Help with American idiom please
Louise Bremner
idioms from the context (although I recently discovered I'd gone wildly
wrong with "take a rain check"), but there's one idiom that's confusing
me. Is there a website somewhere that gives detailed explanations?
Googling on the phrase in question just brings up pages that use it, not
a description of what it means.
________________________________________________________________________
Louise Bremner (log at gol dot com)
If you want a reply by e-mail, don't write to my Yahoo address!
Brett Robson
>
>Most of the time, I can figure out the meanings of various Seppongo
>idioms from the context (although I recently discovered I'd gone wildly
>wrong with "take a rain check"), but there's one idiom that's confusing
>me. Is there a website somewhere that gives detailed explanations?
>Googling on the phrase in question just brings up pages that use it, not
>a description of what it means.
>
Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any Seppogo(*)/English dictionaries. Best
you can do is a National Language Dictionary but this gives the definitions in
Seppogo - you'll go around and around in circles, eg
4th down: bases loaded, two out, strike two.
Which sort of means this is your last chance.
The other problem is the language changes continually based on who is popular at
the time and The Administration. Some Seppos speak almost entirely in quotes
from movies. An example of the later; nuclear, biological, chemical weapons
(NBC) as per the NATO standards, became weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
overnight. Possibly because the public couldn't understand why a TV network
could be the reason for a war.
Anyway perhaps you could post your questions here. I know Mike speaks pretty
good English (except his atrocious spelling) and Jason is a good Seppogo/English
translator (although he can't say 'tune' or 'tuesday')
* unlike Romanji, no 'n'
---
"If our [US] soldiers must be involved in a lengthy occupation, at least it's in
a place without any dangerous weapons of mass destruction lying around."
mr.sumo.snr
news:1fyns8a.1gwlqkg1cef3swN%dame_...@yahoo.com...
> Most of the time, I can figure out the meanings of various Seppongo
> idioms from the context (although I recently discovered I'd gone wildly
> wrong with "take a rain check"), but there's one idiom that's confusing
> me. Is there a website somewhere that gives detailed explanations?
> Googling on the phrase in question just brings up pages that use it, not
> a description of what it means.
>
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/ is a start - a free one that is. Other
sites all seem to want you to subscribe.
Yahoo Reference http://tinyurl.com/i0af is a service I often use, especially
to check verb inflections. I forget which is more appropriate - for example
"spilt" or "spilled". It would be nice to have a dictionary site that
allowed for poor spellers. I usually find myself asking Google to tell me
"Did you mean....?" and then checking the definition at Yahoo.
The Yahoo site is excellent for country maps. Just enter the country name
in the word search box. They're just the right size to turn into small
game-sized flash cards (I get the country flags from the CIA World Factbook
site http://tinyurl.com/i0aw)
--
jonathan
mukade
> Most of the time, I can figure out the meanings of various Seppongo
> idioms from the context (although I recently discovered I'd gone wildly
> wrong with "take a rain check"), but there's one idiom that's confusing
> me. Is there a website somewhere that gives detailed explanations?
> Googling on the phrase in question just brings up pages that use it, not
> a description of what it means.
>
Cambridge have their idiom dictionary online, which has a useful
keyword search function.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/results.asp?dict=I
Mukade
John W.
> idioms from the context (although I recently discovered I'd gone wildly
> wrong with "take a rain check"), but there's one idiom that's confusing
> me. Is there a website somewhere that gives detailed explanations?
> Googling on the phrase in question just brings up pages that use it, not
> a description of what it means.
>
John W.
Kevin Gowen
> Most of the time, I can figure out the meanings of various Seppongo
> idioms from the context (although I recently discovered I'd gone
> wildly wrong with "take a rain check"), but there's one idiom that's
> confusing me. Is there a website somewhere that gives detailed
> explanations? Googling on the phrase in question just brings up pages
> that use it, not a description of what it means.
What's the confusing idiom?
Others have given you great references but have ignored the real issue: What
was your "rain check" howler?
--
Kevin Gowen
"I'm not sure which is more frightening: the horror that engulfed New
York City or the apocalyptic rhetoric emanating daily from the White
House."
