|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Pooh-Bah
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
A man's his purse, but who says leather's not romantic?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 609
addict
|
|
addict
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 609 |
stuffed shirt - I feel a side thread coming on about clothes used to describe people.
Obviously blue collar, white collar. Any others? (wet blanket - stretching the category slightly)
In UK we have the expression "big girl's blouse" as in "That new striker (in the soccer team) is nothing but a big girl's blouse!" meaning a useless wimp.
Rod Ward
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 76
journeyman
|
|
journeyman
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 76 |
Mark Twain wrote a really funny parody of Victorian verbiage which I found in a compilation of his more salacious works titled "Letters from the Earth." It gave all the elaborate forms of the address to be used when asking permission to rescue a person from a fire. So, even at the time, some people realized the extreme nature of this stuff.
That said, it's amazing how much time you have to spend on things when there's no tv, and it's a certain kind of luxury to have such an abundance of words.
If a pompous man is a stuffed shirt, what is the female counterpart?
That's really an interesting question. I can't think of any counterpart, though not for lack of need. In the NYC art world, I've heard the imperious, cooly beautiful women who sit at the front desks at art galleries described as "vestial virgins." Of course, they might be men, also. Another clothing word that comes close, but is a little off the mark is "straight-laced." (Odd coincidence that the masculine refers to plumping the torso, and the feminine to cinching it...)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 609
addict
|
|
addict
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 609 |
and blue stocking of course
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,379 |
If a pompous man is a stuffed shirt, what is the female counterpart?
A stuffed shirt.
This is Binky, wishing you a pleasant from the rings of Saturn, signing off.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
|
|
OP
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773 |
The fields of bookkeeping and accounting have shifted in recent years from predominately male to predominately female, and are now known as "pink collar" occupations.
Still, GO GREEN! [Must post one Spartan-related message a day, until they are done.]
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289 |
In reply to:
another clothing word ... is 'straight-laced'
Actually, it isn't. You have fallen into a homophone trap. The word is "strait-laced".
There is also "strait-jacket" with similar meaning, often misspelled 'straight-jacket."
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 76
journeyman
|
|
journeyman
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 76 |
You have fallen into a homophone trap. The word is "strait-laced".
There is also "strait-jacket" with similar meaning, often misspelled 'straight-jacket."
No kidding! But of course. So I guess strait-laced isn't a suitable feminine of "stuffed shirt" at all. Leaving us in dire straits.......
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
|
Anonymous
Unregistered
|
how about "wears the pants [in the family]"
also "dressed to kill", though that describes more of a temporary condition than a true personality trait.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 724
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 724 |
> I imagine something like the following going through the minds of the writers whilst they were composing these epistles:
I thought this was brilliant.
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,602
Members9,187
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
157
guests, and
3
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
