lifting my own chair

[GG]

"I am not lifting my own chair or bragging my achievement to all of you."

"lifting my own chair": known idiom?

Thanks.

[Derek Turner]

On Thu, 30 May 2013 22:53:15 -0400, GG wrote:


> "lifting my own chair": known idiom?
>
> Thanks.

Not to me (BrE)

[CDB]

On 30/05/2013 10:53 PM, GG wrote:

> "I am not lifting my own chair or bragging my achievement to all of you."

> "lifting my own chair": known idiom?

Not to me. Sounds South Asian.

[Don Phillipson]

On 30/05/2013 10:53 PM, GG wrote:

>> "I am not lifting my own chair or bragging my achievement to all of you."
>> "lifting my own chair": known idiom?

"CDB" <belle...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:koa2ib$jj7$4...@speranza.aioe.org...

> Not to me. Sounds South Asian.

The British idiom is "lifting yourself by your own bootstraps."
It has tended to go out of use since few people now wear
boots with or without straps. But the same idea underlies
computerists' "boot" = start up, hence also "reboot" etc.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

[Whiskers]

Not in BrE. A quick trawl of the web suggests that it may have originated
in the "Far East", and not in English.

I think we'd say "blowing my own trumpet".

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~

[Whiskers]

On 2013-05-31, Don Phillipson <e9...@SPAMBLOCK.ncf.ca> wrote:
> On 30/05/2013 10:53 PM, GG wrote:
>
>>> "I am not lifting my own chair or bragging my achievement to all of you."
>>> "lifting my own chair": known idiom?
>
> "CDB" <belle...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:koa2ib$jj7$4...@speranza.aioe.org...
>
>> Not to me. Sounds South Asian.
>
> The British idiom is "lifting yourself by your own bootstraps."
> It has tended to go out of use since few people now wear
> boots with or without straps. But the same idea underlies
> computerists' "boot" = start up, hence also "reboot" etc.

I disagree; the bootstrap one is about achieving something by one's own
effort; that isn't "bragging".

I still think "blowing my own trumpet" is the closest equivalent, meaning
"to praise or honour oneself".

[Skitt]

Whiskers wrote:

> Don Phillipson wrote:
>> GG wrote:

>>>> "I am not lifting my own chair or bragging my achievement to all of you."
>>>> "lifting my own chair": known idiom?
>>

>> "CDB" wrote:
>>
>>> Not to me. Sounds South Asian.
>>
>> The British idiom is "lifting yourself by your own bootstraps."
>> It has tended to go out of use since few people now wear
>> boots with or without straps. But the same idea underlies
>> computerists' "boot" = start up, hence also "reboot" etc.
>
> I disagree; the bootstrap one is about achieving something by one's own
> effort; that isn't "bragging".
>
> I still think "blowing my own trumpet" is the closest equivalent, meaning
> "to praise or honour oneself".
>

"Blowing your own horn" is what I have usually heard.

--
Skitt (SF Bay Area)
http://home.comcast.net/~skitt99/main.html

[R H Draney]

Skitt filted:

>
>Whiskers wrote:
>>
>> I still think "blowing my own trumpet" is the closest equivalent, meaning
>> "to praise or honour oneself".
>>
>"Blowing your own horn" is what I have usually heard.

For me it was "tooting your own horn"....r


--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

On Fri, 31 May 2013 14:28:55 -0400, "Don Phillipson"
<e9...@SPAMBLOCK.ncf.ca> wrote:

>On 30/05/2013 10:53 PM, GG wrote:
>
>>> "I am not lifting my own chair or bragging my achievement to all of you."
>>> "lifting my own chair": known idiom?
>
>"CDB" <belle...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>news:koa2ib$jj7$4...@speranza.aioe.org...
>
>> Not to me. Sounds South Asian.
>
>The British idiom is "lifting yourself by your own bootstraps."
>It has tended to go out of use since few people now wear
>boots with or without straps. But the same idea underlies
>computerists' "boot" = start up, hence also "reboot" etc.

I'm with Whiskers in that I think it refers to bragging.

I've never met "lifting my own chair" before but in the context given it
seems to have a similar meaning to "blowing my own trumpet".

Might it refer to a custom of lifting someone up in a chair to carry
them as a sign of respect? This is somewhat similar in principle to
carrying someone "shoulder high" as is sometimes done at the end of a
sporting contest.

Two of many examples of people being carried in chairs:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tKR2q_UvLzM/T0R_qLga3UI/AAAAAAAAB3Q/V62FF7yVW_s/s1600/sedan+chair.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tKR2q_UvLzM/T0R_qLga3UI/AAAAAAAAB3Q/V62FF7yVW_s/s1600/sedan+chair.jpg


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

[Whiskers]

That was my surmise too. Being carried or placed on a raised seat would
seem to be a similar sort of honour to having ones presence announced by a
fanfare of loud music - indeed, both are combined sometimes.

