Words can be fun……if not a little misleading!

The language may be the same, but no two people use the same expression to convey a though or a concept. You know what I mean….saying something that would make absolutely no sense on the surface, but has a hidden meaning nonetheless. I go through this every day with Casey…realizing full well that whatever expressions I use might just be falling on deaf ears! However I carry on…because old habits die, and at this stage in the game, why change!

For instance……if I bring up having to spend an obscene amount of money on something, I might say, “…..jeez, I just went for my lungs!” Think about it. Ripping your lungs out of your chest to pay for something! Probably best left to a pulmonary specialist.
Why is it that when you go out with a group, and each person pays his own way, you’re “going Dutch!”. Is Holland noted for its cheapskates? Do the Dutch even mind the use of the expression in the first place! I’ve also heard it suggested that, again, a similar situation, when the bill for dinner comes, some folks will say, “let’s whack it up!” “Split it amongst ourselves” would probably be more to the point, but I marvel at how many uses the word “whack” has! This latest one might be a new one on you besides the obvious reference to pleasuring oneself…as well as the wise guy connotation to have someone killed.

But what can be more fascinating than the references made to the nether regions. I always loved it when one appeared “not to know his ass from his elbow!” if perplexed. Or perhaps, “he has his head up his ass!” Of course, these need to be said with the correct amount of panache! And nothing is more satisfying to me than, instead of telling someone to “get lost”, to just tell them to “go crap in your hat!” (a personal fave by the way)

There are others too numerous to mention…..like “crying with a loaf of bread under each arm!” (see if you can figure that one out.), or any of the multitude of expressions that substitute the male genitalia instead of using the word “nothing”. Fascinating stuff this language of ours!

And to think, they even teach this stuff in school. One might think it a useless endeavor…..like trying to “put diapers on piss clams!”