King: ass over teapot
Marius Hancu
"ass over teapot"
is it a known slang?
What would be its origins?
----
[Winter snow storm in Colorado]
[...] the wind was blowing a capricious gale--now from the west, now
backing around to the north, sending clouds of powdery snow across his
field of vision, making him coldly aware again and again that if he
missed a turn he might well plunge two hundred feet off the road, the
Electra cartwheeling ass over teapot as it went down.
Stephen King, The Shining
----
--
Thanks.
Marius Hancu
Horace LaBadie
<46be2148-f3a3-4d65...@k30g2000vbn.googlegroups.com>,
Marius Hancu <marius...@gmail.com> wrote:
Better known, perhaps, in the form "ass over tea kettle." It means to
tumble end over end, or head over heels.
tony cooper
I'm sure this will result in dozens of links to appearances of this
phrase, but it's a phrase known to me as "ass over teakettle".
Every quote you provide from King convinces me to never read King.
"...cartwheeling ass over teapot..." is stupidly redundant. If the
snowboard (if that's what the Electra is) is cartwheeling, adding that
it is going ass over teapot/teakettle is stating the same thing.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
Ray O'Hara
"tony cooper" <tony_co...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:tbio86dvmfjhced87...@4ax.com...
Maybe he signed a contract demanding X number of books on Y many pages.
Redundancy ups the word count.
Marius Hancu
> >"ass over teapot"
> >is it a known slang?
>
> >What would be its origins?
>
> >----
> >[Winter snow storm in Colorado]
>
> >[...] the wind was blowing a capricious gale--now from the west, now
> >backing around to the north, sending clouds of powdery snow across his
> >field of vision, making him coldly aware again and again that if he
> >missed a turn he might well plunge two hundred feet off the road, the
> >Electra cartwheeling ass over teapot as it went down.
>
> I'm sure this will result in dozens of links to appearances of this
> phrase, but it's a phrase known to me as "ass over teakettle".
>
> Every quote you provide from King convinces me to never read King.
> "...cartwheeling ass over teapot..." is stupidly redundant. If the
> snowboard (if that's what the Electra is) is cartwheeling, adding that
> it is going ass over teapot/teakettle is stating the same thing.
It's a car:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Electra
Thank you all.
Marius Hancu
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
<marius...@gmail.com> wrote:
>Hello:
>
>"ass over teapot"
>is it a known slang?
>
>What would be its origins?
>
I understand it as a euphemistic variant of "ass over tit".
>----
>[Winter snow storm in Colorado]
>
>[...] the wind was blowing a capricious gale--now from the west, now
>backing around to the north, sending clouds of powdery snow across his
>field of vision, making him coldly aware again and again that if he
>missed a turn he might well plunge two hundred feet off the road, the
>Electra cartwheeling ass over teapot as it went down.
>
>Stephen King, The Shining
>----
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
wrote:
>In message <46be2148-f3a3-4d65...@k30g2000vbn.googlegroups.com>
> Marius Hancu <marius...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hello:
>
>> "ass over teapot"
>> is it a known slang?
>
>Yes.
>
>> What would be its origins?
>
>No one really knows. There are a lot of versions and variations on this
>basic construction, and they used to be somewhat regional.
>
>Ass over apple cart I heard from an elderly man when I was quite young,
>but I don't know where he was from.
Are you the Lewis who contributed this?:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/18/messages/871.html
tony cooper
Even stranger, then. Americans seldom use the model name as a
stand-alone unless the model is something special like the Corvette,
Thunderbird, El Dorado, Prius, etc. There's nothing special about the
Electra. So un-special, in fact, that I didn't associate "Electra"
with Buick even though I'm much more familiar with cars than I am with
snowboards.
Don Phillipson
news:hwlabadiejr-4972...@news.isp.giganews.com...
>> "ass over teapot"
>> is it a known slang?
>>
>> What would be its origins?
> Better known, perhaps, in the form "ass over tea kettle." It means to
> tumble end over end, or head over heels.
The history seems more complicated than this . . .
