Thursday, March 24, 2005
................................................ Yo mama! All-purpose insult-retort in place of an inspired comeback. It originates from the denigrating "your mama is so..." jokes. Yo mama so ugly she made an onion cry. Yo mama so fat when she sits down the rocord skips at the radio station. Also... Sign in to see full entry.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Class Two Expletives and their Euphemisms
....................................................... imbars bidbib Used by British soldiers during WW2. It is an acronym for "I may be a rotten sod, but I don't believe bullshit". Typically not uttered in the presence of officers. --Dunn 2005 Sign in to see full entry.
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Class Two: Expletives and their Euphemisms
.................................................................... shucks A mild, good ol' boy exclamation of down home embarrassment or disappointment. A favorite of Will Rogers, it was first recorded in the 1840's. It is a countrified euphemism for the s-word, and is derived from the identically... Sign in to see full entry.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Class Two: Expletives and their Euphemisms
..................................... bosh From the Turkish bos, meaning empty or useless, this interjection is usually heard as " oh bosh ". It is the American contribution to the list of words that express the idea of nonsense talk. Examples: applesauce! balderdash! ballocks! balls! balls, bees,... Sign in to see full entry.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Class Eight: Linguistic Mortar
.............................. Haminahamina Jackie Gleason's stuttering articulation of inarticulation itself is now a websight devoted to the Honeymooners. www.haminahamina.com. Ralph's other favorite interjections were Pow! and Bang-zoom! "...right to the moon, Alice!" Sign in to see full entry.
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Class Eight: Linguistic Mortar
................................................ OK, okay, or o.k. is a traditional American interjection. Expressing approval, agreement and to jumpstart a statement: " OK, now listen up because I'm only gonna say this once." I even hear it used my middle schoolers as a springboard for... Sign in to see full entry.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Commentarial Interjections
......................................................A-OK means "better than OK, nearly perfect". Supposedly it was first uttered by astronaut Alan Shephard when asked by ground control engineers how his sub-orbit was going. Neil Armstrong claims that none of his team ever uttered that word, that... Sign in to see full entry.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Exclamatory and Other Emotive Responses
.....................................Eureka! -- An exclamation of triumph at a discovery. Linked to the discovery of gold in California, by the '49ers. It became the state motto of California. Less wordy than the Massachusett's: "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty." The... Sign in to see full entry.
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Class One: Exclamatory and Other Emotive Responses
..............................aha! When the mental bell rings, the lightbulb clicks on. According to William Safire, "one of the great, unappreciated and deliciously nuanced words in the English language." (NYT 1997) Used by Chaucer in the 1300's in The Canterbury Tales. In Yiddish it is used to... Sign in to see full entry.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Category 6 Interjection -- Greetings and Farewells.
.................................................aaay! Wiseass multipurpose catchword of the Fonze, played by Henry Winkler, from the TV sitcom "Happy Days". Usually accompanied by a double thumbs up gesture, this interjection served as greeting and statement of slick-haired self-confidence. --Dunn... Sign in to see full entry.