Ever notice that some of the machines we use have some very human functions? For example, computers can sleep and cars can panic.

Any others?

Cars can panic? What does that mean?

You know, when the car alarm is set off, or when you press the "Panic" button on your remote control.

when you press the "Panic" button on your remote control.

When you do that in the Czech Republic, doesn't it call a politician?

Speaking of appliances, my kitchen stove emits gas, and my refrigerator's frigid - sort of like some relationships I've known of. Also, my word processor has been fraternizing with my food processor, which accounts for all the alphabet soup I've written. Also, is the garment presser's union governed by an ironing board?

our Hoover sucks. well, actually it's a Dirt Devil.

worse-- our computers became infected with a virus and whole building are being isolated and quarantined..to prevent the spread of the infection..

The fan blows hot air, the air conditioner is really cool and the scanner is a real "looker!"

My answering machine is a quick talker, my picture frame is a square, and my kleenex tissue is a softy but quickly turns into a slimeball if you even breath in his direction.

The rumour persists that the day Microsoft release a product that doesn't suck it'll be a vacuum cleaner...

Microsoft

Can't you cure that with Viagra?

reminds me of some of the first commands i learned in unix
a string -- look, touch, unzip, mount, gasp, yes, unmount, zip, sleep. (it might have been longer..)
i didn't really ever learn unix-- just hung out with a bunch of unix nerds--i was complete accepted at the time.. so i guess i am, or am close enought to pass for a nerd.

and i forgot to mention, the command Yes, just repeats-- again and again. i forget the command to stop it. oh and now i remember.. come is a valid unix command..

Here it is Sunday morning and two of my plants are hanging over and all the rest are potted! Tsk Tsk.

Tsk Tsk.
Where does that phrase come form, and how is it pronounced?

Apologies for a possible yart. This may have been discussed in a May 4 thread, but I'm not picking up the May 8 postings - perhaps I mis-search. In any event, that discussion seemed to focus more on pronunciation than derivation.

...or as a liguist might pontificate, "a labio-dental implosive /t/"

BTW, today I thought of the ideal 'welcome' mat for a linguaphile - it would have its name printed on it, and it would be ONOMAT

Cute, aunt mav! But...is it, "Oh, no--guests!", or "The guests are ON A MAT"?

And I still say that tsk, tsk, is pronounced tisk, tisk!

UNIX commands also include: kill truss nice strip finger more head tail uptime and whoami. By choosing appropriate variable names, one could make quite a story. We used to name variables so we could write endless loops as:
Do until the-cows-come-home
Do until hell-freezes-over

Rod

And I still say that tsk, tsk, is pronounced tisk, tisk! Thanks, but looking for more.
MaxQuse me: does anyone have info on the derivation of "tsk tsk" (or is it "tsk, tsk", with a comma)?

does anyone have info on the derivation of "tsk tsk"

I think it comes from Popeye the Sailor. He ended many words with an "sk," and, if my fading memory serves me right, he did say, "tisk, tisk" on several occasions when feigning sympathy with someone. Now, are there any other cartoon watchers "of a certain age" out there who remember this?

Ohmygoodness -- What hath I wrought?

I think [tsk tsk] it comes from Popeye the Sailor. ... Now, are there any other cartoon watchers "of a certain age" out there who remember this?

Sounds like Geoff knows more than he's telling, and maybe dropping clues for us palookas.

Are you talking about the comic "Joe Palooka?" All I recall of it is that Joe Palooka was a boxer/prizefighter.
Dr. Bill?

OED on "PALOOKA" --an inferior or average prizefighter; a stupid or mediocre person; an oaf,
Slang, chiefly US, origin unknown. Now, did OED take "palooka" from the comic strip ? or vice versa ? Hmmmm

Now, did OED take "palooka" from the comic strip ? or vice versa ? Hmmmm

Most certainly Joe Palooka came first, much as "doozie" came from Deusenberg. And no, Keiva, I don't know more than I'm letting on. I'm hoping that those older than I (yes, that IS possible!) might remember the Popeye cartoons more clearly than I, or maybe even have a few on hand.

Regarding Joe Palooka: did he tsk too? If so, who came first: Popeye or Palooka?

One aspect of Popeye's humor was that his speech was imperfect ("I'm strong to the finish 'cause I eats me spinach"), so he may not be an authority on proper tsk-ing. Or may even be an authority on how to misuse it?

(Aside: how odd to be discussing, as precedents, the relative precedence of Popeye and Palooka.)

I remember hearing "palooka" used as a derogatory name for a low ranked boxer. My dictionary says it was originated prior to 1928.

palooka
n.
?: popularized by Jack Conway (died 1928), U.S. baseball player and sportswriter6 [Old Slang] a clumsy or oafish fellow, esp. an inept athlete

For more about Popeye than you really wanted to know, see this URL'

http://www.snowcrest.net/zepp/Sociology/what_i_learned_from_popeye.htm

and *my Hoover is depressing.

If you're saying, Dr. Bill, that the word palooka is older than the comic strip, I agree. I seem to recall seeing it used in a Damon Runyan story, but don't have a copy of that work and can't check. Runyan, of course, wrote in the 1920s. The comic strip started later than the 20's.

You can watch Popeye cartoons online at liketelevision.com.

My sources don't have much to contribute to "Palooka." All Webster's unabridged says about its origin is "?". Slang and Euphemism Dictionary, Richard Spears, says:

palooka (also paluka) an oaf; an unskilled prizefighter, the name of a comic-strip prizefighter, "Joe Palooka." [U.S. slang, 1900s]