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 4 of 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
the expression for striking another vehicle broadside does not refer to the steak of the same sobriquet

why is a T-bone steak so called then?

I was a little baffled by that comment, too. I was reminded of the famous (although probably apochryphal) student paper statement about The Iliad not having been composed by Homer but by someone else with the same name.

A t-bone steak is so named because it has a T shaped bone in it.
http://www.mailameal.com/jpgs/kitchen5/43.jpg


#82047 09/30/02 02:31 PM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Thanks for the description of the TCH, Bean. It doesn't sound like a drive you would make for fun - maybe as a challenge! You used an expression I have heard before but not understood; here's my chance to find out. What is a semi-trailer, please?

dxb.


Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Thanks for the picture, Faldage. Big aren't they. Sort of beef chops.


#82049 09/30/02 02:36 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
(non-meat-eaters, DON'T CLICK)

If you look carefully at this picture, dxb, you'll be able to make out the T-shaped bone (jmh knows a lot about cross-pondial beef cuts, I hope she'll chime in):

http://food.orst.edu/images/MEAT/tbone72.jpg




Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
I know I shouldn't dilly-dally when Faldage is on the loose. Oh, well, dxb, now you have two pictures!


Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Both good!!


#82052 09/30/02 02:53 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
The specific "hang back" or "slack off" sense of "sandbag" you're wondering about comes
from poker, where it originally described a player who held off raising the stakes in order
to lull the other players into a false sense of security. The poker sandbagger would
pounce late in the game, clobbering the other players with his good hand. More
generally, "sandbag" has come to mean to under perform any task in order to gain some
advantage. -The Word Detective


the reference to "clobbering" gets at the ultimate origin, which is the use of a sock filled with sand to strike someone, the object of this being to inflict pain without leaving a mark.

>Aha! I was right! Sandbagging should refer to the act of performing up to capabilities not the act of laying back in preparation.

was anyone else as nonplussed by this sequence as I was? if not, I will consider myself sandbagged and cash in my chips.




#82053 09/30/02 03:04 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Well, if sandbagging refers to the clobbering with a sock filled with sand, this would be analogous to the final phase of the procedure and not to the preliminary phase of allaying suspicions. In actual use I have always interpreted the phrase to mean the laying back in the early stages; the racer who barely qualifies and then blows everybody away in the race itself is said to have been sandbagging in the prelims.

I was nonplussed by the assertion that the phrase originated in poker; I was not and am still not aware of socks filled with sand being standard equipment in poker games. Perhaps I've never played with sufficiently serious players; my poker experience is not extensive.


#82054 09/30/02 03:13 PM
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
D
dxb Offline
Pooh-Bah
Offline
Pooh-Bah
D
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Its all too confusing. I conclude that sandbagging is hitting a racing driver with a poker after coming up on him/her from behind whilst pretending to be in front. But it would be quite a stretch from one car to another. Maybe you have to use a long poker.


#82055 09/30/02 03:16 PM
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
B
old hand
Offline
old hand
B
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
What is a semi-trailer, please?

dxb, it's a big truck (lorry?) used to transport big shipments of goods over long distances. Here's a pic: http://www.man.de/unternehmen/bag_nutz1_e.html. The defining quality of a semi-trailer is that the front part (the rig) can be connected to whatever sort of trailer it needs to haul whatever it is hauling. We may have broached on this before. So what do you call the thing in the picture? A USn term is "tractor trailer" I believe.


Page 4 of 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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