The principal variant in 20th century usage seems to be
"head over heels" as an intensifier (expressing total commitment)
as in "A was head over heels in love with B."
The phrase was then understood to be an inversion, perhaps
deliberately so. "Heels over head" was the earlier phrase,
used to characterize anything out of order or radically reversed.
In tarot cards The Hanged Man is upside down, viz. hangs
heels over head.
"The world turned upside down" is a phrase common in earlier
centuries (and surviving to today, sometimes the name of a public
house) as encapsulating topsy turvy or reversal, cf. mediaeval
festivals of "misrule," boy bishops, etc. One day a year in some
communities, the social order was deliberately reversed for a
single day. (Boy bishops were a phenomenon of cathedral
choirs, where a single junior member of the community was for
a single day given the honours and authority of its top ruler.)
The custom survives in the military where once a year (usually
Christmas Day) officers and sergeants wait on the enlisted men.
The variant "top over teakettle" seems to be a deliberately
jocular variant of "heels over head," cf. Dickensian notions of
politeness: genteel old ladies might have preferred to cite
teakettles rather than heels (body parts.) Cruder times or
deliberately cruder people seem to have spliced together
"ass over teakettle" in order to get the vulgar body part
back into everyday speech, although no relationship between
asses and teakettles characterises the cosmic order.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
Glenn Knickerbocker
>"ass over teapot"
>is it a known slang?
Known to people who don't know a teapot from a teakettle, I guess. As to
origins, it's probably a more or less arbitrary variation on "head" and
"tit" (probably the meaning of the former and the sound of the latter).
The Mavens took this one on:
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19960517
"It's not the size of the boat, it's Matt McIrvin" -- Joe
ŹR / http://users.bestweb.net/~notr/ny2001.html / Manfre
LFS
> Thus spake "Peter Duncanson (BrE)" (ma...@peterduncanson.net) unto the assembled multitudes:
>
>>> "ass over teapot"
>>> is it a known slang?
>>>
>>> What would be its origins?
>>>
>> I understand it as a euphemistic variant of "ass over tit".
>
>
Did you mean to type "arse over tit"? That's the only BrE version I've
ever heard.
--
Laura
(emulate St. George for email)
James Hogg
"Arse over tip" is the one I know.
--
James
the Omrud
I don't think I've ever heard that. Do people realise it's a genteel
form of "tit"?
--
David
John Dunlop
> [Peter Duncanson (BrE):]
>
>> I understand it as a euphemistic variant of "ass over tit".
>
> I think the aceepted form (in BrE anyway) is "arse over tip".
I'm not sure I've heard the "tip" variants. Maybe I have and I thought I
was hearing "tit". I think "arse over tit" is the usual phrase here. The
"tip" variants get more hits on Google than the "tit" ones do:
"arse over tit" 8 370
"arse over tip" 43 100
"ass over tit" 15 500
"ass over tip" 30 400
By the way, Google Instant hides the results for "ass " until you confirm
the search term, but it shows the results for "arse " automatically.
--
John
James Hogg
"Arse over tip" may be older. OED has it from 1922, but with "tit" only
from 1972.
--
James
John Dunlop
> By the way, Google Instant hides the results for "ass " until you confirm
> the search term, but it shows the results for "arse " automatically.
Looking more closely, I think the results it shows for "arse ", with the
quotes, were actually the results for "arse estrie", without the quotes.
--
John
James Hogg
I correct myself: "Arse over tit" is recorded in the OED as early as 1968.
I don't think it's a question of being genteel. Why worry about "tit"
when you are prepared to say "arse"?
Since "tip" means "top" and "arse" means "bottom", I suspect the sense
of upside-down comes from those two words and that "tit" is an ungenteel
alteration of "tip".
But that wouldn't explain the American euphemism with tincups or teacups.
--
James
James Hogg
arse backwards, arse first, arse over appetite, arse over backwards,
arse over end, arse over head, arse over head backwards, arse over
heels, arse over hips, arse over shit, arse over tip, arse over your
head, arsewards,
And in this translation of Montaigne:
Fate can send our dykes and ramparts a-toppling arse over tip.