[Bob Martin]

in 1974592 20130531 192855 "Don Phillipson" <e9...@SPAMBLOCK.ncf.ca> wrote:
>On 30/05/2013 10:53 PM, GG wrote:
>
>>> "I am not lifting my own chair or bragging my achievement to all of you."
>>> "lifting my own chair": known idiom?
>
>"CDB" <belle...@gmail.com> wrote in message
>news:koa2ib$jj7$4...@speranza.aioe.org...
>
>> Not to me. Sounds South Asian.
>
>The British idiom is "lifting yourself by your own bootstraps."
>It has tended to go out of use since few people now wear
>boots with or without straps. But the same idea underlies
>computerists' "boot" = start up, hence also "reboot" etc.

I've never heard "boot-straps" in Britain - it would be "boot-laces".

[R H Draney]

Bob Martin filted:

Damned funny boots if they've got lace on them....r

[Don Phillipson]

>>>The British idiom is "lifting yourself by your own bootstraps."
>>>It has tended to go out of use since few people now wear
>>>boots with or without straps. But the same idea underlies
>>>computerists' "boot" = start up, hence also "reboot" etc.

Bob Martin filted:

> I've never heard "boot-straps" in Britain - it would be "boot-laces".

Beatle boots were the last exemplar in British fashion (approx. 1965),
needing no straps because they zipped down the side, i.e. could be
opened to put them off and on. The predecessor was elastic-sided
boots approx. 1900, which required at least one bootstrap (loop)
at the back, otherwise you could never get them on or off. I think
the Australian Blundstone company still makes the older type
with two bootstraps, fore and aft.

[Tony Cooper]

American cowboy boots often have loop bootstraps on each side. A
useful accessory is a set of boothooks. Use shown here:
http://www.alamostyles.com/media/00/a2079161353b7891dc619f_m.JPG

To remove the boot, use a bootjack:

http://www.rawhidestudios.com/bootjacks/bootjack-off-3-lg.jpg

Note the title of this jpg.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando FL

[Mike L]

On Fri, 31 May 2013 17:22:17 +0100, Whiskers
<catwh...@operamail.com> wrote:

>On 2013-05-31, GG <not_here@no_where.com> wrote:
>> "I am not lifting my own chair or bragging my achievement to all of you."
>>
>> "lifting my own chair": known idiom?
>>
>> Thanks.
>
>Not in BrE. A quick trawl of the web suggests that it may have originated
>in the "Far East", and not in English.
>
>I think we'd say "blowing my own trumpet".

I think so, too. Doesn't the German equivalent use trombones? That
would certainly give a Wagnerian feel.

--
Mike.

[Peter Young]

Don't know about that, but what is referred to in The King James Bible
(and many subsequent) as "The Last Trumpet" in the German translations
is "The Last Trombone". When Mozart arranged Messiah for
late-18th-Century taste, he gave Handel's trumpet obbligato to "The
Trumpet Shall Sound" to the trombone, which sounds weird to me.

Peter.

--
Peter Young, (BrE, RP), Consultant Anaesthetist, 1975-2004.
(US equivalent: Certified Anesthesiologist)
Cheltenham and Gloucester, UK. Now happily retired.
http://pnyoung.orpheusweb.co.uk

[Walter P. Zähl]

Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk> wrote:
> On 1 Jun 2013 Mike L <n...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 31 May 2013 17:22:17 +0100, Whiskers
>> <catwh...@operamail.com> wrote:
>
>>> On 2013-05-31, GG <not_here@no_where.com> wrote:
>>>> "I am not lifting my own chair or bragging my achievement to all of you."
>>>>
>>>> "lifting my own chair": known idiom?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>> Not in BrE. A quick trawl of the web suggests that it may have originated
>>> in the "Far East", and not in English.
>>>
>>> I think we'd say "blowing my own trumpet".
>
>> I think so, too. Doesn't the German equivalent use trombones? That
>> would certainly give a Wagnerian feel.
>
> Don't know about that, but what is referred to in The King James Bible
> (and many subsequent) as "The Last Trumpet" in the German translations
> is "The Last Trombone". When Mozart arranged Messiah for
> late-18th-Century taste, he gave Handel's trumpet obbligato to "The
> Trumpet Shall Sound" to the trombone, which sounds weird to me.
>

That's in line with the biblical instances of trumpets:
We also have the trombones of Jericho.
I just wonder if the Jews of that time could already manufacture sliding
ones.

Fanfares might be a more reasonable translation, instead of either trumpet
or trombone.

