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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
Jackie, forgive me for asking this, but...
There is a vulgar expression "crazier than a s***house rat" which I have heard occasionally. I wonder where does this come from? That is, I wonder why a rat in a latrine would suffer from mental disorder? I would think it would be quite content in such a place.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 428
addict
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addict
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 428 |
Oh, I thought this was a thread about Republicans.  Actually®, I never really thought about it, but I suppose an outhouse would be a fine environment for said rodent. I imagine the expression comes from the human's point of view: Damn, that rat loves it in this s***house! He must be crazy!
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
In reply to:
Oh, I thought this was a thread about Republicans
Hilarious. Thank you very much.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
"I would think it would be quite content in such a place."
Since there is nothing to eat there, only a crazy rat would be content.
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
Rats!-- but this is a yart-- we can start it up again.. but we had oodle of rats expressions. Rats up (and down) the drain, wet rats, things that looked like a rats tails--
It was --oct? Nov? of last year...
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
In defence of Alex, this is not just about rats. It is a question about how a phrase made sense to someone. It is totally unreasonable to expect relative newcomers to search back over a month.I still resent the waste of two hours I put into trying to discover how "ayleurs" originated. Old timers can simply ignore posts that don't interest them.Sorry, dear Helen, I do not want to offend you.
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
point of view'nuff to drive any rodent mad 
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
Dr bill, no offence-- -- I understand what you mean-- i know there is a rat thread--and even I am loath to search-- but it was a lovely long thread-- and rehashing (yet another rehashed topic) a topic in less than a year can be boring--
there are several options...
search, (and eventualy find it)
ask someone to assist with the search, (and maybe have more (or less!) luck, or
just continue the yart-- and let us old hands, and booh pahs deal with it!
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
My opinion of the phrase is that it is a second rate knockoff on the much older one "poor as a churchmouse". Church mice were desperately poor in the sense that in the early churches when the phrase was coined, there was no food stored nor any eating (except communion wafers).
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
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Well, if you were a claustrophobic rat living on a steady diet of s*** you'd go crazy, too! 
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