--
James
the Omrud
> the Omrud wrote:
>> On 14/09/2010 10:13, James Hogg wrote:
>>> LFS wrote:
>>>> A.C...@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk wrote:
>>>>> Thus spake "Peter Duncanson (BrE)" (ma...@peterduncanson.net)
>>>>> unto the assembled multitudes:
>>>>>
>>>>>>> "ass over teapot" is it a known slang?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> What would be its origins?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> I understand it as a euphemistic variant of "ass over tit".
>>>>>
>>>>> I think the aceepted form (in BrE anyway) is "arse over tip".
>>>>
>>>> Did you mean to type "arse over tit"? That's the only BrE version
>>>> I've ever heard.
>>>
>>> "Arse over tip" is the one I know.
>>
>> I don't think I've ever heard that. Do people realise it's a genteel
>> form of "tit"?
>
> I correct myself: "Arse over tit" is recorded in the OED as early as 1968.
>
> I don't think it's a question of being genteel. Why worry about "tit"
> when you are prepared to say "arse"?
I feel that "arse" is less likely to cause (mild) offense amongst the
middle classes than "tit". It's possible that "tip" came first but it
just seems less likely.
> Since "tip" means "top" and "arse" means "bottom", I suspect the sense
> of upside-down comes from those two words and that "tit" is an ungenteel
> alteration of "tip".
>
> But that wouldn't explain the American euphemism with tincups or teacups.
And teakettles. But we won't get into those, as Charles is absent
(anybody know how he is?)
--
David
James Hogg
OED seems to treat "tip" as the "standard" form, presumably because it's
older, as in the cross-reference under "tea-kettle":
"A kettle in which water is boiled for making tea. Phr. ass (= arse)
over tea-kettle, head over heels (cf. arse over tip s.v. ARSE n. 1b)"
--
James
James Hogg
Eric Partridge describes "arse over kettle" as the Canadian form of
"arse over tip" and "arse over tit" as the Australian form of the
preceding, since ca. 1910.
--
James
James Hogg
> Thus spake LFS (la...@dragonspira.fsbusiness.co.uk) unto the assembled multitudes:
>
>>> I think the aceepted form (in BrE anyway) is "arse over tip".
>
>> Did you mean to type "arse over tit"? That's the only BrE version I've
>> ever heard.
>
My Google search certainly suggests that "tip" is the preferred literary
form. It occurs in Penguin Classics editions of Montaigne, Goethe and
Rabelais and was used by James Joyce, Somerset Maugham and Dylan Thomas.
Maybe it's time for a geographical survey. Where is "tit" the only form
heard? Evidence hitherto suggests Oxford and the Manchester region.
--
James
the Omrud
Don't forget (or, please note) that I grew up in Warwickshire and
Worcestershire. Not that any of the adults I knew between the mid 50s
and mid 70s used such coarse language.
--
David
Peter Moylan
lived in. I wouldn't say it's the only form, though; "teakettle" is also
heard. I wasn't, until now, aware of the "tip" version.
--
Peter Moylan, Newcastle, NSW, Australia. http://www.pmoylan.org
For an e-mail address, see my web page.
®óñ© © ²°¹°
<inv...@peter.pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
>James Hogg wrote:
>> A.C...@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk wrote:
>>> Thus spake LFS (la...@dragonspira.fsbusiness.co.uk) unto the assembled multitudes:
>>>
>>>>> I think the aceepted form (in BrE anyway) is "arse over tip".
>>>> Did you mean to type "arse over tit"? That's the only BrE version I've
>>>> ever heard.
>>> No, definitely "tip" in my experience.
>>
>> My Google search certainly suggests that "tip" is the preferred literary
>> form. It occurs in Penguin Classics editions of Montaigne, Goethe and
>> Rabelais and was used by James Joyce, Somerset Maugham and Dylan Thomas.
