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Asp-Z
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09 Jul 2010, 3:56 am

I learnt recently, thanks to this forum, that the saying "sweating like a pig" actually makes no sense because pigs don't have sweat glands.

Now I'm curious, are there any other common sayings which make no sense? I don't mean ones that are plain non-sense, like "apple in my eye", I mean something like the pig simile which is a non-sensual comparison or something.



Leiservampir
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09 Jul 2010, 4:24 am

Sick as a dog?

Dogs aren't always sick...


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eagletalon86
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09 Jul 2010, 4:27 am

"Takes one to know one", which implies that the person saying it is just as much one as the person whom he/she was talking to.



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09 Jul 2010, 4:43 am

I say things that make no sense, all the time.


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Leiservampir
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09 Jul 2010, 5:06 am

CockneyRebel wrote:
I say things that make no sense, all the time.

Wait, what?

:wink:


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Blindspot149
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09 Jul 2010, 6:26 am

The British/English......have a saying "as pissed (drunk) as a cricket' DESPITE the fact that crickets (like most other insects) don't drink alcohol (at least not in England/Britain)

Americans actually invented the 'English Muffin' which was unknown in England until recently.

I imagine the Danes are appalled every time they hear a pastry described as a 'Plum Danish'

I am always amused by British buildings where it is necessary to go up a flight of stairs to get to the FIRST floor (when you walk in at street level, you are on the Ground floor)

I can sympathize with calling the street level floor (which is actually THE first floor) the ground floor; I have just never understood why they don't just call the floor above that one the SECOND floor (so that Ground floor is just an alternative to First floor) instead of messing up the counting for the entire building (and confusing Autistics who take things literally) :!: :roll: :arrow:


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Last edited by Blindspot149 on 09 Jul 2010, 8:15 am, edited 1 time in total.

b9
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09 Jul 2010, 6:43 am

as drunk as chloe. (although i just googled that one and it seems to have some historic inception)
as sober as a judge.
as wise as an owl.
straight as the crow flies.
as keen as mustard. (possible connection determined since i looked it up)
as bright as a button.
as slow as a wet week.
as high as a kite (kites are not always in the air, and when they are they are not that high).
god strike me pink.
good grief.
holy hell.

there are heaps of sayings that make no sense to me.



MONIQUEIJ
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09 Jul 2010, 7:27 am

raining cats and dogs
cute as a button
smart as a wimp
:? :? :?



Blindspot149
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09 Jul 2010, 7:38 am

b9 wrote:
as drunk as chloe. (although i just googled that one and it seems to have some historic inception) as keen as mustard. (possible connection determined since i looked it up)

This is a British saying: Mustard USED to be the hottest ingredient used in their cuisine :!: :!: and I think 'keen' in this context refers to the food being hot

b9 wrote:
as bright as a button.

Probably an old Army expression, as silver buttons on military dress uniforms were polished.

b9 wrote:
as high as a kite (kites are not always in the air, and when they are they are not that high).
.....but they are a lot higher than the person holding the string when they ARE in the air.

b9 wrote:
there are heaps of sayings that make no sense to me.


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Last edited by Blindspot149 on 09 Jul 2010, 7:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

b9
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09 Jul 2010, 7:41 am

a mind like a steel trap.

i never read anything of interest written by a steel trap.

a rapier wit.

i once spent my lunch time talking to a rapier and it never said anything back to me that i considered witty. maybe it was because i do not have a rapier wit so it went over my head.
(thank goodness)



b9
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09 Jul 2010, 8:40 am

Blindspot149 wrote:
b9 wrote:
as drunk as chloe. (although i just googled that one and it seems to have some historic inception) as keen as mustard. (possible connection determined since i looked it up)

This is a British saying: Mustard USED to be the hottest ingredient used in their cuisine :!: :!: and I think 'keen' in this context refers to the food being hot

b9 wrote:
as bright as a button.

