Yesterday in a meeting, someone said that something was “neither feast nor fowl.”
LOL!
Archive for Fun with Language
Hairy-handed gent
He’s the hairy-handed gent who ran amok in Kent.
It’s such a great line. Such an elegant use of language, so flowing, while at the same time bizarre and funny.
Some people don’t get Werewolves of London, but to me, a song that lets you howl during the chorus needs no explanation. I’ve often imagined that the song was written around the excuse to howl, or perhaps around an image of a werewolf at Trader Vic’s or of Lon Chaney Jr. with the Queen. (This is a hobby of mine, imagining how a song came to be written. Okay, not much of a hobby. But I digress.)
Well, while looking for a link for lyrics to add to this post, I found the real story:
Zevon wrote this with guitarist Robert “Waddy” Wachtel. When Zevon was working with The Everly Brothers, he hired Wachtel to play in their backing band. At one point, Phil Everly asked them to write a dance song for the Everly Brothers called “Werewolves Of London.” Wachtel and Zevon were good friends and were strumming guitars together when someone asked what they were playing. Zevon replied, “Werewolves Of London,” and Wachtel started howling. Zevon came up with the line “I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand,” and they traded lyrics back and forth until they had their song.
Anyway, I’d like to meet his tailor.
Fun With Language: Oh, those wacky kids
My friend’s daughter, being incredibly rambunctuous, lends herself to language fun. Yesterday, my friend O was heard saying to his seven year-old girl:
No using the spear on the trampoline!
He meant it, too.
Fun With Language: Walking in the Ragu
Last night:
Me, to Mingo: “No! Cats may not walk through the Ragu.”
Arthur, from next room: “The cat’s walking in the Ragu?”
Me: “The important point here is that the Ragu is in walkable position.”
Fun With ESL
One of the “quarter of one” guys gave me a document to edit. The document describes how a software system works. The paragraph in question describes the tables associated with setting the page size (scrolling area) in the system.
When the user saves a page size
[The table] PaginationDetails gives previously saved page size (if any) and if not then insert given page size and if any saved page size is there then update it with given page size.
Seriously. I had no idea what this said. None.
After meeting with the author, the following is the final paragraph:
When the user saves a page size
• PaginationDetails: if there is no previously saved page size preference, then a new page size is inserted into the table PaginationDetails. If there is a previously saved page size, then the old size in the table is updated with the new size.
This is my life
Two Ukrainians at work having an argument and come to me to solve it.
“Deborah, does ‘a quarter of one’ mean 1:15 or 1:45?”
“It means 12:45.”
“Oh, okay.”
Fun With Language: Bovine Edition
Today’s funnest sentence ever:
Give a precise blow to the muzzle of the cow in the event of absolute need, is also darn fine.
“Pork” is a funny word
Pretty much since we passed the here-comes-the-airplane, open-the-hangar stage, I’ve been trying to get Arthur to stop gesturing with his utensils. Particularly loaded utensils.
So last night at the dinner table I said:
Don’t wave your pork at me.
Pork is a funny word.
The Second Annual “Things You Only Hear at Starwood” Blog
I offer the following Starwood 2006 quotes without comment:
“Get your sleeve out of my grog.”
“The Cosmopolitan in my crotch was also your fault!”
“You hardly ever see a bar full of pirates.”
“I’m not hiking all the way down to the Time Machine.”
“Don’t quote me on anything. My ass is really wet and I’m tired.”
“Giant sky-enflaming fireballs.”
“Thank God for that man in the boa!”
“I’m so tired of seeing penises.”
“Undies on the table are right out!”
“Help me adjust my loincloth.”
“I’m not speaking after sundown, I’m just making cat noises.”
“After enough Starwood, women in clothes look sexy.”
Eggplant is a fun word
Last night, I had cause to say
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to throw my eggplant at you.”
The woman on line ahead of me at checkout was very nice about it.