>>
>> Maybe it's time for a geographical survey. Where is "tit" the only form
>> heard? Evidence hitherto suggests Oxford and the Manchester region.
>>
>"Tit" is certainly the most common form in the parts of Australia I've
>lived in. I wouldn't say it's the only form, though; "teakettle" is also
>heard. I wasn't, until now, aware of the "tip" version.
"Tip" hasn't got any of the resonance of the alternative in
"cold as a witch's tit"
--
(¯`·. ®óñ© © ²°¹° .·´¯)
James Hogg
That's only the tit of the iceberg.
(3,950 hits on Google)
--
James
Jerry Friedman
> John Dunlop wrote:
> > A.Clews:
>
> >> [Peter Duncanson (BrE):]
>
> >>> I understand it as a euphemistic variant of "ass over tit".
> >> I think the aceepted form (in BrE anyway) is "arse over tip".
>
> > I'm not sure I've heard the "tip" variants. Maybe I have and I
> > thought I was hearing "tit". I think "arse over tit" is the usual
> > phrase here. The "tip" variants get more hits on Google than the
> > "tit" ones do:
>
> > "arse over tit" 8 370 "arse over tip" 43 100 "ass over tit" 15 500
> > "ass over tip" 30 400
>
> > By the way, Google Instant hides the results for "ass " until you
> > confirm the search term, but it shows the results for "arse "
> > automatically.
>
> Google Books finds the wonderful list in the Survey of English Dialects:
>
> arse backwards,
Do the British say "barse ackwards"? I feel that the repetition (or
repetipion) of the vowel in "ass backwards" makes the spoonerism much
more attractive.
--
Jerry Friedman
LFS
On reflection, I may have heard the expression first from a Welshman, if
that makes any difference.
LFS
Well, I've read that twice and can't make any sense of it. What is an
alternative to what?
LFS
> On Sep 14, 3:40 am, James Hogg <Jas.H...@gOUTmail.com> wrote:
>> John Dunlop wrote:
>>> A.Clews:
>>>> [Peter Duncanson (BrE):]
>>>>> I understand it as a euphemistic variant of "ass over tit".
>>>> I think the aceepted form (in BrE anyway) is "arse over tip".
>>> I'm not sure I've heard the "tip" variants. Maybe I have and I
>>> thought I was hearing "tit". I think "arse over tit" is the usual
>>> phrase here. The "tip" variants get more hits on Google than the
>>> "tit" ones do:
>>> "arse over tit" 8 370 "arse over tip" 43 100 "ass over tit" 15 500
>>> "ass over tip" 30 400
>>> By the way, Google Instant hides the results for "ass " until you
>>> confirm the search term, but it shows the results for "arse "
>>> automatically.
>> Google Books finds the wonderful list in the Survey of English Dialects:
>>
>> arse backwards,
> ...
>
> Do the British say "barse ackwards"?
Only when pissed, Jerry.
I feel that the repetition (or
> repetipion) of the vowel in "ass backwards" makes the spoonerism much
> more attractive.
>
> --
> Jerry Friedman
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
wrote:
I can't recall where I first heard the expression. It might have been in
the Royal Air Force (1956-59 among people from many parts of the UK plus
one Irishman) or among computer engineers in Manchester (1959-71). I'm
sure that I heard the "tit" version first and that when I met "tip" I
assumed that it was a euphemism.
--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
I think this is "tip" and "tit" as alternative.
"cold as a witch's tip"
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
<la...@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> wrote:
>Jerry Friedman wrote:
>> On Sep 14, 3:40 am, James Hogg <Jas.H...@gOUTmail.com> wrote:
>>> John Dunlop wrote:
>>>> A.Clews:
>>>>> [Peter Duncanson (BrE):]
>>>>>> I understand it as a euphemistic variant of "ass over tit".
>>>>> I think the aceepted form (in BrE anyway) is "arse over tip".
