To, I was asked about a help document that I have been sharing with users.. Some one called it My document, and i stopped, and corrected them, and pointed out, that in big letters, on the front, the document was created by another group, and i just found it very helpful, and was helping to distribute the information.. I continued..
"I don't want to steal their thunder, they did a great job!"
and the person looked at me, and said "i've never heard that before!"-- it took me a moment (did she mean no ever credited the other group before?) No she meant the expression-- I don't want to steal their thunder,
i don't know where i heard it.. or when i started to use it..
Does any one else use it? shall we explore it? or should i just google and take all the fun out of it?
I admit to being a repeat user. [It's a Thor thubject in my home.]
Subject to eventual google, I assume that it has no connection with the line in the Notre Dame fight song: Shake down the thunder from the sky.
There is a co-worker of mine who constantly says the wrong thing at the wrong time. The other day, he blurted out in our very busy office that a co-worker was pregnant. I said he shouldn't
steal her thunder like that. He acted like I had two heads. I thought he was just too dumb to understand that it was her news to tell. Maybe he didn't understand the phrase?
Dear of troy: I thought I could find your phrase here, but failed. I suppose putting URLs in I&A is getting tiresome. And I can't remember if it is in Max's collection. Anyhow I guarantee it as a fun place to browse:
http://www.bootlegbooks.com/Reference/PhraseAndFable/Default.htm
Yet another fine site you've got us into Bill ;) thanks
in honour of your catching mastery, may I humbly tender you a new acronym, knowing how fond you are of such things?
Fabulously interesting site here.
or FISH for short
keep peddlin', whereiffer you is shona!
Dear mav: You should see the ones that got away.
the ones that got away
you'll just have to get more effishient in your trawl of the net ;)
There is a Norse legend about Thor's hammer being stolen by Thrym, king of the Giants. I doubt that many of you would care to read it even though it is short. It might have given rise to of troy's phrase.
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/thrym.html
Of course references to fish bring to mind the expression on my (then) ten-year-old nephew's face when I told him we kept old hospital records on microfiche. He, being a very smart little boy, looked up at me deadpan and said, "You mean like Uncle Jim's baby guppies?"
I have seen some sad stories about "life expectancy" of microfiche. Worst of all, involving the Library of Congress, with no clue as to alternative storage. Even CDs don't last as long as first hoped.
I forget the exact details, but I believe the expression dates from the 18th century and a period of rivalry between two London theatre impresarios, where one had built up expectation in the public breast regarding special sound effects to be featured in the opening night of a new opera, only to have his rival use them first after dastardly subornation of the sound effects artist.
Bingley
I think it was a production of King Lear that had stolen the thunder, but a lot earlier than that... hmm, can't recall the details, think it was James Dennis who came up with the phrase - loudly protesting in the middle of the show!
Oops, got your name wrong, sorry John! But he wasn’t a very memorable guy.
http://homepage.mac.com/roberthuber/3humhist.htmlIt was a bit earlier, but not as much as I was remembering:
http://www.bartleby.com/100/202.htmlI like that quote:
A man who could make so vile a pun would not scruple to pick a pocket. hi, TEd!
Hmm, same story with variations in the venue? Starting to sound almost like an urban legend. What!? Bartleby preserving an urban legend!? Never!!
microfiche...."You mean like Uncle Jim's baby guppies?"
See, I wouldn't have thought of that, because we say "micro-feesh" not "micro-fish". What are others' preferences? I wonder if this has to do with the presence of French in everyday life here in Canada. I suspect that whether you understand French or not it ends up affecting some things, like pronunciation!
Howye fokes
Accorden ta me trusty Tedasaurus this is exactly what happened:
As Maverick pinted out there was once a playwrite and critic be the name of John Dennis (1567 - 1734). Anyways, he invented a new method of stimulaten thunder claps on the stage. He used this new method in his play "Appius and Virgina" (who, btw, was nick-named Virgin fer short - but not fer long).
Well, ta cut a long story short - wasn't the play a bit of a flop. A while later when Mr Dennis was looken at a perforemince of "Macbeth" didn't he notice that they had used an improved version of his thunder effects.
With a fierce thunderous look flashen across his furious face he says, "Dam them! They will not let me play run, but they steal me thunder."
Be seein ya
GallantTed
I'm a feesher as well.
Bingley
Apparently the Mormons are feeshers of men