Questions de langues, anecdotes et subtilités

[Freezbee]

Ce fil va vous permettre d'épater vos interlocuteurs et d'étaler votre culture. D'ailleurs, j'ouvre le fil de façon tout à fait élégante 😄

 

Irrumation (féminin)

 

Citation

Pratique sexuelle consistant à introduire un pénis dans la bouche d'une personne qui effectue ensuite des mouvements de va-et-vient.

 

Exemple :

 

Citation

la Déesse aux cent bouches polluées par toutes les irrumations littéraires et artistiques ne s’est pas plus souciée de sa gloire, que lui ne s’est préoccupé des complaisantes fanfares et sonneries de cette vieille buccinatrice.

 

D'après le Gaffiot :

 

 

[Marlenus]

20 minutes ago, Freezbee said:

Ce fil va vous permettre d'épater vos interlocuteurs et d'étaler votre culture. D'ailleurs, j'ouvre le fil de façon tout à fait élégante 😄

 

Irrumation (féminin)

 

 

Exemple :

 

 

D'après le Gaffiot :

 

 

 

 

Oui c'est la culture qu'a Hervé Dumont ça.

 

 

 

 

[Freezbee]

Compte tenu du franc succès remporté par ce fil, j'ai décidé d'élargir son objet (notamment aux langues étrangères). 😄

 

Origine de quelques phrases idiomatiques :

 

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Time Capsule Tales

The historical origins of popular English phrases

Thread 🧵

1. Close But No Cigar

Meaning: Said to someone who falls slightly short of a successful outcome

Historical Context: The phrase originated from traveling fairs & carnivals during the 1800s, when cigars were given out as prizes to games.

As many carnival games seem designed to feel winnable, but then are nearly impossible to actually win, people were often said to be, "close, but no cigar."

 

 

2. Rule of Thumb

Meaning: A general guide or principle, based on experience or estimation rather than exact science.

Historical Context: The phrase is thought to be derived from an old English law that said a husband could beat his wife, so long as the stick he used was no thicker than his thumb. Judge Sir Francis Buller supposedly made the ruling in 1782 and became known as "Judge Thumb."

Another theory is that the phrase came about from the many ways a thumb can be used to estimate or measure things. Whether a seamstress roughly estimating an inch of fabric or a brewmaster dipping their thumb into the beer to get the temperature, there are plenty of old-school ways that a "rule of thumb" was likely used.

The phrase is found in Sir William Hope's The Compleat Fencing Master (1692): "What he doth, he doth by rule of Thumb, and not by Art."

James Kelly's The Complete Collection of Scottish Proverbs, 1721, includes: "No Rule so good as Rule of Thumb, if it hit", meaning a practical approximation.

 

 

3. Pushing the Envelope

Meaning: To surpass normal limits; to try something daring or risky.

Historical Context: While it might sound like a saying that originated in an office, "pushing the envelope" originally referred to aeronautics. In space flight, the "envelope" refers to performance limits that can't be surpassed safely.

The phrase made its way into the everyday vernacular when it appeared in Tom Wolfe's 1979 nonfiction book The Right Stuff, which discussed the pilots of experimental rocket-propelled aircraft. The phrase used is "pushing the outside of the envelope."

 

 

4. The Bees Knees

Meaning: Something that's very cool

Historical Context: The bee's knees origin story is about as random as the phrase itself. It started in the 18th century as a joke phrase for something that didn't exist. An apprentice might be sent to the store to pick up imaginary items, such as a left-handed hammer, ham trees, or "seven cases of bees' knees."

In the Roaring Twenties, however, the meaning changed. The hip slang of the time was to use nonsense phrases to epitomize something that was excellent or the very best, like "the cat's pajamas" and "the snake's hips." Some of these stuck better than others. The bee's knees also became a cocktail around the same time.

 

 

5. Break a Leg

Meaning: Good luck; usually said to someone involved in some type of performance.

Historical Context: This theatrical expression originated in the theater in the 1800's. Producers would have as many different acts as possible on stand-by to fill the bill. It was not viable to pay every act, so if they didn't actually appear on stage, or get to break the visual plane of the leg line, they received no pay.

"Break A Leg" became a "good luck" wish said between acts that you would be able to perform & get paid.

 

 

6. With A Grain of Salt

Meaning: Advising one to view something with skepticism.

Historical Context: The phrase, known as "with a pinch of salt" in British English, is thought to come from Pliny the Elder when he was translating an ancient text in 77 CE:

"After the defeat of that mighty monarch, Mithridates, Gnaeus Pompeius found in his private cabinet a recipe for an antidote in his own handwriting; it was to the following effect: Take two dried walnuts, two figs, and twenty leaves of rue; pound them all together, with the addition of a grain of salt; if a person takes this mixture fasting, he will be proof against all poisons for that day."

The text has been interpreted as an antidote to poison. Thus, the addition of a grain of salt would mitigate injurious effects, or have a protective effect. The meaning evolved as scholars studied Ancient Greek texts, such as Pliny's, and was used in English in the 17th century.

 

 

7. Work Cut Out For You

Meaning: You have a difficult task ahead

Historical Context: The earliest iterations of this phrase in print appear in the 1590s, where "work cut out" seems to mean "work provided." A popular explanation holds that the meaning was connected to tailoring, as a tailor would have all of their fabrics cut and laid out before starting work. However, the earliest uses don't mention tailoring, so it's impossible to say definitively.

The phrase wasn't used with its more modern meaning until 1843, when it appeared in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.

 

 

8. Proof is in the Pudding

Meaning: The true value of something is best determined by using said thing

Historical Context: This phrase became more confusing over the years as it was shortened from the original version, which is usually something like "the proof of the pudding is in the eating."

While the exact phrase was first recorded in the early 1600s, the idea of tasting a pudding to test it probably dates back to medieval times. These puddings were not of the Jell-O snack pack variety, but savory concoctions of mystery meats like intestines or stomachs that may or may not have been contaminated.

Thus, the only true way to find out if a pudding was good, bad, or straight-up poisonous was to eat it and see for yourself.

 

 

9. Laundry List

Meaning: A typically long list of items

Historical Context: Back in the 1800s, more than 2,000 patents were filed for washing machines in the United States. A new business popped up in turn - commercial laundry services for those who didn't want to buy the pricey new machines but still hated doing their laundry the old-fashioned way (by hand).

To ensure that no customers lost a stray sock, users of the service had to list out the items they were sending to be washed, & hence laundry list was born. Of course, listing out each item of clothing was probably almost as tiresome as actually doing the laundry. So in the 1860s, the process was improved by providing customers a handy itemized list of clothing articles where they could fill in a tally of their laundry.