>>>> I'm not sure I've heard the "tip" variants. Maybe I have and I
>>>> thought I was hearing "tit". I think "arse over tit" is the usual
>>>> phrase here. The "tip" variants get more hits on Google than the
>>>> "tit" ones do:
>>>> "arse over tit" 8 370 "arse over tip" 43 100 "ass over tit" 15 500
>>>> "ass over tip" 30 400
>>>> By the way, Google Instant hides the results for "ass " until you
>>>> confirm the search term, but it shows the results for "arse "
>>>> automatically.
>>> Google Books finds the wonderful list in the Survey of English Dialects:
>>>
>>> arse backwards,
>> ...
>>
>> Do the British say "barse ackwards"?
>
>Only when pissed, Jerry.
>
FSV of "pissed".
LFS
Still doesn't make sense to me, I'm afraid.
®óñ© © ²°¹°
<la...@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> wrote:
Do try to keep up at the back there.
The alternative would be "Cold as a witch's tip" as is perfectly clear
in the thread's context.
Peter Duncanson (BrE)
I think the poster is simply saying that "cold as a witch's tip" does
not have the resonsnce of "cold as a witch's tit". This is probably
because we know what a "witch's tit" is but not what a "witch's tip" is.
Is it the tip of her head, the tip of her broomstick, a spine chilling
piece of advice, or what?
tony cooper
<la...@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> wrote:
I've never seen/heard "cold as a witch's tip". I have seen/heard
"cold as a witch's tit" and "cold as a witch's nose". The "nose"
version being from people who think "tit" is vulgar.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
James Hogg
Peter Moylan
Perhaps, but I've never heard anyone talk about "arse over witch's tit".
Peter Moylan
I once checked the temperature of a witch's tit, and it appeared to be
uncorrelated with the temperature of her arse. Her teakettle was
somewhat hotter, if it matters.
LFS
Thanks for trying, Peter, but life really is too short for this.
LFS
Useful word, tit.
Robin Bignall
I don't think I've ever knowingly heard the "tip" version. It was
always "tit" when I was growing up, from school friends. I don't
recall my parents using strong language.
--
Robin Bignall
(BrE)
Herts, England
Robin Bignall
<inv...@peter.pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
>®óñ© © ²°¹° wrote:
>> On Tue, 14 Sep 2010 21:38:19 +1000, Peter Moylan
>> <inv...@peter.pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> James Hogg wrote:
>>>> A.C...@DENTURESsussex.ac.uk wrote:
>>>>> Thus spake LFS (la...@dragonspira.fsbusiness.co.uk) unto the assembled multitudes:
>>>>>
>>>>>>> I think the aceepted form (in BrE anyway) is "arse over tip".
>>>>>> Did you mean to type "arse over tit"? That's the only BrE version I've
>>>>>> ever heard.
>>>>> No, definitely "tip" in my experience.
>>>> My Google search certainly suggests that "tip" is the preferred literary
>>>> form. It occurs in Penguin Classics editions of Montaigne, Goethe and
>>>> Rabelais and was used by James Joyce, Somerset Maugham and Dylan Thomas.
>>>>
>>>> Maybe it's time for a geographical survey. Where is "tit" the only form
>>>> heard? Evidence hitherto suggests Oxford and the Manchester region.
>>>>
>>> "Tit" is certainly the most common form in the parts of Australia I've
>>> lived in. I wouldn't say it's the only form, though; "teakettle" is also
>>> heard. I wasn't, until now, aware of the "tip" version.
>>
>> "Tip" hasn't got any of the resonance of the alternative in
>> "cold as a witch's tit"
>
>Perhaps, but I've never heard anyone talk about "arse over witch's tit".
Well, it's not particularly spellbinding.
Mike Lyle
<tipper>
--
Mike.
CDB
> LFS <la...@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> wrote:
>> Peter Duncanson (BrE) wrote:
>>> LFS <la...@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> wrote:
>>>> ®óñ© © ²°¹° wrote:
>
>
>>>>> "Tip" hasn't got any of the resonance of the alternative in
>>>>> "cold as a witch's tit"
>>>>>
>>>> Well, I've read that twice and can't make any sense of it. What
>>>> is an alternative to what?
