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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692 |
My "Bill Posters" phrase was an attempt to link back to phrases, but to go to one more directly, a phrase that has always fascinated me is "he knows a hawk from a handsaw". Seems that handsaw here is a corruption of Hernshaw, which is a heron. Fair enough, to know the difference between a hawk and a heron would hardly be difficult so the phrase is presumably used with ironic intent. But whence came it in the first instance I wonder?
dxb.
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
I'm kinda new in here.
The problem is that even exceedingly comfortable phrases I hear over and over begin to grate.
One that I haven't yet grown tired of is "like crap through a goose."
k
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400 |
there is a crude US phrase that is similar..but negative
He doesn't know Sh*t from shinola
(shinola is a brand of shoe polish -- Shine ola)
I think there are comparison phrases like this exist in all countries.. so i expect we'll see a few more.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771 |
Wow, does that resonate!  And a totally new one on me... I'm sure I've posted this before, but one that I'm still enamored with is "pole-vaulting over a mouse turd" ~ love the image. 
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 144
member
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 144 |
(with apologies 'cause it looks like this thread's heading for the gutter)
'doesn't know his arse from his elbow'
'he's got it all arse about tit'
(moving back out of the gutter)
'that one definitely wasn't at the front of the queue' (when they were handing out looks/height/brains/whatever)
'not got all her marbles' or 'she's lost her marbles'
there's loads more, but I've gone temporarily brain dead - need sleeeeep! Until tomorrow!
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 45
newbie
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newbie
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 45 |
For ewein:
a la word association:
favourite phrases =
"As busy as a one-armed paper-hanger"
"All over the place like a mad woman's washing"
"It's only a flesh wound"
For dxb: re Bill Posters.
I recall seeing a photo of a wall with the "Bill posters will be prosecuted" sign (which we definitely had here in oz), and under it had been scrawled "Bill Posters is innocent!" Altogether now: groan. . .
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
Just saw a Dilbert a few weeks back where a guy goes into the Doctor (I guess it's Dogbert) and says he's a marketing type and he's got a pain in his elbow. The Doc says "Show it to me" and the guy drops his drawers and shows him his backside. I was in tears and only one other person in the office understood the humor.
k
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 428
addict
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addict
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 428 |
"he knows a hawk from a handsaw"Perhaps this is a phrase from the building trades. We all know a handsaw is a tool, but a hawk is as well. It is a flat board with a handle on the bottom used to hold a big dollop of mortar or plaster for easy access while working. There's a picture of one here: http://www.homestore.com/home_improvement/howtoguides/
CreativeMixingAndHandlingMortar.asp(Just scroll down to Fig. 7 and ignore them if they try to sell you anything) A hawk is also known as a mortar board, which is also the name for the goofy flat-topped hat people wear at graduation ceremonies that looks like, well, like a mortar board! EDIT: Oops, forgot this thread is for new folks only. Well, since "I might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb" (thanks, of troy!), rkay mentioned putting doilies under a cake, but you can also make a simple chocolate cake look elegant by putting a doilie on top of the cake, then sprinkling it liberally with confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar, I think it's called in other countries?), then removing the doilie!
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 320
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 320 |
I am but mad north-north-west; when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.
Hamlet, II. ii
A footnote explains: handsaw = heron-shaw = heron.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 144
member
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member
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 144 |
(powdered sugar, I think it's called in other countries?),
nope, sorry - we'd call it icing sugar, but I think we're alone amongst the rest of Europe (like that makes a change!)
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