite to waiters (although waiters are at least initially polite to chefs). You go through those double swing-doors and all hell breaks loose! If people only knew what happens in the kitchen...  
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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What was the name he used for the waiters? I remember it as being particularly funny.
I remember seeing a programme about Lenny Henry trying to "break into" America. I don't think he ever really made it, unlike Tracy Ullman, one of his co-stars in "Three of Kind".
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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>what's the difference between a duck?
tsuwm:
You have reminded me of one of my pet peeves in journalism, the misuse of "between." "The bullet missed the policeman and lodged between the wall." I have been known to call the reporter, ask him to get his editor on the line with us, and then scream, "Between the wall and WHAT, you idiot?"
Also, since the bullet missed, who cares a rat's patoot where it ended up?
TEd
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who cares a rat's patoot
Love it, TEd!
But is it more or less significant than a bee's dick, that's what I want to know.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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>what's the difference between a duck?
yes, the *traditional answer is "one leg is both the same"; which is why, I suppose, there are many *optional answers. such as "the higher it flies, the much" and "a red door on a motorcycle" (which goes a long way towards explaining why I was reminded of this by "an ashtray on a motorbike").
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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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In reply to:
There was a great deal of discussion about ayleurs; some people loved it, others did not. I've assumed all along that those who hated it are probably cat-kickers too.
never ass/u/me -- I am an ayleurophobe and an airlurophile.
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