In the past three days, I’ve been Facebook-befriended (under my real name) by 3 people I’ve not seen or heard from in what, about 20, 9, and 12 years. It’s wild, woolly, and wierd all at once. I also get befriended (as Brother Maynard) by people I’ve never met (go ahead and add me if you read my blog). I just wonder who’s going to emerge from my deep dark past and find me tomorrow?
Meanwhile, in some conversation today, I was told that someone who we know that is planning to get married has also decided to become a chiropractor. I said, “That should enable him to support his bride in the manner to which she is accustomed.” Now, I thought that this was a common enough phrase that its background, meaning, and significance would be clear — enough that the comment could be wryly witty. Nope. Apparently I have some kind of arcane knowledge of archaic phrases… or do other people understand this one as well?
Update:
Alright, I’ve just had my answer on Facebook… someone else I lost track of more than a decade ago. That’s four days straight, one per day: who’s out there for Friday?
As for the arcane sayings, see the comments. Now I’m wondering what other unusual sayings are out there? Do people know what a reference to a silver spoon means? “To the manor born?” I’m told my great-great-grandfather’s favorite saying had to do with mad dogs and Englishmen (see how many know it), a quip I believe, from Noel Coward. Did your grandparents say weird things, and do you still say them? Are they as weird or rare as a certain Scot McKnight Googlewhack?
Hey, you’re not the only one.
I use that phrase all the time.
LOL … I don’t know that I would actually *use* the phrase in speaking. But I would have chuckled if I’d been present for that conversation.
They weren’t familiar with the expression? How odd. Perhaps with the introduction of such “terms” as LOL and BRB and ROTFL, the human brain begins to backfire. Like Sonja, though, I am not sure I have ever used the expression myself.
Peace,
Jamie
My kids have trouble understanding figures of speech, but that expression always seemed self-explanatory to me. But then, my husband is always looking at me funny when I use expressions he’s never heard of. You should have heard the ribbing I took from his brothers for years because they’d never heard the phrase “jim dandy”…
Wendy’s mom asked me, when we got engaged, if I would be able to “keep Wendy in the poverty to which she has been accustomed”.
“I’m interesting in church-planting and missions.” I replied.
“That’ll be fine, then, dear,” Mom said.
That’s odd, it seems to be such a common phrase.
I guess to be fair, I should say that the person who was unfamiliar with the phrase didn’t really grow up in our culture.
They didn’t know “Jim-dandy”? That’s even worse!
How about “Dumber than a sack of hammers”?
Oh, and Rob — I too was smart enough not to marry above my station… though she does out-class me… to which I’m quite sure you can relate! ;^)
Jamie, I think the important acronym where I grew up was “BYOB”
Yes … there’s a song about “Jim-dandy” I think …
My favorite is “dumber’n a sack a hair.” But I admit that I never heard it until it was a line at the very end of an episode of Law & Order.
I’m one of those new random friends on facebook, by gum.
Okay, try this one…
I would say “older than the hills” and my husband would say “on Grandma’s chest”. He honestly thought that he was completing the saying! He’d never heard it any other way…
Yikes!