- Columbia University professor Eric Foner in the London Review of
Books, on the attacks of 11 September 2001. A new study has recently
suggested that the inferno that destroyed the World Trade Center and
killed thousands of innocents was indeed more frightening than the
rhetoric of the Bush administration.
Rodney Webster
"mr.sumo.snr" <mr_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> ...It would be nice to have a dictionary site that
> allowed for poor spellers. I usually find myself asking Google to tell me
> "Did you mean....?" and then checking the definition at Yahoo.
OneLook offers suggestions for misspellings.
They also give "Quick Definitions" on the search result page as well as
links to other sites that have definitions containing the search word.
These are (naturally) brief, and sometimes create more confusion, for
example:
Quick definitions ( testicle )
noun : one of the two male reproductive glands that produce
spermatozoa and secrete androgens
- So what is the other gland?
- I thought the secret androgens were one of the bad guys from "Space
1999".
--
Rodney Webster
http://knot.mine.nu/
Louise Bremner
> The other problem is the language changes continually based on who is
> popular at the time and The Administration. Some Seppos speak almost
> entirely in quotes from movies. An example of the later; nuclear,
> biological, chemical weapons (NBC) as per the NATO standards, became
> weapons of mass destruction (WMD) overnight. Possibly because the public
> couldn't understand why a TV network could be the reason for a war.
I suspect this is a catch-phase from a long-ago TV or radio show,
because I've been hearing it for many many years.
> Anyway perhaps you could post your questions here. I know Mike speaks
> pretty good English (except his atrocious spelling) and Jason is a good
> Seppogo/English translator (although he can't say 'tune' or 'tuesday')
It's too public here. After a recent incident in which my usual posting
style triggered a rant, I'm a bit wary of seeming to provoke a flame
war.
> * unlike Romanji, no 'n'
Whups--dunno where that 'n' crept in from....
Louise Bremner
> http://dictionary.cambridge.org/ is a start - a free one that is. Other
> sites all seem to want you to subscribe.
Nope--one of the words comes up, but not the complete phrase. It's the
usage of that phrase that throws me
> Yahoo Reference http://tinyurl.com/i0af is a service I often use, especially
> to check verb inflections. I forget which is more appropriate - for example
> "spilt" or "spilled".
Useful. Bookmarked.
> The Yahoo site is excellent for country maps. Just enter the country name
> in the word search box. They're just the right size to turn into small
> game-sized flash cards (I get the country flags from the CIA World Factbook
> site http://tinyurl.com/i0aw)
OK, so why do you want game-sized flash cards of countries?
Louise Bremner
> Cambridge have their idiom dictionary online, which has a useful
> keyword search function.
>
> http://dictionary.cambridge.org/results.asp?dict=I
Useful, but it doesn't have that phrase.
Louise Bremner
> > Most of the time, I can figure out the meanings of various Seppongo
> > idioms from the context (although I recently discovered I'd gone
> > wildly wrong with "take a rain check"), but there's one idiom that's
> > confusing me. Is there a website somewhere that gives detailed
> > explanations? Googling on the phrase in question just brings up pages
> > that use it, not a description of what it means.
>
> What's the confusing idiom?
I daren't post it here, since it's so public and I don't want to trigger
another flame fest if that person gets to see it later.
> Others have given you great references but have ignored the real issue: What
> was your "rain check" howler?
Not so much of a "howler". I'd guessed at its meaning from films, and so
took it as a polite brush-off: "Thanks but no thanks". So I got somewhat
miffed when someone used it at me, until he later came back and said he
now had time--the movies never show that bit.
Curt Fischer
Louise Bremner wrote:
>
> Kevin Gowen <kgowen...@myfastmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > Most of the time, I can figure out the meanings of various Seppongo
> > > idioms from the context (although I recently discovered I'd gone
> > > wildly wrong with "take a rain check"), but there's one idiom that's
> > > confusing me. Is there a website somewhere that gives detailed
> > > explanations? Googling on the phrase in question just brings up pages
> > > that use it, not a description of what it means.
> >
> > What's the confusing idiom?
