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One of the teeming tens over to wordorigins discovered this wonderful little article. Some of them were a little to local for me but have been explained to me by one of the regulars. Any others that y'all have run into?
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Carpal Tunnel
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That's a cute article, Faldage. Most of the allusions I got (San Fairy Ann was my favorite), but...what on earth is damp squid a substitute for?
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Quote:
That's a cute article, Faldage. Most of the allusions I got (San Fairy Ann was my favorite), but...what on earth is damp squid a substitute for?
"Damp squib"
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A-hem... can anyone elucidate further? I don't get "damp squib" either.
Fun article, Faldage!
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formerly known as etaoin...
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To this USn ear squibs sound like they're already damp. Another Briticism that just doesn't sound right.
Eta, you've heard squib in the wild here in the US&A?
Jackie, damp squib is a firework that fizzles instead of banging. It is used metaphorically to mean something that doesn't pan out the way you'd expect it to.
One of the things I liked about the article was the folk etymology given for "given up the goat."
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> Eta, you've heard squib in the wild here in the US&A?
nope, only in the Lord of the Rings...
formerly known as etaoin...
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In the film industry squibs are the little harmless explosives used in special effects, such as the simulation of a person getting shot. A packet of fake blood is taped to the actor's chest and a squib wired up to it. On cue the squib is detonated via remote control, causing the fake blood to burst forth as the player says something like "Alas, I die."
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A squib is also a short article in an academic journal. I thought it stood for a damned squib in Linguistic Inquiry.
Ceci n'est pas un seing.
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Quote:
A squib is also a short article in an academic journal. I thought it stood for a damned squib in Linguistic Inquiry.
Thank you. So now that I know what a "damp squib" is, can I just say that zmjezhd's avatar looks uncommonly like a damp squid to me?
[/running-and-ducking-e]
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