/Walter

[Leslie Danks]

Peter Young wrote:

> On 1 Jun 2013 Mike L <n...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 31 May 2013 17:22:17 +0100, Whiskers
>> <catwh...@operamail.com> wrote:
>
>>>On 2013-05-31, GG <not_here@no_where.com> wrote:
>>>> "I am not lifting my own chair or bragging my achievement to all of
>>>> you."
>>>>
>>>> "lifting my own chair": known idiom?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>>Not in BrE. A quick trawl of the web suggests that it may have
>>>originated in the "Far East", and not in English.
>>>
>>>I think we'd say "blowing my own trumpet".
>
>> I think so, too. Doesn't the German equivalent use trombones? That
>> would certainly give a Wagnerian feel.
>
> Don't know about that, but what is referred to in The King James Bible
> (and many subsequent) as "The Last Trumpet" in the German translations
> is "The Last Trombone". When Mozart arranged Messiah for
> late-18th-Century taste, he gave Handel's trumpet obbligato to "The
> Trumpet Shall Sound" to the trombone, which sounds weird to me.
>

"Posaune" is the German word for "trombone", but when it appears in a
religious context it is normally translated as "trumpet" (as in Trumpets of
Jericho, The Last Trump, etc.) Since (according to WikiP) trombones first
appeared in or around the 15th century -- made by curling up long trumpets
for the sake of convenience -- it seems very likely that the secret weapon
that brought down the walls was in fact a trumpet rather than a trombone.

According to WikiP:
[quote]
The word trombone derives from Italian tromba (trumpet) and -one (a suffix
meaning "large"), so the name means "large trumpet".
[/quote]

Wasn't there a discussion of this very point here a few weeks back?

--
Les (BrE)
"... be skeptical of government guidelines. The Indians learned not to trust
our government and neither should you." (Fallon & Enig)

[Walter P. Zähl]

I just looked it up in a German bible I happen to have on my iPad
(Schlachter, 1951): 2 instances on "Trompete", 55 of "Posaune", all of
these are "trumpet" in an English one. In the 2 instances where the German
has "Trompete", it is "cornet" in the English one.

/Walter

[R H Draney]

Peter Young filted:

>
>On 1 Jun 2013 Mike L <n...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 31 May 2013 17:22:17 +0100, Whiskers
>> <catwh...@operamail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>I think we'd say "blowing my own trumpet".
>
>> I think so, too. Doesn't the German equivalent use trombones? That
>> would certainly give a Wagnerian feel.
>
>Don't know about that, but what is referred to in The King James Bible
>(and many subsequent) as "The Last Trumpet" in the German translations
>is "The Last Trombone". When Mozart arranged Messiah for
>late-18th-Century taste, he gave Handel's trumpet obbligato to "The
>Trumpet Shall Sound" to the trombone, which sounds weird to me.

You want better it should be played on a Jew's harp?...r

[Mike L]

Heh!
The sensible thing is to make one's own out of scrap timber; but mine
is a cast-iron beetle, whose antennae grip the boot.

--
Mike.

[Mike L]

On Sat, 01 Jun 2013 23:34:13 +0200, Leslie Danks <leslie...@aon.at>
wrote:

The medieval ones were called "sackbuts". Of course, what broiught
down the walls of Jericho was legend - dangerous stuff, that.

>
>According to WikiP:
>[quote]
>The word trombone derives from Italian tromba (trumpet) and -one (a suffix
>meaning "large"), so the name means "large trumpet".
>[/quote]
>
>Wasn't there a discussion of this very point here a few weeks back?

Yes, there was. We're getting repetitive in our anecdotage.

--
Mike.

[Swifty]

On 31/05/2013 23:45, R H Draney wrote:
> For me it was "tooting your own horn"...

I frequently toot my own horn. It is a small brass bugle-shaped horn
with a rubber bulb. My wife bought it for me (because she knew I'd love
it) and I take it to the supermarket when I'm shopping. The trolleys
have a handy "hook", ideal for hanging the loop of my mini-bugle, ready
for instant use.

I use it as motorists tend to use their horns in New York... "Get out of
my way". It's all very light-hearted, but the results are often spectacular:

Every single child loves it. Most of the adults break out laughing. The
rest are curmudgeons, and I'm pleased to have irritated them (for
getting in my way).

My horn fell silent a few years ago, when the rubber bulb perished and I
couldn't find a replacement (at a reasonable price). I found a new bulb
on Ebay Australia a few month ago, and once again Sainsbury's Alton
resounds to my "Honk Honk!" occasionally.

I'd swear that some people get in my way just to hear the horn.

