[ I have to whack you over the knuckles. ]

[Hen Hanna]

[ ... I have to whack you over the knuckles. ]

it puzzled me, then I thought I'd ask here,

then 1 hour later, I thought I knew the answer (its meaning).


___________________________________

Phyllis: Mr. Neff, why don't you drop by tomorrow evening about eight-thirty. He'll be in then.

Walter Neff: Who?

Phyllis: My husband. You were anxious to talk to him weren't you?

Walter Neff: Yeah, I was, but I'm sort of getting over the idea, if you know what I mean.

Phyllis: There's a speed limit in this state, Mr. Neff. Forty-five miles an hour.

Walter Neff: How fast was I going, officer?

Phyllis: I'd say around ninety.

Walter Neff: Suppose you get down off your motorcycle and give me a ticket.

Phyllis: Suppose I let you off with a warning this time.

Walter Neff: Suppose it doesn't take. <----------

Phyllis: Suppose I have to whack you over the knuckles. <----------

Walter Neff: Suppose I bust out crying and put my head on your shoulder.

Phyllis: Suppose you try putting it on my husband's shoulder.

Walter Neff: That tears it. <----------

[Hen Hanna]

tearing a piece of paper in half ? HH

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

On Thu, 7 Sep 2017 11:35:51 -0700 (PDT), Hen Hanna <henh...@gmail.com>
wrote:

"That tears it" is an idiomatic phrase.

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/That+tears+it!

That tears it!
exclam. "That is too much! I thought yesterday’s error was bad
enough, but that tears it!"

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/that_tears_it

Interjection

that tears it

Synonym of that does it

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/that_does_it#English

Interjection

that does it

(idiomatic) Used to express annoyance or frustration or announce
that one has reached the limit of one's patience or temper
"That does it! I'm not waiting here any longer. I'll come back
tomorrow instead."

The phrase is used with various similar meanings.

--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.english.usage)

[Hen Hanna]

based on the imagery of

tearing a piece of paper in half ?

what kind of paper ?


_____________________________________

( I thought it (the whack) was on
the other part(s) of the hand,
and wrist.)


a rap across/on/over the knuckles

==== a punishment which is not very severe but which warns you not to behave that way again

---------- The company received a rap over the knuckles from the Food and Drug Administration.

---------- Her remarks earned her a sharp rap across the knuckles from the Prime Minister.

See also: across, knuckle, rap

[Anton Shepelev]

Hen Hanna:

>Walter Neff: That tears it. <----------
>
>tearing a piece of paper in half ?

In my mind it forms a picture of a tape coming out
of a printer which is suddenly torn off as if the
receiver had got enough.

--
() ascii ribbon campaign - against html e-mail
/\ http://preview.tinyurl.com/qcy6mjc [archived]

[Hen Hanna]

On Monday, September 11, 2017 at 6:07:24 AM UTC-7, Anton Shepelev wrote:
> Hen Hanna:
>
> >Walter Neff: That tears it. <----------
> >
> >tearing a piece of paper in half ?
>

> In my mind it forms a picture of a tape coming out
> of a printer which is suddenly torn off as if the
> receiver had got enough.
>

considering the time-frame, a ticker-tape machine
may not be too far-fetched
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=ticker-tape+machine


earlier, I had an image of a man (or men)
tearing up tickets near a race-track.

HH

[Hen Hanna]

On Thursday, September 7, 2017 at 11:58:33 AM UTC-7, Peter Duncanson [BrE] wrote:
> On Thu, 7 Sep 2017 11:35:51 -0700 (PDT), Hen Hanna <...>

> wrote:
>
> >On Tuesday, August 29, 2017 at 11:37:05 AM UTC-7, Hen Hanna wrote:
> >> [ ... I have to whack you over the knuckles. ]
> >>
> >> it puzzled me, then I thought I'd ask here,
> >>
> >> then 1 hour later, I thought I knew the answer (its meaning).
> >>
> >>
> >> ___________________________________
> >>
> >> Phyllis: Mr. Neff, why don't you drop by tomorrow evening about eight-thirty. He'll be in then.
> >>
> >> Walter Neff: Who?
> >>
> >> Phyllis: My husband. You were anxious to talk to him weren't you?
> >>
> >> Walter Neff: Yeah, I was, but I'm sort of getting over the idea, if you know what I mean.
> >>
> >> Phyllis: There's a speed limit in this state, Mr. Neff. Forty-five miles an hour.
> >>
> >> Walter Neff: How fast was I going, officer?
> >>
> >> Phyllis: I'd say around ninety.
> >>
> >> Walter Neff: Suppose you get down off your motorcycle and give me a ticket.
> >>
> >> Phyllis: Suppose I let you off with a warning this time.
> >>
> >> Walter Neff: Suppose it doesn't take. <----------
> >>
> >> Phyllis: Suppose I have to whack you over the knuckles. <----------
> >>
> >> Walter Neff: Suppose I bust out crying and put my head on your shoulder.
> >>
> >> Phyllis: Suppose you try putting it on my husband's shoulder.
> >>
> >> Walter Neff: That tears it. <----------
> >
> >
> > Walter Neff: That tears it. <----------
> >
> >
> > tearing a piece of paper in half ? HH
> >
> >


> "That tears it" is an idiomatic phrase.

..............

> --
> Peter Duncanson, UK
> (in alt.english.usage)

Mr. Peter Duncanson, does this happen to you a lot?

You try to be helpful , but that very act of helping
is based on a grossly misguided evaluation,
and based on a super-insulting assumption of
the ignorance/stupidity of the person you think you're helping.

__________________________________


I've watched this scene over 20 times.
Have you seen/watched this movie?
There's no paper (or anything tear-able) in sight.


But the remark

> "That tears it" is an idiomatic phrase.

makes much more sense after seeing the "feel free" thread.

earlier, I had an image of a man (or men)
tearing up tickets near a race-track.

but maybe more like a writer
tearing a (just typed) manuscript page in half.


HH

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

On Thu, 14 Sep 2017 11:35:19 -0700 (PDT), Hen Hanna <henh...@gmail.com>
wrote:

>

There is nothing being literally torn.

I described it as an idiomatic phrase. An "idiomatic phrase" or
"idiomatic expression":
http://www.freedictionary.org/?Query=idiomatic%20expression

NOUN (1)

1. an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings
of the words that make it up;

So "That tears it" is not literal.

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/that+tears+it

tear it
Ruin something, spoil one's chances, as in She knew she'd torn it
when she lost the address. It is often put as that "tears it", as in
"He's a whole week late-well, that tears it for the September
issue". [Colloquial; early 1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

[Hen Hanna]

>>> So "That tears it" is not literal.

Yes, we've been telling you that we understand that.


the origin of [hold your horses] is pretty obvious.

the origin of [break a leg] is less obvious.

so we're here speculating on the
the origin of [That tears it].


and [ ... whack you over the knuckles. ]

HH