>
> I daren't post it here, since it's so public and I don't want to trigger
> another flame fest if that person gets to see it later.
I bet it's "Since the beginning of time, mankind has longed to destroy
the sun."
That kind of Seppongo is impossible to translate.
--
Curt Fischer
Collin McCulley
" Louise Bremner" <dame_...@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:1fyp5td.fzds2aqkakg2N%dame_...@yahoo.com...
> Kevin Gowen <kgowen...@myfastmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > Most of the time, I can figure out the meanings of various Seppongo
> > > idioms from the context (although I recently discovered I'd gone
> > > wildly wrong with "take a rain check"), but there's one idiom that's
> > > confusing me. Is there a website somewhere that gives detailed
> > > explanations? Googling on the phrase in question just brings up pages
> > > that use it, not a description of what it means.
> >
> > What's the confusing idiom?
>
> I daren't post it here, since it's so public and I don't want to trigger
> another flame fest if that person gets to see it later.
Now that you've got my curiosity up, you can mail
it to me.
> > Others have given you great references but have ignored the real issue: What
> > was your "rain check" howler?
>
> Not so much of a "howler". I'd guessed at its meaning from films, and so
> took it as a polite brush-off: "Thanks but no thanks". So I got somewhat
> miffed when someone used it at me, until he later came back and said he
> now had time--the movies never show that bit.
Also used in supermarkets and the like when they've run
out of something on sale. You get a "rain check" and can come
back after the sale is over and still get the item for the
sale price.
--Collin
Kevin Gowen
> Kevin Gowen <kgowen...@myfastmail.com> wrote:
>
>>> Most of the time, I can figure out the meanings of various Seppongo
>>> idioms from the context (although I recently discovered I'd gone
>>> wildly wrong with "take a rain check"), but there's one idiom that's
>>> confusing me. Is there a website somewhere that gives detailed
>>> explanations? Googling on the phrase in question just brings up
>>> pages that use it, not a description of what it means.
>>
>> What's the confusing idiom?
>
> I daren't post it here, since it's so public and I don't want to
> trigger another flame fest if that person gets to see it later.
You can email me if you like. I'm tastefully discreet.
>> Others have given you great references but have ignored the real
>> issue: What was your "rain check" howler?
>
> Not so much of a "howler". I'd guessed at its meaning from films, and
> so
> took it as a polite brush-off: "Thanks but no thanks". So I got
> somewhat miffed when someone used it at me, until he later came back
> and said he
> now had time--the movies never show that bit.
You did end up learning of its origins in baseball, yes?
Curt Fischer
Collin McCulley wrote:
>
> " Louise Bremner" <dame_...@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:1fyp5td.fzds2aqkakg2N%dame_...@yahoo.com...
> > Kevin Gowen <kgowen...@myfastmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > > Most of the time, I can figure out the meanings of various Seppongo
> > > > idioms from the context (although I recently discovered I'd gone
> > > > wildly wrong with "take a rain check"), but there's one idiom that's
> > > > confusing me. Is there a website somewhere that gives detailed
> > > > explanations? Googling on the phrase in question just brings up pages
> > > > that use it, not a description of what it means.
> > >
> > > What's the confusing idiom?
> >
> > I daren't post it here, since it's so public and I don't want to trigger
> > another flame fest if that person gets to see it later.
>
> Now that you've got my curiosity up, you can mail
> it to me.
Can I put my name on the growing email request list? This is too fun to
try and forget.
--
Curt Fischer
mr.sumo snr.
>
> > The Yahoo site is excellent for country maps. Just enter the country
name
> > in the word search box. They're just the right size to turn into small
> > game-sized flash cards (I get the country flags from the CIA World
Factbook
> > site http://tinyurl.com/i0aw)
>
> OK, so why do you want game-sized flash cards of countries?
>
One of my many missions in life is to educate the youth of Japan that the
United Kingdom is not in North America. Next down the list is dispelling
the inaccuracy (as commonly taught by Junior High School social studies
teachers) that the landmass known as 'Eurasia' is a continent.
Oh yes - and it's a great way to kill 20 minutes at the end of a lesson
playing country/map go fish. If you want the file let me know - it's in
Publisher format.