>>>
>>> I think this is "tip" and "tit" as alternative.
>>>
>>> "cold as a witch's tip"
>>>
>> Still doesn't make sense to me, I'm afraid.
>
> I've never seen/heard "cold as a witch's tip". I have seen/heard
> "cold as a witch's tit" and "cold as a witch's nose". The "nose"
> version being from people who think "tit" is vulgar.
>
James Hogg
Why would anyone want a euphemism for "nose"?
--
James
CDB
Maria Conlon
A.Clews@DENTURES wrote:
> Peter Duncanson (BrE) wrote:
>
>>>is it a known slang?
>>>
>>>What would be its origins?
>>>
>> I understand it as a euphemistic variant of "ass over tit".
>
I've only heard "ass over teakettle." (American version?)
Maria Conlon, born 1943.
Resident of Michigan (Detroit area); native of East Tennessee.
Robin Bignall
wrote:
Because Jimmy "Nose" Durante would sound more like a Mafia boss than
comedian/actor/singer Jimmy Schnozzle Durante.
Pat Durkin
"Maria Conlon" <conlo...@sbcblobal.net> wrote in message
news:i6qsvg$kel$1...@news.albasani.net...
>
> A.Clews@DENTURES wrote:
>> Peter Duncanson (BrE) wrote:
>>>>"ass over teapot"
>>>>is it a known slang?
>>>>
>>>>What would be its origins?
>>>>
>>> I understand it as a euphemistic variant of "ass over tit".
>>
>> I think the aceepted form (in BrE anyway) is "arse over tip".
>
> I've only heard "ass over teakettle." (American version?)
I have heard that one, as well. My mother (I believe quoting her
father) used the expression "ass over aspect", which I found much more
accurate than "head over heels".
Gridley
Close, but Jimmy Durante called his nose "the old schnozzola" or just
"the schnoz" But neither his nose, nor Durante himself, was ever known
as "schnozzle". "Da nose knows", as jimmy would say.
R H Draney
>
>On Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:49:22 +0200, James Hogg <Jas....@gOUTmail.com>
>wrote:
>>
>
>Because Jimmy "Nose" Durante would sound more like a Mafia boss than
>comedian/actor/singer Jimmy Schnozzle Durante.
Twenty jokes funnier than "Big Nose", from the movie "Roxanne":
Obvious: 'scuse me, is that your nose or did a bus park on your face?
Meteorological: everybody take cover, she's going to blow!
Fashionable: you know, you could de-emphasize your nose if you wore something
larger, like... Wyoming.
Personal: well, here we are, just the three of us.
Punctual: all right, Delbman, your nose was on time but YOU were fifteen minutes
late!
Envious: Ooooh, I wish I were you! Gosh, to be able to smell your own ear!
Naughty: uh, pardon me, sir, some of the ladies have asked if you wouldn't mind
putting that thing away.
Philosophical: you know, it's not the size of a nose that's important, it's
what's IN IT that matters.
Humorous: laugh and the world laughs with you. Sneeze, and it's goodbye,
Seattle!
Commercial: hi, I'm Earl Scheib, and I can paint that nose for $39.95!
Polite: uh, would you mind not bobbing your head? The, uh, orchestra keeps
changing tempo.
Melodic: Everybody. He's got...
Everyone: [singing] The whole world in his nose!
Sympathetic: aw, what happened? Did your parents lose a bet with God?
Complimentary: you must love the little birdies to give them this to perch on.
Scientific: Say, does that thing there influence the tides?
Obscure: whoa! I'd hate to see the grindstone. Well, think about it.
Inquiring: when you stop to smell the flowers, are they afraid?
French: saihr, ze pigs have refused to find any more truffles until you leave!
Pornographic: finally, a man who can satisfy two women at once!
Religious: the Lord giveth... and He just kept on giving, didn't He?
Disgusting: Say, who mows your nose hair?
Paranoid: keep that guy away from my cocaine!
Aromatic: it must wonderful to wake up in the morning and smell the coffee... in
Brazil.
