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#41809 09/16/01 11:37 PM
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"Peeling out" in the extended sense of any fast, emphatic departure (not necessarily by motorcycle), as in "This party's a drag; I'm peeling out of here." Query: would "blowing out of here" be from the same idea, or from the concept "to blow it off"?

Scratch meaning "chicken feed", as in "You don't know scratch, Jack."

#41810 09/17/01 01:06 AM
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can any one help on the word latin.. it begins with a p (er) i think..

Is it pruritus you're thinking of, Helen? Methinks that's the medical term for itch.




#41811 09/17/01 02:51 AM
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On the subject of colloquial terms for money, has anyone ever seen or heard "getus" for money? I have seen this on the internet but never heard it in conversation, and it mystifies me. From context it seems to mean money. I wonder if it is a ocnflation of "get us" -- i.e. you'll need "getus" to get us anything at the store.


#41812 09/17/01 11:47 AM
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mmmm, all very interesting - thanks!

The person who used this turn of phrase indicated it is common parlance and a synonym for peeling out or burning rubber in their community. I will try and find out if this usage comes from the well-healed type origin...


#41813 09/17/01 02:49 PM
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getting scratch = getting bupkus = winding up with ziltch = getting nada

Also (may be a Canadianism only)

getting scratch = winding up even


#41814 09/17/01 03:18 PM
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getting nada

The image of tyres burnt smooth and getting nowhere suddenly made me realise that the usage I heard probably derives from just that, doesn't it? - burning rubber but getting nowhere fast.

and BTW, wicked niece, that is one good reason for hanging with younger people...


#41815 09/17/01 08:32 PM
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I know this is not wordish but our title ‘vroom with a hue’ reminded me of when my son was about three years old. We were not very rich (single parent et al) during those peanut butter years and all I could afford was a car that was just this side of kicken’ the bucket.

Well one day, Jon was playing with his dinky cars when he picked one up and started hacking and weezing: Hack-hack- phlegmy cough, phlegmy cough, hack hack, wheeze…

“What on earth are you doing,” I asked.

“Well Mom,” he says like it is plainly evident, “I have to start the car, don’t I”

It was definitely time to buy a new car.



#41816 09/17/01 08:59 PM
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Another phrase I've heard for "burning rubber," which at least rhymes (kindasorta) with your "getting scratch" is "laying a patch." The sense here being, I believe, to spin the tires and leave a patch of rubber on the road - I've always liked the phrase because it takes a moment to puzzle out but gives a very clear image of what's happened once you do.


#41817 09/18/01 08:50 AM
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Thanks, all - what about the top of the world, do any of you guys know or use these expressions, or other variants instead?


#41818 09/18/01 09:40 AM
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