#34032
06/29/2001 3:49 AM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I thought other linguaphiles might appreciate this excerpt from Robertson Davies's "The Rebel Angels":
I walked on toward Ploughwright, thinking about faeces. What a lot we had found out about the prehistoric past from the study of fossilised dung of long-vanished animals. A miraculous thing, really; a recovery of the past from what was carelessly rejected. And in the Middle Ages, how concerned people who lived close to the world of nature were with the faeces of animals. And what a variety of names they had for them: the Crotels of a Hare, the Friants of a Boar, the Spraints of an Otter, the Werderobe of a Badger, the Waggying of a Fox, the Fumets of a Deer. Surely there might be some words for the material so near to the heart of Ozy Froats better than shit? What about the Problems of a President, the Backward Passes of a Footballer, the Deferrals of a Dean, the Odd Volumes of a Librarian, the Footnotes of a Ph.D., the Low Grades of a Freshman, the Anxieties of an Untenured Professor? As for myself, might it not be appropriately called the Collect for the Day?
Can we extend the list to other animals or occupations?
Bingley
Bingley
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#34033
06/29/2001 4:44 AM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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here are some more real ones afore we get down in the trenches:
ornithocopros - bird excrement (guano)
frass - debris or excrement produced by insects
bodewash - buffalo chips (or cow chips)
coprolite - fossilized excrement
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#34034
06/29/2001 10:30 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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This is a game I prefer to stay out of, but wwh has a wonderful story that would fit right in. Dr. Bill, if you didn't save it, I'll send it back so you can post it--no changes needed, as far as I'm concerned.
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#34035
06/29/2001 12:35 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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How about the Off-fall of an Ox? That's why I would never consider eating offal.
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#34036
06/29/2001 12:52 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
I shall refrain from any further scatalogical entries as Jackie still has me staying after school and writing on the blackboard "I will not be a pottymouth, I will not be a pottymouth..."
But I do want to ask: what is the "sounds like a bell" reference about?
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#34037
06/29/2001 12:55 PM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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it's ejecta [ecch] from the riddle thread, undoubtedly.
dung!
-ron obvious
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#34038
06/29/2001 2:32 PM
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Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Perhaps "sounds like a bell" should be "rings like a bell" which could be rhyming slang for "stinks like hell".
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#34039
06/29/2001 2:48 PM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 609
addict
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addict
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 609 |
the droppings of an English cricketer, obviously.
the fall out of a nuclear scientist
the .. no I'll stop right there
Rod
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#34040
06/29/2001 3:11 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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As The Professor and the Madman pointed out-- dog= "pure"
In past years, before a "poop and scoop" law-- we always used to look out for glass on the street -- once a friend replied-- I don't see any glass-- but why didn't you warn me about the dog s***? D'oh!
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#34041
06/29/2001 6:23 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Sheep -- Dag (daggy?) from the song--
here we are in NSW, shearing sheep as big as whales,
with leather necks and daggy tails...
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#34042
06/29/2001 6:40 PM
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Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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dag... maybe. let's wait for help from <ahem> down under  Dag, a lock of wool that hangs at the tail of a sheep and draggles in the dirt. Dag-wool, refuse wool; cut off in trimming the sheep.
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#34043
06/29/2001 7:03 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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An elephant meets a rabbit for the first time– he admires the rabbits beautiful white fur, and asks, enviously, "Do you have a problem with s*** sticking to your fine hair?
The rabbit says, "My fine hair is fur, and no, I do not!"
At which point, the elephant picks up the rabbit, and uses it to wipe himself and comments, "I do!"
I have heard-- but forget-- but there is a special word for rabbits.. (pellets?)
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#34044
06/29/2001 7:27 PM
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Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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" here we are in NSW, shearing sheep as big as whales,
with leather necks and daggy tails.."
I have seen a lot of sheep, but never one with a tail. All the ones I ever saw had an elastic put around tail at base to shut off circulation and make tail drop off when they were lambs. Can it be the Kiwis can't afford elastics?
(Joke - no offence intended. Maybe they have so many they think it is too much work.)
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#34046
06/29/2001 9:11 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Alex, you can go home now---but work on that penmanship, will you? 
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#34047
06/29/2001 11:00 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dags are typically a combination of faeces and wool which adorn the rear ends of sheep which are in bad need of crutching (this is cutting the wool off around their backsides).
Occasionally a sheep will be missed during a muster and will not be shorn for a year. By the next summer, they have long streamers of daggy wool hanging around their rear ends. These dry out in the sun, and start knocking against each other when the sheep move, making a kind of clacking sound. This gets more audible as the sheep moves faster. From this phenomenon comes the term "rattle your dags", meaning, "get a move on" or "move faster".
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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#34048
06/29/2001 11:25 PM
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Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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And virgin wool comes from the sheep that run the fastest.
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#34049
06/30/2001 12:00 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771 |
As many of you know (especially you bio scholars Hi Jackie!), my non-Board name is Dagny. Over the years, many have opted to shorten it to "Dag".
Suddenly I find myself not so fond of that anymore, if you can imagine...
[Ignorance was bliss e]
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#34050
06/30/2001 12:02 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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And virgin wool comes from the sheep that run the fastest.Ohmigawd!  And if the ewes are running too fast, could you say the others are rampaging??
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#34051
06/30/2001 3:52 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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virgin wool
When synthetic fibers first hit the market (about 1948) I distinctly recall a tag that bragged the garment was made of "Virgin Nylon"
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#34052
06/30/2001 4:04 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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"Virgin Nylon"
She was the oldest of the Vestal Virgins of Rome.
