View Full Version : Why Do We SAY That?
bloodrayne
12-29-2006, 03:38 AM
Okay, so someone pisses you off or you just can't stand them in general, and at some point you may say something like "fuck you", "kiss my ass", "suck my (various body part/s)", "eat me"...etcetera...
That's quite a bit of suggested intimacy directed at someone we don't like, isn't it?...Yet, we ALL say things like this at times without even considering it...
There are SO many things that we say without ever contemplating "Where the hell did that phrase even COME from"...or..."That doesn't even make any SENSE"
I know there are LOTS more examples of this, but I'm too tired to think of them at the moment
You guys have some, right?
OH..."Cute as a bug's ear"...Bugs don't even HAVE ears...and, there is NOTHING about ANY bug that can be considered 'cute'...so...WTF?
That's all I got for this minute
urgeok
12-29-2006, 03:43 AM
any time a girl tells me to kiss my ass, or eat me, i just say: 'sure' :)
not sure what the root of 'fuck off' is to make it an insult from one person to another .. it just seems right. not too little , not too much.
AUSTIN316426808
12-29-2006, 04:18 AM
''Bling bling'', what the hell about jewelery made somebody want to call it ''bling bling''?
Vodstok
12-29-2006, 04:39 AM
I think things like "Cute as a bug's ear" are just endearing gibberish.
Kiss my ass, and suck my whatever are said as an order, with the suggestion that it should be humiliating. Imagine if you were forced to kiss the ass, or god forbid, suck ANYTHING on someone you hated. It wiuld take years of therapy to get over.
Fuck Off just sounds harsh.
The one that has always bothered me is "Shit eating grin." Ew....
bloodrayne
12-29-2006, 04:43 AM
The one that has always bothered me is "Shit eating grin." Ew....LOL...For real...What the hell is THAT all about?
Haunted
12-29-2006, 04:50 AM
I think "kiss my ass" and "suck my...." along with "fuck you" are rapacious phrases. They sort of assert dominance. However, I think that guys should think twice about saying those phrases to other men unless they're really comfortable with their own sexuality.
Vodstok
12-29-2006, 04:57 AM
I think "kiss my ass" and "suck my...." along with "fuck you" are rapacious phrases. They sort of assert dominance. However, I think that guys should think twice about saying those phrases to other men unless they're really comfortable with their own sexuality.
What?! You callin' me GAY?!
This wholel thing reminds me of Happy Gilmore:
"I eat little pieces of shit like you for breakfast..."
"You eat pieces of shit for breakfast?"
One of moveidom's greatest burns...
VampiricClown
12-29-2006, 08:24 AM
any time a girl tells me to kiss my ass, or eat me, i just say: 'sure' :)
Haha, I do the same.
Roderick Usher
12-29-2006, 09:08 AM
The one that has always bothered me is "Shit eating grin." Ew....
Shit-eating grin is in reference to a smile that is blatantly false. So wide and exagerrated that it can't be anything but false.
like someone eating a mouthful of shit and smiling, pretending that it's wonderful - like a talk show host who hates his guest, but paints on the phony smile in order to fool the audience into thinking he genuinely likes the person.
Roderick Usher
12-29-2006, 09:14 AM
And "cute as a bug's ear" is a snide insult that has been perverted into the opposite of its intended use.
it's all in the usage.
An old granny says it and you think "oh how adorable"
WC Fields says it and you realize he's referring to a child as a nasty, unwanted pest.
Nikkif8
12-29-2006, 09:16 AM
I never understood cute as a button either, I was talking about that with a friend the other day. How are buttons cute?
urgeok
12-29-2006, 09:18 AM
there's no such thing as 'a bugs ear'
and if there was - it'd be so tiny that it would be cute.
(people think anything in miniature is cute)
for sure it's how you say anything..
if you said 'she's lovely' in the right way - you know the intent was not to say 'she's lovely'
Vodstok
12-29-2006, 09:20 AM
Most of the cute references seem to not be directly metaphorical, i think they are more conceptual. Think of buttons as small and bright and it makes a little more sense.
Reminds me of a simpsons episode. Lisa was crying because of an ugly charicature that was made of her, and Homer said she was as cute as a bug's ear. she says he has to say that because he is her dad, and he says that just because he is her dad, he doesnt necessarily HAVE to compliment her, just then HIS dad walks by the room and he says "Dad, Am I cute as a bug's ear?"
"No! You're homely as a mule's butt!"
"See?"
urgeok
12-29-2006, 09:22 AM
yep .. its all about small = cute :
CUTE AS A BUTTON - "cute, charming, attractive, almost always with the connotation of being small, 1868 (from the original 1731 English meaning of 'acute' or clever). Cute as a bug's ear, 1930; cute as a bug in a rug, 1942; cute as a button, 1946. Cute and keen were two of the most overused slang words of the late 1920s and 1930s." From "Listening to America" by Stuart Berg Flexner (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1992.)
