fun with phrases

[Jonathan Lighter]

Now you're talking my language.

I also like the simple melodrama of  "The Man who Won World War II," "How
the Irish Saved Civilization," "How the Greeks Created Western
Civilization," "How the Scotch-Irish Shaped America,"  "How My Father and
President Kennedy Saved the World" (an article by Sergey Khrushchev), "How
to Stuff a Wild Bikini."


JL


On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 7:00 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: fun with phrases
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> "would never be the same again"
>
> Guess what? No 19th C. hits in GB. Upwards of a zillion words of running
> text, and nobody thought to write or (perhaps) say the phrase.  For any
> reason.
>
> I'm interested in dramatic expository exx., as when PBS says that, thanks
> to
> the recent efforts of a group of Bosnian activists, "the rules of war would
> never be the same again."
>
> So a trivial ex. from Time in 1950 (a vague "it" is the subject) hardly
> counts.
>
> However, one from June 11, 1951, surely counts: "Between industrialism and
> the effects of the Napoleonic wars, England would never be the same again."
>
> From then on, Time has used the cliche' often.
>
> In GB the first unequivocally momentous ex. is not till 1972: "But major
> writers knew instinctively that drama would never be the same again."
>
> After that, steady use everywhere.
>
> JL
>
>
>
> On Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 9:22 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
> >wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: fun with phrases
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > "(and) changed the rules of X forever."
> >
> > A favorite of TV documentaries. Almost needless to say: no 19th C. hits
> at
> > GB.
> >
> > Earliest at GB is allegedly from the _Atlantic_ in 1987 (snippet not
> > verified):
> >
> > "They simply went on doing what they did best =E2=80=94 quizzes, long
> > dinne=
> > rs,
> > longer cocktail parties =E2=80=94 until a series of unrelated events
> > *chang=
> > ed the
> > rules of their beloved game forever*."
> >
> > JL
> > On Tue, Oct 4, 2011 at 9:22 PM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com
> > >wrote=
> > :
> >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> > > Subject:      Re: fun with phrases
> > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> > ------
> > >
> > > I am assuming you're jesting on both A and B (I take it, it's meant to
> > > be a parody on Yiddish jokes). "Sausage" is "kie=C5=82basa" and
> > diminutiv=
> > e
> > > for "cat" is "kicia", not "kishka". The Russian diminutive for "cat" is
> > > "kisia", which is pronounced nearly the same, or "kiska", which is
> > > similar, but not identical to "kishka". Neither has any connection to
> > > "kishka" (Russian) or "kiszka" (Polish), other than one's gut is used
> > > for various purposes (e.g., strings for musical instruments) and the
> > > other is wrapped in gut. As such, my sense of humor fails me with
> > > respect to this fanciful dialog. Perhaps it's the amount of sleep I got
> > > last night with cats jumping all over me... or the kie=C5=82basa I ate
> > > earlier...
> > >
> > > VS-)
> > >
> > > On 10/4/2011 8:55 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
> > > > On Tue, Oct 4, 2011 at 8:41 PM, Victor Steinbok<aardvark66 at gmail.com
> >
> > >  wrote:
> > > >> "kishka" is Slavic>>Yiddish for "gut" or
> > > >> "intestines".
> > > > A. "Kishka'?! Why have you named your kitten "Intestine"?
> > > > B. It's not named "Intestine." "Kishka" means *sausage" in Polish.
> > > > It's named "Sausage," because it's such a fat little thing."
> > > >
> > > >   "Un faux ami," as the French say.
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > -Wilson
> > >
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> >
> >
> > --=20
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
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>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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>



--
"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