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One of the teeming tens over to wordorigins discovered this wonderful little article. Some of them were a little to local for me but have been explained to me by one of the regulars. Any others that y'all have run into?
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That's a cute article, Faldage. Most of the allusions I got (San Fairy Ann was my favorite), but...what on earth is damp squid a substitute for?
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Quote:
That's a cute article, Faldage. Most of the allusions I got (San Fairy Ann was my favorite), but...what on earth is damp squid a substitute for?
"Damp squib"
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A-hem... can anyone elucidate further? I don't get "damp squib" either.
Fun article, Faldage!
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formerly known as etaoin...
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To this USn ear squibs sound like they're already damp. Another Briticism that just doesn't sound right.
Eta, you've heard squib in the wild here in the US&A?
Jackie, damp squib is a firework that fizzles instead of banging. It is used metaphorically to mean something that doesn't pan out the way you'd expect it to.
One of the things I liked about the article was the folk etymology given for "given up the goat."
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> Eta, you've heard squib in the wild here in the US&A?
nope, only in the Lord of the Rings...
formerly known as etaoin...
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Pooh-Bah
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In the film industry squibs are the little harmless explosives used in special effects, such as the simulation of a person getting shot. A packet of fake blood is taped to the actor's chest and a squib wired up to it. On cue the squib is detonated via remote control, causing the fake blood to burst forth as the player says something like "Alas, I die."
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A squib is also a short article in an academic journal. I thought it stood for a damned squib in Linguistic Inquiry.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Quote:
A squib is also a short article in an academic journal. I thought it stood for a damned squib in Linguistic Inquiry.
Thank you. So now that I know what a "damp squib" is, can I just say that zmjezhd's avatar looks uncommonly like a damp squid to me?
[/running-and-ducking-e]
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ça ne fait rien?
Tranlated literally, I get "That makes nothing". Is that the French equivalent to "get stuffed"? Seems terribly mild if it is.
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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zmjezhd's avatar looks uncommonly like a damp squid to me
O R'lyeh, it does.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Quote:
ça ne fait rien?
Tranlated literally, I get "That makes nothing". Is that the French equivalent to "get stuffed"? Seems terribly mild if it is.
No, what it means is "It doesn't matter". You might use it, say, if you are out of cash, but "San Fairy Anne, I have my Visa."
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Thanks Elizabeth. Time for you to be getting back to large mammoths, isn't it? 
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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Are these things in the same vein with "manneurism" (possibly a burst artery in one's personality)? Or is that only a "mute point" (unspoken idea that does not matter anyway)? Not making this up, really! 
ÅΓª╥┐↕§
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Pooh-Bah
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Then can we reasonably conclude that "damp squid" is simply a misspelling of "damp squib" or that it is intended as a witty synonym for the latter
dalehileman
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Actually, I think, it was a correct spelling of a mishearing.
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