Vodstok
12-29-2006, 09:26 AM
Exactly. Think about babies:
They have cute features anyway, but then think about the fact that they are on a teeny little person, and they are even cuter. I'm still fascinated by pictures of me with lily, because i am HUGE in comparison to her.
By the way, She's walking now :)
urgeok
12-29-2006, 09:27 AM
By the way, She's walking now :)
how old is she now ?
my kid first walked .. on his 1st birthday .. weird .
i know a lot of kids start sooner.
Vodstok
12-29-2006, 09:37 AM
turned 1 on the first
Kemal
12-29-2006, 09:41 AM
Profane insults aren't meant to be taken literally most of the time; the profanity just expresses an emotion.
Vodstok
12-29-2006, 10:00 AM
Profane insults aren't meant to be taken literally most of the time; the profanity just expresses an emotion.
Agreed, and the extremety of the profanity is usually used to express the intensity of the emotion.
"Godamnit!" = "I'm angry!", not "I wish God to Damn this thing to suffering"
"Fuck!" = "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" not "SEX!"
Miss Olivia
12-29-2006, 10:27 AM
Why is dancing referred to as "cutting a rug?"
bloodrayne
11-05-2008, 07:45 AM
Okay, how about 'Clean as a whistle'?...Wouldn't whistles generally be kinda spitty inside, and germy on the mouth part?
pinkfloyd45769
11-05-2008, 07:59 AM
Dumb as a door nail,uglier than a homemade sin,blind as a bat(are bats blind)....these are just a few i have heard from my grandma.
Telling someone "fuck you" has became such a natural thing,its almost not even an insult anymore.Now i hear people saying just to be saying it.Just this morning i heard this wanna be gangsta tell this kid..:fuck your mother"..i had to laugh.
Bling Bling gets on my last nerve!!I hate it,most of the time the "Bling" is some over sized,fake silver,stupid big ass charm..UHHH!!!That gets me.
pinkfloyd45769
11-05-2008, 08:00 AM
Rayne,i'm with you on the whistle;)I heard its said because they are supposed to be shiny..i dunno:)
Nella
11-05-2008, 08:22 AM
"Let's do lunch?" What about "Let's meet for lunch." instead because it makes more sense?
"I'm gonna tear up your railroad!" in reference to a spanking...
"Douchebag"?
"Bald-faced lie"? Shouldn't it be "bold-faced lie"? or neither one because these terms don't make sense?
"Get off your can and get busy!"
"Quit layin' on your ass!" I thought it was supposed be "sitting on your ass".
"Ho" It's whore, not "ho".
"Old bat"
"Don't tank up on junk food." Makes sense but it's unusual in my opinion.
"Spill your guts." or "Don't spill the beans."
"I'm gonna set you on fire!" referring to a spanking
And many more...
Posher778
11-05-2008, 08:31 AM
What does "In the cut" mean? I know it's a sexual reference. :o
Let's do lunch? What about "Let's meet for lunch." instead because it makes more sense?
"I'm gonna tear up your railroad!" in reference to a spanking...
"Douchebag"?
"Bald-faced lie"? Shouldn't it be "bold-faced lie"? or neither one because these terms don't make sense?
"Motherfucker"? "I may be a motherfucker but the mother I fuck ain't kin to me!"
"Get off your can and get busy!"
"Quit layin' on your ass!" I thought it was supposed be "sitting on your ass". http://www.angelwebdesign.com/nella/rofl.gif
"Ho" I think it's whore, not ho.
"Old bat"
"Don't tank up on junk food" Whatever...
"Spill your guts." or "Don't spill the beans."
"I'm gonna set you on fire!" referring to a spanking
"I'd hit it!" or "I wanna check your oil"! or "knockin' boots" referring to sexual intercourse.
"Blow job" Shouldn't it be "lick job"? http://angelwebdesign.com/nella/laff.gif
And many more...
What the fuck are you SMOKING today? Christ!
i think its illegal to smoke christ - at least in most states
Nella
11-05-2008, 08:40 AM
What the fuck are you SMOKING today? Christ!
I don't smoke anything. I was genuinely confused about the use of those terms.
bloodrayne
11-05-2008, 08:47 AM
What the fuck are you SMOKING today? Christ!
There's another one "What the fuck?"...Why do we say that?
And "What in the hell?"
Think about it for a second...Those really don't make any sense
OH and "What in blue blazes?"....Huh?
Nella
11-05-2008, 08:57 AM
I say "ugly as sin" and "hotter than blue blazes". ;)
Vodstok
11-05-2008, 10:01 AM
Okay, how about 'Clean as a whistle'?...Wouldn't whistles generally be kinda spitty inside, and germy on the mouth part?
