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"I eat, therefore I am." | |||
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"It's six of one, half a dozen of the other." Why should I let the toad work Squat on my life ? Can't I use my wit as a pitchfork And drive the brute off ? Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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She said (on their first date), "Are we going to the movies or are we gonna park in Lover's Lane?" "It's about as broad as it is long," he said. She said, "Let's go to the movies then." | |||
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It strikes me as silly. What sense does it make???? Having your head over your heels is the normal position! | |||
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You can't have your cake and eat it. Well you certainly can't not have it and eat it can you ? Why should I let the toad work Squat on my life ? Can't I use my wit as a pitchfork And drive the brute off ? Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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quote:Bob, I have always thought that was the stupidest saying around!  "It takes one to know one." Does it? | |||
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quote: Why is that so hard to understand? Having your head over your heels is the normal position when you're standing or sitting, but what about when you're falling? You can fall headfirst (head over heels) or you can fall over backwards (ass over teakettle. You can slip and your feet go out from under you (heels over head?). One of the definitions of "head over heels" is "in disorderly haste" (OneLook). OneLook defines "heels over head" as, you guessed it, "in disorderly haste " The OED says "head over heels" (1771) is a corruption of "heels over head" (1768). "Over" has more than one meaning. M-W lists 71 entries for "over". It lists "over" as an adverb (5 definitions), as a preposition (7 definitions), as an adjective (4 definitions) and a transitive verb (1 definition). "Head over heels" simply means head-first; "over" refers to position in time. "Over" in "Having your head over your heels is the normal position" refers to position in space. "Over" in "heels over head" as cited by the OED, also refers to position in space The real question is why does "falling head over heels" mean falling in love. Perhaps this will explain it. The AHD offer this: head over heels Rolling, as in a somersault: tripped and fell head over heels. Completely; hopelessly: head over heels in love Tinman [This message was edited by tinman on Sat Dec 13th, 2003 at 1:28.] | |||
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quote: The expression as I've heard it is, "You can't have your cake and eat it too". You can either have your cake and store it in your freezer, cupboard or wherever you want to keep it, or you can eat it, in which case you no longer have it. Tinman | |||
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quote: I don't think "sequiturs" is the right word. First, "Sequitur" is Latin, meaning "it follows". The OED defines it as "an inference or conclusion which follows from the premisses". Second, I doubt that "sequiturs" is the proper plural of "sequitur". Do any of you Latin scholars know? Tinman | |||
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quote: What's silly about that? That's a humerous, maybe even jocular, way of saying it makes no difference, but I don't think it's silly. Tinman | |||
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quote: I have to admit, that one does sound a little silly to me. It sounds like grade school name-calling. Of course, in later life it becomes a tu quoque. Tinman | |||
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| <Asa Lovejoy> |
don't think "sequiturs" is the right word. First, "Sequitur" is Latin, meaning "it follows". The OED defines it as "an inference or conclusion which follows from the premisses" -------------------------------------------- But - but - sputter - that's EXACTLY what Victor Borge's statement in my original post does! What's funny to me about it is that it's utterly logical, but just as utterly unexpected. Another of Borge's funny statements was something like, "My parents came home to find me sitting beside a roaring fire in the living room. Instead of congradulating me for building such a magnificent fire, they became very upset with me. We didn't have a fireplace." | ||
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Aha ! I don't have time to check the exact wording but... One day I shot an elephant in my pyjamas - what he was doing in my pyjamas, I'll never know. Groucho Marx (Animal Crackers ?) and, from the late great Tommy Cooper Put the kettle on. Oh, you have. You should wear it more often - it suits you. Why should I let the toad work Squat on my life ? Can't I use my wit as a pitchfork And drive the brute off ? Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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"It's easier than taking candy away from a baby." Has anyone ever tried taking candy away from a baby?!  | |||
