[Ads-l] spades away

[Mark Mandel]

Yeah, why not. Somebody would be sure to bring it up sometime, and you've
defused it in advance.

Mark

On Mon, Sep 3, 2018, 1:56 PM Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:

> I’ve been wondering whether in the current climate it’s worth pointing out
> the absence of any racial dimension in the use of the expression.
>
>
> > On Sep 3, 2018, at 1:14 PM, Barretts Mail <mail.barretts at GMAIL.COM>
> wrote:
> >
> > Thank you! A couple hours after posting that, I began wondering if I had
> made it all up. BB
> >
> >> On 2 Sep 2018, at 13:19, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> >>
> >> I don't know if this helps, but I found a modern usage
> >>
> >>
> https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/spades-away-dig-is-on-for-buried-spitfires-gr3mqljtx7n
> >>
> >> Headline:
> >> Spades away! Dig is on for buried Spitfires
> >>
> >> It seems to confirm your memory of the phrase as the beginning of an
> >> endeavor (or, since it seems British, endeavour).
> >> DanG
> >>
> >>
> >> On Sun, Sep 2, 2018 at 3:46 PM, Barretts Mail <mail.barretts at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >>> I have vague recollections of this expression used as an exclamation
> decades ago. It seemed to me to mean a cry of abandoned care at the start
> of a venture, like “Geronimo!” or “bombs away!”
> >>>
> >>> I don’t see any such expression in the English OLD or Wiktionary, or
> much on the internet.
> >>>
> >>> 1. Clearly, however, it exists, as there is an echo of it at
> http://devourthedetails.blogspot.com/2014/02/spades-away.html: <
> http://devourthedetails.blogspot.com/2014/02/spades-away.html:>
> >>>
> >>> ===
> >>> Spades Away
> >>>
> >>> For the future Mrs. Fashionista, show your colorful side by having a
> Kate Spade themed bridal shower!
> >>> ===
> >>>
> >>> There is an expression “pack the bucket and spades away” that seems to
> mean “the current event is over” and may be a precursor. This seems to be
> the same as “pack it up”, which is not in the English OLD or Wiktionary;
> they both have “pack it in”, which I’m not familiar with but might be the
> same.
> >>>
> >>> 2. The Star (https://bit.ly/2N3H1Fx <https://bit.ly/2N3H1Fx>, 14
> April, Michale Lynch), a context having nothing to do with the beach:
> >>>
> >>> ===
> >>> It's understandable why [the] Victory [rugby team] might have switched
> off a little in recent matches given they have been assured of second place
> for several weeks now, but it really is time for them to leave the beach
> and pack the bucket and spades away, at least until the finals are over.
> >>> ===
> >>>
> >>> 3. A similar expression in the Huddersfield Examiner (
> https://bit.ly/2NMDkRm <https://bit.ly/2NMDkRm>, 21 August 2013):
> >>>
> >>> ===
> >>> YORKSHIRE ladies will be packing their buckets and spades away for
> another year after failing to make the final of the Waterloo Cup at
> Blackpool.
> >>> ===
> >>>
> >>> 4. Boltholes & Hideaways (
> http://www.rhosneigrholidaycottages.com/family-fun-island/ <
> http://www.rhosneigrholidaycottages.com/family-fun-island/>)
> >>>
> >>> ===
> >>> Pack the buckets and spades away for the day and start to explore
> Anglesey.
> >>> ===
> >>>
> >>> 5. Trip Advisor (https://bit.ly/2ND7YMZ <https://bit.ly/2ND7YMZ>):
> >>>
> >>> ===
> >>> Come on ladies and gents put the buckets and spades away, get the glad
> rags on because you need to join the fantastic nights out at the
> REFURBISHED Celtic Drop
> >>> which is under New Management .
> >>> ===
> >>>
> >>> Benjamin Barrett
> >>> Formerly of Seattle, WA
> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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