I bid you welcome. For those of you who have been monitoring vampyres for the last six decades or so, that should be an appropriate greeting.
Speaking of undead things, I was thinking a few days ago how we rarely use certain phrases these days. Oh sure, I'll be exposing my age, but the difference between the common phrasing that I was taught and what is used today is in some ways surprising as well as sentimental.
And of course, let's not forget the humorous side of it all.
Put your little (or big) thinking caps on (okay, right there is an ancient phrase!) and try to remember the last time you heard someone actually say these phrases:
"In conclusion..." Mostly used by orators/speakers either in a school of some sort or a stiff congregation of captive listeners.
"To summarize..." See above.
"Swizzzle" Used to describe imbibing an alcoholic drink, a coffee or other plastic drink stirrer, and I believe a variation of it used to name of a candy: "Swizzle Sticks"?
"Clobbered" I actually heard someone use this term on an old rerun of Cops this week. Once I got though laughing hysterically, I realized I had not heard this word in very possibly thirty years. Definition: Beaten up or 'clobbered', sometimes with a club or stick or even fisticuffs.
"Guzzled/Guzzling" Generally used to describe gulping beer or other beverage. Most commonly used by environmental bloggers to describe low mileage per gallon of gas-powered vehicles (SUV, Trucks, large luxury sedans=Cadillacs, Lincolns, etc.,), i.e. "gas guzzlers."
"Swine/Swineherds" Okay, this may not have been used since Medieval times but you should ALL know this one. If you're under 21, you may have vague recollections of hearing an adult use this, perhaps in reading to you from an old, dog-eared, dusty printed book (yeah, I know, what's that?"). Definition and usage: several different uses-Swine means pigs and hogs. Swinherd, someone who herds swine. Also, an antiquated phrase: "Oh the swine!" used in ancient (for our puposes) times to express dismay over being injured (not physically) or cheated in some manner.
"Manner" as opposed to "Manor", means "way" or "style".
"Manner of speaking" According The Free Dictionary: a phrase sometimes used in place of describing something unpleasant to follow. "I was, in a manner of speaking, close to death." Just look it up.
"Manor" Oh come on. This means a manor house of the local 'Laird" or Lord over serfs in the Dark Ages in Britain.
"Hullabaloo" A commotion (commotion being an excited noise-- usually made by people--over something). Also the name of a 1960's television dance show. Cheap rendition of "American Bandstand."
Okay, I give up at this point. I've got a project that desperately needs re-writes and editing and I cannot procrastinate any more. If you have any phrases, words, idioms, etc., I'd love to read them. You can post them in the comments section!
Thanks for your time,
The Egypsy has Spoken.
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I know for sure now that I am older than dirt because I still use all those words or expressions. The only one I can think of that is merely a word used all the time today and it drives me bonkers - the word "Like" as in I was walking like down the like street and I like tripped like over my own like two feet.
ReplyDeletePeace.