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quote: Coconuts, I think. In any event, the flick in which Groucho played Captain Spaulding, the African explorer. He tried to remove the elephant's tusks, but they were attached too tightly, so he went to Alabama, where the Tuscaloosa. | |||
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...IIRC (which may be not at all the case) it was from A Night at the Opera | |||
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Animal Crackers. I just looked it up. Why should I let the toad work Squat on my life ? Can't I use my wit as a pitchfork And drive the brute off ? Read all about my travels around the world here. Read even more of my travel writing and poems on my weblog. | |||
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My mother used to say, flippantly, when she saw a beautiful movie star, "Beauty is as beauty does." I always thought that was a rather silly sayng. After all, great beauty, such as Monet's art or great literature or Beethoven's 9th Symphony, enriches your life, IMHO. | |||
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| <Asa Lovejoy> |
"Stupid is as stupid does." Forest Gumps Momma. | ||
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quote: OK, Asa, I concede on that one. You can make a logical argument out of it, where "I only know two pieces of music" and "One is Claire de Lune" are the premisses, and "the other isn't" is the conclusion. But most of the sayings are just attempts at humor, with varying degrees of success. What are the premisses and conclusion in "Stupid is as stupid does"? Sequiturs as the plural if sequitur still doesn't sound right to me. Since it's a Latin word, isn't there a Latin plural for it? I haven't been able to find one. Tinman | |||
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Tinman, first I want to congratulate you on your wonderful analysis on December 13. I can see that you put a lot of time into it. I will ask my logophile friend, who also knows Latin, about the plural of "sequitur." One comment. I have always heard, "You can't have your cake and eat it too," as well. While I am certain there are numerous definitions of "have", the general one is to be in possession of. Given that common definition, you must be in possession of the cake in order to eat it. Now, I am sure the definition to which they are referring is "keep", though I couldn't find that definition in the dictionary.com list. Interestingly, there is a usage note for "have" (and, you know how I like those! ). It says that people often delete the "had" in "you had better do it." I haven't heard that before. | |||
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quote: Idioms, colloquialisms, etc. often don't make literal or grammatical sense, but they are still meaningful. "You can have your cake and keep it, or you can eat it, in which case you no longer have it." Is that better? quote: I'm sure you have, Kalleh. You just don't realize it. Quoting from the usage note: "In informal speech, people tend to omit had, especially with had better, as in You better do it." Remember Gene Autry's song, "Santa Clause Is Coming to Town"? Part of it goes, "You better watch out..." You've probably told your kids, "You better be good". And I bet you've heard the expression, "You better believe it!" Well, I better go now. Tinman | |||
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The intermediate form, on the way to dropping the "had" completely, is 'd, as in "I'd better be sure of my facts before making unsupported statements." The evolution can also change the comparison rather than the auxilliary verb: "I'd best be on my way." And then sometimes it's inverted altogether: "Best you mind your manners, now." I think these turn out to be regionalisms as much as anything. All equally "wrong," or course. (Was there a "right" and "Wrong" in language before the printing press?) | |||
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Re: plural of "sequitur," here is my logophile friend's answer: "'Sequitur' is a deponent verb form. Commonest use is 'non sequitur' meaning 'it does not follow.' It is nice way of telling people they have said something stupid. "I actually found a site about deponent verbs. It reminded me of one that medical malpractice lawyers love: 'Res ipsa loquitur' = the thing speaks for itself." That's it from my friend. Unfortunately, he didn't send me that site about deponent verbs. | |||
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| <Asa Lovejoy> |
isn't there a Latin plural for it? _______________________________________________ I haven't cracked a Latin text in forty years, but sequae sounds right to me. ----------------------------------------- Sit tua cura sequi. Me duce, tutus eris. Ovid. The Art of Love | ||
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quote: Of course! "Sequitur" is a verb and verbs don't have plurals. Why didn't I think of that before. Latin verbs don't have plurals, do they? It's translated as the noun, "conclusion", in English, so I assumed it had a plural. The OED says "sequaces" is an obsolete plural noun, meaning "successor, followers. And this site says "sequae" means "follow". Of course, I don't know a thing about Latin, so I may be completely wrong. Tinman [This message was edited by tinman on Tue Dec 23rd, 2003 at 21:19.] | |||
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