"like thunder upon beer"

[Laurence Horn]

On Aug 19, 2012, at 7:26 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:

> I've never seen this striking simile elsewhere, and I choose to rescue it
> from oblivion:
>
> 1834 Francis Bond Head _Bubbles from the Brunnens of Nassau_ (ed. 3)
> (Brussells: Whalen) 371: In short, his Highness's words acted upon my mind
> like thunder upon beer.

Gives a whole new meaning to "thunderhead"

LH
>
> A search of GB shows that when a brewing was inexplicably spoiled, the
> blame was frequently laid upon thunder.  So Major Head was disconcerted and
> discouraged by the remarks of the Russian Prince. And he didn't think his
> readers of nearly 180 years ago required an explanation.
>
> And speaking of GB, it took many, many tries to persuade it that this
> passage is actually in its memory-bank.
>
> JL
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org