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#34053
06/30/2001 4:17 PM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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"Virgin Nylon" No, no, no, see, that's where it was made. Except I thought that name was always in plural...
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#34054
07/01/2001 2:31 AM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Which reminds me of the old poem, "Caviar from the Virgin Sturgeon"
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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#34055
07/01/2001 12:35 PM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Alex asks
what is the "sounds like a bell" reference about?
I actually got it from Monty Python. The answer is, as tsuwm points out, dung .
Bingley
Bingley
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#34056
07/02/2001 12:38 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,773
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
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OK. I've resisted long enough. Here's one version of the ubiquitous bear joke:
In light of the rising frequency of bear-human encounters, the National Park Service is advising hikers to take extra precautions. The Service suggests that hikers remain on the trails and wear little bells on their clothing, so as not to startle bears that are not expecting them. The service also suggests that outdoorsmen carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a bear.
It is also a good idea to watch for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear dung. Black bear dung is smaller and contains lots of berries and sometimes squirrel fur. Grizzly bear dung is larger, has little bells in it and smells like pepper.
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#34057
07/03/2001 11:26 AM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
my non-Board name is DagnyUh, yeah, I'm sure my husband (whose name happens to be Dag, which has a perfectly nice meaning in Norwegian!) will also be thrilled to hear the latest on his (oft-abused) name... 
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#34058
07/04/2001 12:25 PM
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 609
addict
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addict
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 609 |
why didn't you warn me about the dog s***?
The word "shit" has been used as an expletive for many years, and through over use has lessened in its intensity and shock value. It is also used quite widely as a term for general mess, and in several other phrases. However, its use as a term for excrement seems to have a higher intensity and is eschewed (No - I already saw that joke, thank you) - in polite company. Hence I have heard a polite lady state "Oh shit! I just stepped in some doggy doo-doo".
Is there a name for this process? Can you think of some other examples? I'm not trying to trawl the gutter, just trying to explore this phenomenon.
Rod
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#34059
07/04/2001 1:06 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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But the group would have be surprised if she said: "Oh, doo-doo! I've stepped in some dog shit!" Maybe she followed a fundamental lesson in style, that repetition of one word in the same sentence is bad form And she was not one of those imperturbable types who wouldn't say if if they had a mouth full.
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#34060
07/04/2001 3:04 PM
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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As an avid morel shrooner, I am always amused when I encounter what my sisters and I refer to as the "Deer John". It is a semi-hollowed tree full of deer droppings that looks like they just back up and let it drop. I often imagine a group of deer standing in line to use the facility and gossiping and crossing their legs.
consuelo
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#34061
07/04/2001 7:13 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear consuelo: Trees such as you describe cannot be common, which might explain why I have never seen or heard of deer doing that. I wonder why they do that, what advantage there is to it, unless it prevents the biting flies from attacking sensitive areas.
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#34062
07/05/2001 4:31 AM
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Consuelo is an avid morel shrooner. Should I be  or or  ? Bingley
Bingley
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#34063
07/05/2001 1:16 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear Bingley: Forget morels and truffles until you acquire a trained French truffle hound.
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#34064
07/05/2001 1:23 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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...what my sisters and I refer to as the "Deer John".
Give a whole new meaning to a Deer John letter.
And, if the deer has (looks like umlaut) a whole new meaning to the advertising slogan of the people that make the tractor: Nothing Runs Like a Deer(e).
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#34065
07/05/2001 1:36 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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And coming back to the beginings-- i was reminded yesterday-- (a US holiday) the worms have "castings"
This is such a wonderful thread-- until it started i hadn't realize i knew so many names for different types of excretement! -- and now i know even more! (i knew frass, guano, castings, pure, scat, (did we use scat yet? ) Bears make scat.
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#34066
07/05/2001 2:31 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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And nice old ladies who don't know what the word means tell stray dogs or cats to "scat."Actually, a common country practice was to catch strays and smear them with excerement to punish owners who let them stray.
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#34067
07/05/2001 2:50 PM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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a common country practice was to catch strays and smear them with excrement* AHD lists both (in separate entries) as Origin Unknown. This time I *will look it up in my OED! And while you're at it Dr. Bill, you might consider expunging the word dirt from your vocabulary. Not to mention moist. *According to ledasdottir, this would only work with bear excrement. ( http://wordsmith.org/board/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=miscellany&Number=32928)
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#34068
07/05/2001 3:05 PM
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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well-- i am not sure it only goes with bears-- I have only heard it (i think?) with bears..
and until this thread started, i never even realize i knew these words.. and so far we hav avoided humans-- i taught my kids BM (bowel movement)
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#34069
07/05/2001 4:48 PM
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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" Dr. Bill, you might consider expunging the word dirt from your vocabulary. Not to mention
moist."
Dear Faldage: No bowdlerizer I. I meant that nice old ladies that used to use it would have been upset if someone told them what "scat" meant. Like my wife's grandmother who primly corrected me for saying the word "bull". She informed me that that was "a gentleman cow."
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#34070
07/05/2001 6:40 PM
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Then there is the children's book "Everyone Poops" ....
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#34071
07/05/2001 7:24 PM
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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In the same vein, somewhat...
how did a toilet come to be known as a crapola? I understand the 'crap' part but the 'ola' is a mystery to me.
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