Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 3 of 4 1 2 3 4
#3224 06/06/00 09:41 AM
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679
R
Rubrick Offline OP
addict
OP Offline
addict
R
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679
> Unidentified Flying Oddball (1979)
(Spaceman in King Arthur's Court, A (1979))

None of these looks like Disney....

Being a child of the '70s I seem to remember this last one as being a Disney film. The name certainly fits the bill, anyway!


#3225 06/06/00 09:44 AM
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679
R
Rubrick Offline OP
addict
OP Offline
addict
R
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 679
> Could you please provide some enlightenment on your rhyme examples? Thanks to Dick Francis, this
septic does at least understand the concept. I just don't know the particulars. The closest I could come for
syrup is 'hair up', and somehow I don't think that's it!

A cinch, jackie! Syrup of figs - wigs!!! Remember, you don't rhyme the known word. You build a phrase from it and rhyme that phrase.


#3226 06/06/00 10:33 PM
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 13
M
stranger
Offline
stranger
M
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 13
Syrup comes from the rhyme of "syrup and fig" which goes to "wig" therefore haircut/wig/toupee...

Another is "pony" for "not very good": "pony and trap" = crap

And "septic" comes from "septic tank" = yank


#3227 06/07/00 02:08 AM
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 28
L
newbie
Offline
newbie
L
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 28
'... those of us who live in the South (the Dixie cups)..." Gosh, golly. How things do come up per chance. I have no idea what 'Dixie cups' refer to in the above, perhaps some-one could patiently explain ... BUT ... perhaps there might also be an incidental answer to something that I've often wondered about. Why on earth do we in Oz refer to small round tubs of ice-cream, characteristically bought at the cinema, as 'Dixies' ? Is there any connection at all, at all?


#3228 06/09/00 12:46 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Hi, Lucy--
Dixie cups are a brand of throwaway small paper cups,
designed to be pulled out of a dispenser next to a water
cooler or drinking fountain. I believe they were touted as
being more hygienic than regular glasses, or the kind of
fountain where the person in front of you might have put
his germy mouth right on the spicket. They became VERY
popular, even in private homes, during the polio scare
of the '50's.
I think the reason Anna used that term is that she lives in
"Dixieland". (Technically, I do too, but Kentucky was neutral during the American Civil War, and is not the "Deep South" geographically.)


#3229 06/09/00 06:08 AM
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 28
L
newbie
Offline
newbie
L
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 28
Thank you Jackie. We have those water coolers (and cups) here too, but I have never heard the cups referred to as dixies. However, the application of 'dixies' to our little ice-cream 'buckets' makes sense.

'Spicket'?? Not used here at all, although I can guess at the meaning from your context. A useful word - wonder how long it would take to get it into common use here.


#3230 06/09/00 10:52 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
>>The closest I could come for
syrup is 'hair up', and somehow I don't think that's it!

A cinch, jackie! Syrup of figs - wigs!!! Remember, you don't rhyme the known word. You build a phrase from it and rhyme that phrase.<<

Well--I was closer than I thought!




#3231 06/09/00 11:05 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Lucy--
Isn't that one of the great fringe benefits of this Board?
Someone uses a word without even thinking about it, and
someone else sees it with amazement! I have enjoyed the
dialogues about different terms used in Great Britain,
Canada, and the "lands down-under" so much--even though I've
never heard of a lot of them! I never really gave much thought, before this, to needing an interpreter for another
native-English speaker!
Er--Lucy, your bio doesn't say, but did I pick up from one of the threads that you live in Great Britain (if you don't
mind)?


#3232 06/09/00 02:23 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
>'Spicket'?? Not used here at all

how 'bout "spigot" (faucet), a more standard spelling?


#3233 06/09/00 02:26 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Lucy,
"Spicket" in the U.S. South may well be "spigot" in your neck.... I guess Dixie cups is an example of the brand name taking over the generic, as Jackie suggested. It's funny, though, the makers of Dixie cups live in the North of the US, not the South. If you ever get a chance, check out the makers of those little paper cups, both ice cream and drinking fountain. I'd be curious to know if they're made by a subsidiary of the Dixie folks.

As for "wig", I'd never have gotten that since I haven't a clue as to what "syrup of figs" is. A digestive aid, maybe?


Page 3 of 4 1 2 3 4

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 442 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5