--
jonathan
Kevin Gowen
> " Louise Bremner" <dame_...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1fyp5mz.1nqrat14wv4bmN%dame_...@yahoo.com...
>>
>>> The Yahoo site is excellent for country maps. Just enter the
>>> country name in the word search box. They're just the right size
>>> to turn into small game-sized flash cards (I get the country flags
>>> from the CIA World Factbook site http://tinyurl.com/i0aw)
>>
>> OK, so why do you want game-sized flash cards of countries?
>>
>
> One of my many missions in life is to educate the youth of Japan that
> the United Kingdom is not in North America. Next down the list is
> dispelling the inaccuracy (as commonly taught by Junior High School
> social studies teachers) that the landmass known as 'Eurasia' is a
> continent.
I am afraid that my Japanese proficiency has not yet developed to the point
where I feel comfortable telling native speakers what words mean in their
own language. In Japanese, Eurasia is one of the *six* continents.
From Daijirin (2nd Edition):
たいりく 【大陸】
地球上の広大な陸地。普通、ユーラシア（ヨーロッパ・アジア）・アフリカ・北アメ
リカ・南アメリカ・オーストラリア・南極の六大陸をいう。
From Koujien (5th Edition):
たい‐りく 【大陸】
地球上の大きな陸地。ユーラシア大陸（アジア・ヨーロッパ）・アフリカ大陸・オー
ストラリア大陸・南アメリカ大陸・北アメリカ大陸・南極大陸がある。
> Oh yes - and it's a great way to kill 20 minutes at the end of a
> lesson playing country/map go fish. If you want the file let me know
> - it's in Publisher format.
--
mr.sumo snr.
news:bfspu2$i10lg$1...@ID-105084.news.uni-berlin.de...
> From Daijirin (2nd Edition):
> たいりく 【大陸】
> 地球上の広大な陸地。普通、ユーラシア（ヨーロッパ・アジア）・アフリカ・北ア
メ
> リカ・南アメリカ・オーストラリア・南極の六大陸をいう。
>
> From Koujien (5th Edition):
> たい‐りく 【大陸】
> 地球上の大きな陸地。ユーラシア大陸（アジア・ヨーロッパ）・アフリカ大陸・
オー
> ストラリア大陸・南アメリカ大陸・北アメリカ大陸・南極大陸がある。
>
I happily stand corrected - though I suspect some sort of conspiracy by the
powers that be. An attempt to make Japan appear less 'Asian' by lumping it
in with the likes of 'Wales'.
--
jonathan
MatthewOutland
Drew Hamilton
>Not so much of a "howler". I'd guessed at its meaning from films, and so
>took it as a polite brush-off: "Thanks but no thanks". So I got somewhat
>miffed when someone used it at me, until he later came back and said he
>now had time--the movies never show that bit.
I've heard "rain check" used both ways...
<Friend 1> Can you help me move this weekend?
<Friend 2> uh.... I think I'll take a rain check.
or
<Colleague 1> Wanna go for lunch?
<Colleague 2> No, I've got a meeting; can I take a rain check?
I think the first usage (the polite brush-off) is typically only used when
you're good friends, or at least don't mind offending the other person.
That said, maybe the Americans don't use the phrase in the brush-off sense.
- awh
Curt Fischer
Drew Hamilton wrote:
>
> Louise Bremner <log.NO.S...@gol.com> wrote:
> >Not so much of a "howler". I'd guessed at its meaning from films, and so
> >took it as a polite brush-off: "Thanks but no thanks". So I got somewhat
> >miffed when someone used it at me, until he later came back and said he
> >now had time--the movies never show that bit.
>
> I've heard "rain check" used both ways...
>
> <Friend 1> Can you help me move this weekend?
> <Friend 2> uh.... I think I'll take a rain check.
If I ever heard a Sepponian use "rain check" like this I would probably
end up making fun of them.
--
Curt Fischer
Michael Cash
belched the alphabet and kept on going with:
I'd call Homeland Security and report a suspicious character.
