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#113778 - 10/16/03 11:47 AM well i never.. what?
dodyskin Offline
addict

Registered: 04/24/02
Posts: 475
Loc: manchester uk
anyone know the end of this phrase, is there an end to this phrase? i have only ever heard, 'well i never', and,'well i never did'.


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#113779 - 10/16/03 11:55 AM Re: well i never.. what?
maahey Offline
addict

Registered: 12/03/02
Posts: 555
...would've believed it?


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#113780 - 10/16/03 02:08 PM Re: well i never.. what?
of troy Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 10/17/00
Posts: 5400
Loc: rego park
Well, I never

seen such a thing!
seen such a thing in my entire life!

heard of such a thing!
heard of such a thing in my life!

experienced such a thing!
experienced such a thing before in my entire life!

or something else in a similar vein.

_________________________
my other obsession

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#113781 - 10/16/03 06:37 PM Re: well i never.. what?
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 08/27/02
Posts: 2154
Loc: British Columbia, Canada
"did", the ending is did
as in "Well, I never did!"[scandalized outrage e]
And of course the answer is either "you should have" or "I'm not surprised"


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#113782 - 10/16/03 09:34 PM Re: well i never.. what?
Jackie Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 03/15/00
Posts: 11578
Loc: Louisville, Kentucky
...heard tell of such a thing.


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#113783 - 10/17/03 06:57 AM something in a similar vein
wofahulicodoc Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 08/06/01
Posts: 3774
Loc: Worcester, MA
Well, I never...

...would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

Do you suppose the phrase is sufficiently unique to have a documentable origin? Or, like Topsy (xthread), did it just grow?


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#113784 - 10/17/03 11:22 AM one half of a pair?
dodyskin Offline
addict

Registered: 04/24/02
Posts: 475
Loc: manchester uk
i kind of thought it might have another half that goes with it but can be used alone like:
it just goes to show
with
you never can tell
no?
ok
is there a word for that, anyway?


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#113785 - 10/18/03 01:34 AM Re: one half of a pair?
Capfka Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 06/28/02
Posts: 1624
Loc: Utter Placebo, Planet Reebok
Well, as has been amply illustrated above, "Well, I never!" is short for a longer expression and take your pick for precisely what that longer expression is.

English's ability to shorten the too-long knows no limits. Well, yes it does. Probably the ultimate contraction has to be "halfpenny'sworth" chopped down to "haypth"! I think the English language has rather rested on its laurels since coming up with that one.


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#113786 - 10/18/03 06:40 AM Re: one half of a pair?
consuelo Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/11/01
Posts: 2636
Loc: Caribbean
Word!?


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#113787 - 10/18/03 07:16 PM the long and the short of it
wofahulicodoc Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 08/06/01
Posts: 3774
Loc: Worcester, MA
Probably the ultimate contraction has to be "halfpenny'sworth" chopped down to "haypth"!

For me the champion has always been "eleëmosynary" ==> "alms".


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#113788 - 10/18/03 07:28 PM Re: Re: well i never.. what?
belMarduk Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 09/28/00
Posts: 2888
I think that it is pretty much it. You have to fill in the end based on what is going on at that precise moment.




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