:-)

--
Steve Swift
http://www.swiftys.org.uk/

[Swifty]

On 01/06/2013 21:49, Peter Young wrote:
> When Mozart arranged Messiah for
> late-18th-Century taste, he gave Handel's trumpet obbligato

Talking of Handel's "Messiah" reminds me of the email I received from my
employer on a Monday morning last August. They were offering me 15
months salary to retire in September 2012 rather than September 2013...

My PC, which plays random selections from my music collection, broke out
into the Hallelujah Chorus at the precise moment that their generosity
sank in.

It is perhaps the closest I've ever come to a religious experience (if
you exclude that incident with the vicar's daughter inside the church
organ).

[GG]

Whiskers wrote:
> On 2013-05-31, GG <not_here@no_where.com> wrote:
>> "I am not lifting my own chair or bragging my achievement to all of you."
>>
>> "lifting my own chair": known idiom?

>

> Not in BrE. A quick trawl of the web suggests that it may have originated
> in the "Far East", and not in English.
>
> I think we'd say "blowing my own trumpet".

Thanks, everyone.

[gsme...@gmail.com]

In the Philippines, we have a Tagalog idiom "nagbubuhat ng sariling bangko" which literally means lifting your own chair.

[staral...@gmail.com]

You can say I’ Not trying to toot my horn.

[J. J. Lodder]

English has the word 'buisine' for it, from Old French.
(Dutch 'bazuin', still figuratively used in 'rondbazuinen',
with meaning like E. 'shout from the rooftops')

The 'buisine' was a long straight trumpet,
and it still is, if you play authentic instruments.
Lots of them in view in medieval paintings,

Jan

[snide...@gmail.com]

Indeed there are, most visible at Xmas Tide.

[How come I don't remember this thread at all?
Was June 2013 really that busy for me?]

Per Wicked Pete: tromba (It: trumpet) and -one (It: large).
Cylindrical bore like its un-large br'er.
Sackbut was the Renaissance Anglo-term (1495),
perhaps from Spanish "sacabuche" (1478) or French "saqueboute" (1466)

The slide was already present in Sackbuts,
but an additional tuning slide was added in the 19th C, except in Germany.
Nowadays there may also be rotary valves for even more variation in length.

/dps

[Peter T. Daniels]

And in July of '15, someone offered a Tagalog equivalent, but no one bit.

> Per Wicked Pete: tromba (It: trumpet) and -one (It: large).
> Cylindrical bore like its un-large br'er.
> Sackbut was the Renaissance Anglo-term (1495),
> perhaps from Spanish "sacabuche" (1478) or French "saqueboute" (1466)
>
> The slide was already present in Sackbuts,
> but an additional tuning slide was added in the 19th C, except in Germany.
> Nowadays there may also be rotary valves for even more variation in length.

I still like Brahms's setting about the Last Trombone. Handel had already
sewed up the Last Trumpet.

[Tony Cooper]

On 2 Jul 2018 20:32:16 GMT, r...@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram) wrote:

>snide...@gmail.com replied to:
>>Subject: Re: lifting my own chair
>
> (not answering the question given)
>
> In the episode "Judging Books by Covers" of the series "All
> in the Family", they play a game where you "take three steps
> back from the wall. You bend over, put your head against the
> wall, and you pick up the chair, and ta-da.".
>
> Turns out: Women can lift their own chair, men cannot.
>
> My explanation:
>
> The "three steps back" have the size of the feet of the
> person stepping back. Men have longer feet. So when they
> step "three feet" back, they are further away from the wall.
> Therefore, when they then bent over, they are sloped
> stronger towards the wall and therefore can't get up with
> the chair.

I have never heard of the "three steps back" condition or the facing
the wall aspect. The "Chair Experiment" is done with one's back to
the wall and the body pressing the wall from the waist down.

I see there are YouTube efforts to disprove the "Men can't, women can"
theory, and this one shows both facing the wall and back to the wall:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW0ZTvRCS1o

I don't think it's a distance thing. Otherwise, a tall woman with
large feet would fail, and a short man with small feet would succeed.
That doesn't seem to be the case.



--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

[Madrigal Gurneyhalt]

There really isn't much of a puzzle to this. It's purely anatomical.
It would be interesting to see whether top female athletes,
particularly sprinters, do as well as the rest of their gender. There
are reasons to suggest that they would not.

[skyf...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, May 30, 2013 at 7:53:15 PM UTC-7, GG wrote:
> "I am not lifting my own chair or bragging my achievement to all of you."
>
> "lifting my own chair": known idiom?
>
> Thanks.

Lifting my own chair translates directly to "Buhat ng sariling bangko" ... a phrase used frequently in to be polite in the Tagalog (Philippines)... It simply means i don't want to brag when i claim that....(fill in the braggy sentence)