Obscurities and Family Foibles
I’ve always been fascinated about the origins of obscure English sayings.
As a child, I can remember my father describing a particularly half-hearted effort as “a 5/8ths job”. Of course, we children soon got the gist that it meant substandard, second-rate or unsatisfactory judging by his reactions, which ran the gamut from frustrated, disappointed or just plain pissed-off.
Dad was extraordinarily talented with his hands and he, like most farmers, had to learn how to be a Jack of all trades; the English version of “‘n Boer maak a plan”, if you like. (I’m afraid that all of the guys I’ve dated in adulthood have been found wanting in comparison a propos their DIY abilities).
I have no idea where he picked the phrase up and have never heard anyone else use it in subsequent years.
Another one of his favourites, also relating to DIY, was “a Heath Robinson Affair”. This one, I did manage to track down. William Heath Robinson, born 1872, was an illustrator and cartoonist who dreamed up all sorts of unlikely, eccentric, unnecessarily complicated contraptions to perform simple tasks. Born into a family working in the publishing/illustration business, William had wanted to follow a career as a landscape painter, but soon figured out that he couldn’t make a living at it. I found a very interesting site www.bpib.com/illustrat/whrobin.htm that includes a range of his illustrations. His sense of humour is apparent in his gentle mockery of “modern” living.
But I digress. What actually prompted this train of thought was a suggestion I made to Dolce yesterday about having to wear a passion killer (spencer) to fend off the cold in Grahamstown. Most families/social groups have actually formulated their very own vocabulary for certain things, for example, sheepskin slippers are Tarkastad takkies in the TL family and calling an attractive man “a cheap round” is actually a compliment from one of my female friends as one does not have to drink him pretty.
I would be very interested to hear how my family and friends are not unique in this!
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Comments
Tarnished...yip! we have a few
1. wikkies - these are those tea leaves in the bottom of your teacup...you know, from the days when you made a POT of tea, had to 'water' the kettle, used 'real' tea - a strainer...blah, blah, blah...up until I was about 10, I thought it was a real word.
2. a hatful of arseholes - well, this one is self explanitory
3. rhodedendrum worthy - my Dad called every plant a rhodedendrum...my Mom, having serious green fingers, was always asking us...now, who can tell me, what this plant is? My dad's standard answer - isn't it a rhodedendrum? Therefore, something that really didn't stand out from other 'like' objects was termed: 'rhodedendrum worthy'
4. Lickwickfruit - my gran use to call Liquifruit this. Over time, my family adopted this as a way to describe any fruity drink. 'Tea, coffee, lickwickfruit?'
"um...Liquifruit please"
'Cool. I have GAME and Tropica. Which do you want?'
I know there were more...but, sadly, these things get forgotten.
Arb
These are classic! Our word for wikkies is teafleas!! Rhodendum-worthy is a really obscure one and love the story behind it. I hope that you are passing all of these onto your kids?!
TL
I don't think we have a particular one in our family but I like your friends 'a cheap round'... think I'll use that :)
Sems
Yes, its particularly fitting at times!
Hey Lils
My dad was also a firm follower of Heath Robinson!
Our family saying is "Jack up your arse", which is used in a sentence: "Don't get all jack up your arse with me". It came from a joke that tickled my dad's fancy:
A motorist got a puncture in the Karoo, and discovered he didn't have a jack with him. He spotted a farmhouse some distance away, and realised that walking there was his only option. As he walked, he tripped over khakibos, got stuck in barbed wire fences and got chased by sheep. All the time he walked, he was thinking thoughts like, "I bet they're not even home. If they are home, I bet they don't have a jack. And I'm sure they'll set the dog on me. They probably won't even open the door. They sure as hell won't let me use the telephone. And even if they have got a jack, I just know that they won't lend it to me". By the time the motorist got to the farmhouse, three hours later, he was exhausted and angry. He banged on the door, and when the farmer opened up, the motorist yelled at him, "You can stick your jack up your arse!"
Hehe Dusty
That one's a classic! And, being particular to your family, this, like those in my family, has a limited lifespan if it doesn't catch on with the younger generation.
"Solly Joll's sister"
Good stuff TL.
Often when we asked my mom for pocket money she'd say "I'm not Solly Joll's sister, you know!" One never thinks about the meaning behind these phrases as a child. So I was very surprised when I came across a photograph of Solly Joll - one of the founders of a gold mining company (Hartebeestfontein, or Buffelsfontein, I forget). And he looked very affluent indeed - what a shame she wasn't related, it would have made the pocket money issue so much simpler!
OMJ
Now that's the kind of thing I'm talking about! Thanks for sharing that anecdote. You must have been gobsmacked to discover that your mum hadn't made it up.