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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jun 2002
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Yup, well in some cases I don't do Windows either. I converted my old, very slow PC to Linux a month or so ago. I call it "the Unfenestration of Irchester"
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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TEd
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stranger
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stranger
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(to throw) A tub to the whale
Seems an odd idiom for "diversion" to us modern, land locked types.
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addict
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addict
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(to throw) a tub to the whale
Is this a translation from another language? It does sound odd! Welcome to the monkey house, alcove!
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2002
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Sounds like it means giving someone in trouble some totally inadequate help.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Of course it's transitive. Cf transom.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Iain:
Welcome to our little bedlam. Can you tell us the context of this phrase?
I knew Jonah was pretty fat, but I didn't ever notice that he was called any epithets in the Bible.
Though few know of the fate that eventually befell Jonah. He was eaten by a gigantic chicken. And thus we have the phrase "out of the leviathan into the fryer."
Sorry. Most of the old timers here have heard that before, but it's one of my favorites.
TEd
TEd
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stranger
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stranger
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Or, "it's like getting blood from a turnip."
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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My goodness gracious, beanie--it is GOOD to see you again! It's been way too long! 
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stranger
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stranger
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Actually, when one stops to think about it, almost all idiomatic expressions are unintelligible when they are read literally. It's a common problem with ESLs.
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member
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member
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all idiomatic expressions are unintelligible when they are read literally
That's a better definition than the one at Dictionary.com, bushmillsneat.
Dictionary.com - idiom
A speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements, as in keep tabs on.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dave sez: almost all idiomatic expressions are unintelligible when they are read literally.
This is seemingly true beyond the English language, as well.
In Brazil, when two adult males meet, one may ask the other: "O que é que há com seu peru?" This question is literally about the other fellow's turkey. It is colloquially about one part of the other fellow's anatomy. Its conversational meaning is "How are you?" Neither the literal nor the colloquial meaning get one all the way to understanding the expression.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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formerly known as etaoin...
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Faldage asks: How they hangin', Pops?
Quite precisely.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Just got to this thread- wonderful! I read Jackie's post :
Bel, I love it! "pare-brise" = to pare (cut) the breeze...
I've got a new expression out of it, having to do with the dog's making noxious odors.
(Ducking behind a big stone for cover.)
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