Phrases/words that set your teeth on edge.

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  • Nick Armstrong
    Host
    • Nov 2010
    • 26440

    Originally posted by french frank View Post
    Damn! I have looked it up but have forgotten what it's supposed to mean. I didn't find it necessary to remember
    Acc. to the OED apparently:

    slang (orig. U.S.). to wake up and smell the coffee (also decaf, etc.): to be realistic or aware; to abandon a naive or foolish notion. Freq. in imper.

    Popularized by the U.S. syndicated advice columnist ‘Ann Landers’ (1918-2002, b. Esther Pauline Friedman).

    1943 Chicago Daily Tribune 18 Jan. 17/2 A few years back, when a wife told her husband to ‘wake up and smell the coffee’, it usually was said in utter derision. Now, when there is coffee to smell, she shouts it to him in supreme delight

    1955 ‘A. LANDERS’ in Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Daily Northwestern 21 Dec. 23/2 Wake up and smell the coffee. Do you want a wife who smokes, drinks, likes taverns and slaps you around?
    "...the isle is full of noises,
    Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
    Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
    Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."

    Comment

    • P. G. Tipps
      Full Member
      • Jun 2014
      • 2978

      Originally posted by jean View Post
      That much salt? Really?
      Yes... apart from being a tasty additive, extra salt in the diet is excellent for combating all sorts of muscle-cramps.

      I discovered that when I developed high blood pressure and followed standard medical advice ..

      Comment

      • Stan Drews
        Full Member
        • Dec 2010
        • 79

        I'm not trawling through 188 pages, so apologies if this has already been raised.

        Sunday night news - football results: "If you don't want to know the result, turn away/leave the room now."

        a) If anybody cares enough, they will know the result(s);
        b) There's never enough time to find the remote control, far less get up and leave.

        Why do they persist with this nonsense?

        Comment

        • Nick Armstrong
          Host
          • Nov 2010
          • 26440

          Originally posted by Stan Drews View Post
          I'm not trawling through 188 pages, so apologies if this has already been raised.
          Stan - you don't have to ... the Search Thread facility is your friend....

          He's a screen-shot of part of the top right of this page: see the words Search Thread -









          Click on the tiny triangle to the right of the words, enter into the box that appears the relevant keywords (for your post 'football' and 'result' would have done it) and you can easily find and be directed to earlier posts (if any) on the topic...
          "...the isle is full of noises,
          Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
          Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
          Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."

          Comment

          • Serial_Apologist
            Full Member
            • Dec 2010
            • 37318

            Originally posted by Stan Drews View Post
            I'm not trawling through 188 pages, so apologies if this has already been raised.

            Sunday night news - football results: "If you don't want to know the result, turn away/leave the room now."

            a) If anybody cares enough, they will know the result(s);
            b) There's never enough time to find the remote control, far less get up and leave.

            Why do they persist with this nonsense?


            and

            c) There's b*gger all anyone can do about them in any case.

            Comment

            • Stanfordian
              Full Member
              • Dec 2010
              • 9286

              Originally posted by french frank View Post
              Damn! I have looked it up but have forgotten what it's supposed to mean. I didn't find it necessary to remember
              'Wake up and smell the coffee' means 'Get real'. Oh, yet another annoying phrase.

              Comment

              • french frank
                Administrator/Moderator
                • Feb 2007
                • 29882

                Originally posted by Stan Drews View Post
                Why do they persist with this nonsense?
                From R3's Facebook just now:



                It isn't given us to know those rare moments when people are wide open and the lightest touch can wither or heal. A moment too late and we can never reach them any more in this world.

                Comment

                • ferneyhoughgeliebte
                  Gone fishin'
                  • Sep 2011
                  • 30163

                  Originally posted by french frank View Post
                  Damn! I have looked it up but have forgotten what it's supposed to mean.
                  "Starbucks is on fire".
                  [FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]

                  Comment

                  • Don Petter

                    Originally posted by Stanfordian View Post
                    'Wake up and smell the coffee' means 'Get real'. Oh, yet another annoying phrase.
                    More likely means 'There's a burglar in the kitchen'?

                    Comment

                    • Nick Armstrong
                      Host
                      • Nov 2010
                      • 26440

                      "..... what's expected to be the most unpredictable election in decades"
                      "...the isle is full of noises,
                      Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
                      Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
                      Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."

                      Comment

                      • ferneyhoughgeliebte
                        Gone fishin'
                        • Sep 2011
                        • 30163

                        Originally posted by Caliban View Post
                        "..... what's expected to be the most unpredictable election in decades"


                        It's like a line from the voice-over of W1A! ("Meanwhile, it's three weeks later")
                        [FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]

                        Comment

                        • Nick Armstrong
                          Host
                          • Nov 2010
                          • 26440

                          Originally posted by ferneyhoughgeliebte View Post


                          It's like a line from the voice-over of W1A! ("Meanwhile, it's three weeks later")


                          Wouldn't like to be Paddy Ashdown's hat this evening! *


                          .


                          *A phrase I never thought I'd write.
                          "...the isle is full of noises,
                          Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
                          Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
                          Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."

                          Comment

                          • ahinton
                            Full Member
                            • Nov 2010
                            • 16122

                            Originally posted by Caliban View Post


                            Wouldn't like to be Paddy Ashdown's hat this evening! *
                            "Clegg on his face", peut-être? (if FF will allow)...

                            Comment

                            • Nick Armstrong
                              Host
                              • Nov 2010
                              • 26440

                              Originally posted by ahinton View Post
                              "Clegg on his face", peut-être? (if FF will allow)...
                              Oh dear that makes me want to tell my Heather Mills joke but it's not hostly....
                              "...the isle is full of noises,
                              Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
                              Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
                              Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."

                              Comment

                              • Serial_Apologist
                                Full Member
                                • Dec 2010
                                • 37318

                                Originally posted by Caliban View Post
                                Oh dear that makes me want to tell my Heather Mills joke but it's not hostly....
                                Something to do with the last leg of the election, no doubt, but you can't tell us...

                                Comment

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