Appreciative: Oooh, how original! Most people just have their teeth capped.
All right. Dirty: your name wouldn't be Dick, would it?
....r
--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.
Mack A. Damia
Lovely renditoned of him singing "I'll Be Seeing You".
One of the best.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrsT1SEof_E
Robin Bignall
Indeed, but he was known as 'Schnozzle' Durante in Britain. I don't
remember him being introduced or referred to by the Schnozzola
version.
Evan Kirshenbaum
Count again. There were 20 in the original:
Ah! no! That is a little short, young man! One might make--oh, my
Lord! many remarks, on the whole, by varying the tone, for
example; listen:--
Aggressive: "Sir, if I had such a nose, I should have it amputated
at once!"
Friendly: "It must dip into your cup: in order to drink you must
have a goblet made for you!"
Descriptive: "It is a rock! It is a peak! It is a cape! What did
I say? A cape? It is a peninsula!"
Curious: "For what do you use that oblong capsule? For an inkstand
or a scissors-case?"
Gracious: "Do you love the birds so well that you take fatherly
interest in holding out that perch for their little feet?"
Savage: "When you enjoy your pipe, sir, does the smoke ever come
out of your nose without some neighbor crying that the chimney is
on fire?"
Warning: "With such a weight dragging on your head, take care that
you do not fall forward on the ground!"
Tender: "Have a litle parasol made for it, for fear its color
might fade in the sun!"
Pedantic: "Only the animal, sir, called by Aristophanes that
Hippocampelephantocamelos could have had so much flesh and bone
under its forehead!"
Flippant: "What, my friend, is this hook in style? To hang one's
hat on, it is surely very convenient!"
Emphatic: "No wind, except the mistral, could make you catch cold,
O magisterial nose!"
Dramatic: "When it bleeds it is the Red Sea!"
Admiring: "What a sign for a perfumer!"
Lyrical: "Is it a conch? Are you a triton?"
Naïve: "When can this monument be visited?"
Respectful: "Allow me, sir, to salute you: that is what is called
having a house of one's own!"
Rustic: "Hallo, there! Is that a nose? It is a giant turnip or a
dwarf melon!"
Military: "Point against the cavalry!"
Practical: "Will you put it in a lottery? Surely, sir, it will
win the first prize."
(Finally taking off Pyramus, with a sob.) There is that nose which
has destroyed the harmony of its master's features! It makes him
blush, the traitor!
That is very nearly, my dear, what you would have said to me if
you had a little knowledge of letters, and a little wit: but of
wit, O most lamentable of beings, you never had an atom, and of
letters, you have only the four which form the word: Fool!
Moreover, if you had had the invention necessary to make it
possible for you, before these noble galleries, to serve me with
all these mad pleasantries, you would not have uttered the quarter
of the half of the beginning of one, because I serve them out to
myself with enthusiasm, but I allow no one else to serve them to
me.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |I believe there are more instances
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |of the abridgment of the freedom of
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |the people by gradual and silent
|encroachments of those in power
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com |than by violent and sudden
(650)857-7572 |usurpations.
| James Madison
http://www.kirshenbaum.net/
R H Draney
Steve Martin is, you will agree, no Jose Ferrer....r
Mike Lyle
> On Wed, 15 Sep 2010 22:43:14 -0400, Gridley <fi...@will.com> wrote:
>
>> On 2010-09-15 16:40:54 -0400, Robin Bignall said:
>>
>>>
>>> Because Jimmy "Nose" Durante would sound more like a Mafia boss than
>>> comedian/actor/singer Jimmy Schnozzle Durante.
>>
>> Close, but Jimmy Durante called his nose "the old schnozzola" or just
>> "the schnoz" But neither his nose, nor Durante himself, was ever
>> known as "schnozzle". "Da nose knows", as jimmy would say.
>
> Indeed, but he was known as 'Schnozzle' Durante in Britain. I don't
> remember him being introduced or referred to by the Schnozzola
> version.
It was "Schnozzle" in Ausle, too.
--
Mike.