I think this one actually goes back to either boat or train whistles, which were often brass and kept nice and shiny, not spit-filled pieces of plastic with a little ball in it. Modern technology has a way of rendering old sayings retarded.
Bald face lie is just people saying "bold face lie" incorrectly, because people mishear things and run with them. Bold face lie makes perfect sense, it is in reference to someone being bold enough to lie to your face and and not bat an eyelid; "bold face" inferring "straight face".
But a "straight face lie" is akward and sounds stupid.
"Bat an eyelid" refers to "tells" and facial ticks people display when doing something dishonest. Normally, only a raving sociopath can lie without any outward sign.
bloodrayne
11-05-2008, 10:04 AM
I think this one actually goes back to either boat or train whistles, which were often brass and kept nice and shiny, not spit-filled pieces of plastic with a little ball in it. Modern technology has a way of rendering old sayings retarded.
Bald face lie is just people saying "bold face lie" incorrectly, because people mishear things and run with them. Bold face lie makes perfect sense, it is in reference to someone being bold enough to lie to your face and and not bat an eyelid; "bold face" inferring "straight face".
But a "straight face lie" is akward and sounds stupid.
"Bat an eyelid" refers to "tells" and facial ticks people display when doing something dishonest. Normally, only a raving sociopath can lie without any outward sign.
WOW, thank you Professor Vod :)
hammerfan
11-05-2008, 10:06 AM
I think this one actually goes back to either boat or train whistles, which were often brass and kept nice and shiny, not spit-filled pieces of plastic with a little ball in it. Modern technology has a way of rendering old sayings retarded.
Bald face lie is just people saying "bold face lie" incorrectly, because people mishear things and run with them. Bold face lie makes perfect sense, it is in reference to someone being bold enough to lie to your face and and not bat an eyelid; "bold face" inferring "straight face".
But a "straight face lie" is akward and sounds stupid.
"Bat an eyelid" refers to "tells" and facial ticks people display when doing something dishonest. Normally, only a raving sociopath can lie without any outward sign.
You so smart! :D
Nella
11-05-2008, 10:22 AM
Now, will someone answer my naive question about "in the cut"? Where did that come from? :o
EDIT: Question has been answered via PM.
ferretchucker
11-05-2008, 11:57 AM
EAT SHIT!
...
stubbornforgey
11-05-2008, 12:00 PM
em afraid i get kinda lame..i sum it all off with one sentence when em done arguing..
come back when you have reached puberty.
ferretchucker
11-05-2008, 12:02 PM
em afraid i get kinda lame..i sum it all off with one sentence when em done arguing..
come back when you have reached puberty.
Ha! People at school have started using that one. Although their version is "Come back when you've grown some pubes".
Doc Faustus
11-05-2008, 12:06 PM
I think this one actually goes back to either boat or train whistles, which were often brass and kept nice and shiny, not spit-filled pieces of plastic with a little ball in it. Modern technology has a way of rendering old sayings retarded.
Bald face lie is just people saying "bold face lie" incorrectly, because people mishear things and run with them. Bold face lie makes perfect sense, it is in reference to someone being bold enough to lie to your face and and not bat an eyelid; "bold face" inferring "straight face".
But a "straight face lie" is akward and sounds stupid.
"Bat an eyelid" refers to "tells" and facial ticks people display when doing something dishonest. Normally, only a raving sociopath can lie without any outward sign.
It's actually bat an eyelash. I also thought bold faced lie was typographical in nature, as in it's a straight up, blatant Bold faced lie?
chaibill
11-05-2008, 04:46 PM
"old bat" reference to battle ax it is old, cold, ugly and mean. Maybe?
"Cute as a button" maybe a young girl's or boy's anus.
"what the fuck/hell" just a generalized substitution like calling guys Jack or john or buddy
pinkfloyd45769
11-05-2008, 04:56 PM
EAT SHIT!
...
I prefer eat shit and die:D
neverending
11-05-2008, 05:12 PM
The more correct term is "bald faced or bare faced lie" (bare is more common in Great Britain). It refers to a "shameless" or "brazen" lie. One where the teller does not attempt to hide his face while telling it.
It's just the last 5 yrs or so that "bold" has come into usage. It refers to typeface. It is used metaphorically in speech. In the same way that a typesetter uses bold face type to highlight specific text and set it apart, a bold face lie stands out in such a way as to not be mistaken for the truth.
More Information
The phrase can either be used as bold-faced lie, as in someone with a bold enough face to lie (bold meaning daring) or someone bold enough to lie to your face; it can also be used as bald-faced lie, where the older meaning of bald (meaning uncovered or unconcealed) - the more correct usage with this term is bare-faced lie.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_the_correct_term_'bold_face_lie'_or_'bald_faced _lie'_or_another_variation