Probably an old Army expression, as silver buttons on military dress uniforms were polished.

b9 wrote:
as high as a kite (kites are not always in the air, and when they are they are not that high).
.....but they are a lot higher than the person holding the string when they ARE in the air.

b9 wrote:
there are heaps of sayings that make no sense to me.


yeah cool blind spot.
thanks for your dissemblement.

silver buttons on a jacket are bright
and higher than the holder is the height of their kite
and keenness is a measure of hotness and "bite"

so with those answers i can safely say good night.
...end of rhyme

with none of those questions flowing into my dreams
i will not be confused by what "is" and what "seems".
the safety of confidence that now cloaks my sight
means that i will sleep so deadly tight....tonight.

errk i got to get out of here before i lather myself in mud



Bells
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09 Jul 2010, 8:51 am

I really hate these types of sayings. They end up confusing me and making me stop dead in my tracks trying to stop and figure out what the hell people are talking about. -.-



Ambivalence
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09 Jul 2010, 9:10 am

Blindspot149 wrote:
I am always amused by British buildings where it is necessary to go up a flight of stairs to get to the FIRST floor (when you walk in at street level, you are on the Ground floor)

I can sympathize with calling the street level floor (which is actually THE first floor) the ground floor; I have just never understood why they don't just call the floor above that one the SECOND floor (so that Ground floor is just an alternative to First floor) instead of messing up the counting for the entire building (and confusing Autistics who take things literally) :!: :roll: :arrow:


Not British, European. Most European countries have a specific name for the ground floor and then number other floors from one.

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pissed as a cricket


Never heard that in my entire life. The expression is "pissed as a newt", presumably on account of newts spending their time in water.

Quote:
sober as a judge


Sarcasm. Judges being characterised as drunken fools.

Quote:
as drunk as chloe. (although i just googled that one and it seems to have some historic inception)


Never heard it. Sounds like localised slang?

Quote:
straight as the crow flies.


Birds usually fly in a straight line over any obstacles. A crow travels the shortest distance between two points. Unless you get really picky about Great Circles. :lol:

Quote:
as bright as a button


Buttons are polished so that they shine. This is connected with the metaphorical use of "bright" to mean intelligent, illuminated, or fresh.

Quote:
as slow as a wet week


Never heard it, probably meaning a working week when it's raining outside and time is subjectively slow due to boredom.

Quote:
as high as a kite (kites are not always in the air, and when they are they are not that high)


Indeed not, but the typical state of a kite is high in the air. I don't know whether the phrase refers to kites-the-object or kites-the-bird.

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a mind like a steel trap. i never read anything of interest written by a steel trap.


Of course not. The comparison is not to the mind of a steel trap, which is nonsensical, but of a mind to a steel trap's main attribute - dangerous speed.

Quote:
a rapier wit.


The designed function of a rapier is to stab people. Rapier wit delivers the mental equivalent of a stab.


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luvmyaspie
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09 Jul 2010, 11:45 am

Blindspot149 wrote:
I am always amused by British buildings where it is necessary to go up a flight of stairs to get to the FIRST floor (when you walk in at street level, you are on the Ground floor)

I can sympathize with calling the street level floor (which is actually THE first floor) the ground floor; I have just never understood why they don't just call the floor above that one the SECOND floor (so that Ground floor is just an alternative to First floor) instead of messing up the counting for the entire building (and confusing Autistics who take things literally) :!: :roll: :arrow:


This applies in Australia too :roll:

Whenever I go to the city, which isn't a great deal, I always end up getting off the elevator one level less than I should only to have to get back in and try again. 8) I sometimes even imagine that ground floor is maybe below ground level so I can make some sense of it...but alas, it isn't.


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luvmyaspie
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09 Jul 2010, 12:05 pm

Blindspot149 wrote:
b9 wrote:
as drunk as chloe. (although i just googled that one and it seems to have some historic inception) as keen as mustard. (possible connection determined since i looked it up)

This is a British saying: Mustard USED to be the hottest ingredient used in their cuisine :!: :!: and I think 'keen' in this context refers to the food being hot


I always thought this saying was used because of the brand Keen's Mustard. I'm sure Keen's also has curry powder, so I couldn't see why you couldn't be "as keen as curry"

However on closer inspection and a lot of help from Google, Blindspot is absolutely right, the saying has been around since 1672 and the company, Keen and Sons, that manufactured Keen's Mustard was formed in 1742.


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Irulan
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09 Jul 2010, 12:15 pm

In Poland we have this saying "as healthy as a fish" which is our equivalent of "as fit as a fiddle" - I keep fish and I can tell you they are delicate and get ill often.