--
Michael Cash
"There was a time, Mr. Cash, when I believed you must be the most useless
thing in the world. But that was before I read a Microsoft help file."
Prof. Ernest T. Bass
Mount Pilot College
Michael Cash
<mr_...@hotmail.com> belched the alphabet and kept on going with:
>Oh yes - and it's a great way to kill 20 minutes at the end of a lesson
>playing country/map go fish.
Another fun experiment:
You'll need a relief globe for this. Have a student close his eyes
while you give the globe a spin. The student's job is to stop the
globe and then, using the mountain ranges as a clue, locate Japan.
Louise Bremner
> > I've heard "rain check" used both ways...
> >
> > <Friend 1> Can you help me move this weekend?
> > <Friend 2> uh.... I think I'll take a rain check.
>
> If I ever heard a Sepponian use "rain check" like this I would probably
> end up making fun of them.
Maybe it's not just non-Sepponians that guessed the meaning from the
movies?
Louise Bremner
> >> Others have given you great references but have ignored the real
> >> issue: What was your "rain check" howler?
> >
> > Not so much of a "howler". I'd guessed at its meaning from films, and so
> > took it as a polite brush-off: "Thanks but no thanks". So I got somewhat
> > miffed when someone used it at me, until he later came back and said he
> > now had time--the movies never show that bit.
>
> You did end up learning of its origins in baseball, yes?
Baseball? I might've guessed--so many Sepponian idioms do seem to come
from baseball (I bristled when someone called me a pin-shitter, until I
found out what it meant).
Brett Robson
>
>------=_NextPart_000_0497_01C352FE.0414F900
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> name="clear.gif"
>Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
>Content-Location: http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/img/clear.gif
>
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>
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>
How about we try a bit harder when we are cutting and pasting from google?
---
"If our [US] soldiers must be involved in a lengthy occupation, at least it's in
a place without any dangerous weapons of mass destruction lying around."
- Martin Stearns
Kevin Gowen
> Kevin Gowen <kgowen...@myfastmail.com> wrote:
>
>>>> Others have given you great references but have ignored the real
>>>> issue: What was your "rain check" howler?
>>>
>>> Not so much of a "howler". I'd guessed at its meaning from films,
>>> and so took it as a polite brush-off: "Thanks but no thanks". So I
>>> got somewhat miffed when someone used it at me, until he later came
>>> back and said he now had time--the movies never show that bit.
>>
>> You did end up learning of its origins in baseball, yes?
>
> Baseball?
Yes. If a baseball game has to be halted due to inclement weather or other
reasons before a certain point in the game, franchises without domed
stadiums allow spectators to exchange their tickets for a ticket of the same
value for another game in the near future. That's the rain check, although
the rain ceck is generally just a policy printed on the back of the ticket
itself rather than a separate piece of paper.
http://tinyurl.com/ia4z is a typical rain check policy.
> I might've guessed--so many Sepponian idioms do seem to come
> from baseball (I bristled when someone called me a pin-shitter, until
> I found out what it meant).
Take a guess at what "sticky wicket" brings to mind.
Louise Bremner
> >> You did end up learning of its origins in baseball, yes?
> >
> > Baseball?
>
> Yes. If a baseball game has to be halted due to inclement weather or other
> reasons before a certain point in the game, franchises without domed
> stadiums allow spectators to exchange their tickets for a ticket of the same
> value for another game in the near future. That's the rain check, although
> the rain ceck is generally just a policy printed on the back of the ticket
> itself rather than a separate piece of paper.
>
> http://tinyurl.com/ia4z is a typical rain check policy.
Aha! So that's where it comes from. Thanks.
>
> > I might've guessed--so many Sepponian idioms do seem to come
> > from baseball (I bristled when someone called me a pin-shitter, until
> > I found out what it meant).
>
> Take a guess at what "sticky wicket" brings to mind.
Oh rats--have I guessed wrong again? I had joined the team as a
last-minute substitute, but it wasn't a particularly "sticky wicket"
since it was the C team that time (unlike last year when I found myself
on the A Team because the really strong players wimped out of going down
to Miyazaki--I'm on the A team again in September, for the same reason).