Toys in the attic
Arcadian Rises
insanity.
How do you use it? "He's got toys in his attic"? or "There are toys in
her attic"?
the Omrud
I've never heard it. "the attic" can mean the brain (it's at the top),
but I don't know about toys.
--
David
Prai Jei
continuum:
I've heard the expression but don't really know what it means. Taking it
literally, the image of the attic is of a place that's difficult to get to,
a dumping ground for things that are not required in the short-term, or
ever. So "toys in the attic" would seem to mean "toys put away for good"
and therefore the intended meaning is "grown-up, mature".
"When I became a man, I put away childish things." - St. Paul (1 Cor 13:11)
--
ξ:) Proud to be curly
Interchange the alphabetic letter groups to reply
Katy Jennison
I think I've heard "woodworm in the attic". Not toys, though.
--
Katy Jennison
Duggy
I think it's "X it in attic" - upstairs = brain.
I don't recall toys, I think I've heard "Not enough X in the attic" or
"Bats in the attic."
I'd certainly get what "toys" means, though.
===
= DUG.
===
Horace LaBadie
<49c4ec1a-99ac-4a6f...@p18g2000yqj.googlegroups.com>,
Arcadian Rises <Arcadi...@aol.com> wrote:
Other than the title of the play by Lillian Hellman (and the movie
adaptation), I don't think that it is used in ordinary speech now.
Arcadian Rises
wrote:
> In article
> <49c4ec1a-99ac-4a6f-806f-8600d19bd...@p18g2000yqj.googlegroups.com>,
> Arcadian Rises <Arcadianri...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > I understand that "toys in the attic" is a euphemism for mental
> > insanity.
>
> > How do you use it? "He's got toys in his attic"? or "There are toys in
> > her attic"?
>
> Other than the title of the play by Lillian Hellman (and the movie
> adaptation),
or the song
http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/a/aerosmith/toys_in_the_attic.html
> I don't think that it is used in ordinary speech now.
Thank you.
So it's passe, like "groovy"?
Jerry Friedman
Perhaps THIS will refresh your memory.
"Crazy
Toys in the attic, I am crazy.
Truly gone fishing."
(I am quoting a popular beat combo, Worm your Honour.)
--
Jerry Friedman
Nick Spalding
<hwlabadiejr-2FFE...@news.isp.giganews.com>
on Sat, 07 May 2011 08:11:00 -0400:
Coincidence time, there is a reference to that play in the obituary
pages of The Times today.
--
Nick Spalding
BrE/IrE
Arcadian Rises
> Horace LaBadie wrote, in
> <hwlabadiejr-2FFEB6.08105907052...@news.isp.giganews.com>
> on Sat, 07 May 2011 08:11:00 -0400:
>
> > In article
> > Arcadian Rises <Arcadianri...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > > I understand that "toys in the attic" is a euphemism for mental
> > > insanity.
>
> > > How do you use it? "He's got toys in his attic"? or "There are toys in
> > > her attic"?
>
> > Other than the title of the play by Lillian Hellman (and the movie
> > adaptation), I don't think that it is used in ordinary speech now.
>
> Coincidence time, there is a reference to that play in the obituary
> pages of The Times today.
> --
> Nick Spalding
> BrE/IrE
What does it read?
Nick Spalding
<e91b9a7d-45e0-4f9f...@q30g2000vbs.googlegroups.com>
on Sat, 7 May 2011 07:47:11 -0700 (PDT):
It's only a passing reference in a follow-up from one Harriet Hall to an
obituary of one Lord Ampthill (who he?) that appeared a few days ago:
"During his impresario phase, he was trying out a play in Oxford,
Lillian Hellman's /Toys in the Attic/, with a stellar cast, and invited
my parents and me to see it."
--
Nick Spalding
BrE/IrE
Horace LaBadie
<8752f4fb-bf20-4da3...@z37g2000vbl.googlegroups.com>,
Arcadian Rises <Arcadi...@aol.com> wrote:
> On May 7, 8:11 am, Horace LaBadie <hwlabadi...@nospam.highstream.net>
> wrote:
> > In article
> > <49c4ec1a-99ac-4a6f-806f-8600d19bd...@p18g2000yqj.googlegroups.com>,
> > Arcadian Rises <Arcadianri...@aol.com> wrote:
> >
> > > I understand that "toys in the attic" is a euphemism for mental
> > > insanity.
> >
> > > How do you use it? "He's got toys in his attic"? or "There are toys in
> > > her attic"?
> >
> > Other than the title of the play by Lillian Hellman (and the movie
> > adaptation),
>
> or the song
>
> http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/a/aerosmith/toys in the attic.html
>
> > I don't think that it is used in ordinary speech now.
>
> Thank you.
> So it's passe, like "groovy"?
Groovy might be used now, if only in an ironical manner. Toys in the
attic, however, is limited to allusion.
Arcadian Rises
> Arcadian Rises wrote, in
> <e91b9a7d-45e0-4f9f-9fd8-3f491a95b...@q30g2000vbs.googlegroups.com>
>
> - Show quoted text -
Thank you so much for your time spent to satisfy my curiosity.
The play sounds interesting, among other things it's about some
incestuous, perhaps the toys in the attic?
I let you know after I finish reading it.
Nasti J
> The play sounds interesting, among other things it's about some
> incestuous, perhaps the toys in the attic?
I think you are conflating Hellman's "Toys in the Attic" with
V.C.Andrews' "Flowers in the Attic"
Col. Edmund J. Burke
news:49c4ec1a-99ac-4a6f...@p18g2000yqj.googlegroups.com...
Toys in the attic refers to dildos up there, when in fact, they belong in
the twat.
John Varela
wrote:
A lunatic is someone who is moony in his top story.
--
John Varela
Arcadian Rises
> attic". No "his" or "her".
Thank you. We finally got to the usage point.
Won't you please illustrate with an example for the imaginative
impaired (i.e. me)? I cannot picture the actual usage. Is it just
"there are toys in the attic"?
>
> First time I heard the expression was probably as the title of an
> Aerosmith album from the 70's.
shen...@gmail.com
I know I've heard the expression before, but in the episode, a detective is talking to agent scully about a little girl and he says, "Toys in the attic, you know?"
And she says, "You think she's autistic?"
I was surprised that the reference specifically went to autistic so I came on today to see if that is what is meant.
Harrison Hill
> On Monday, May 9, 2011 at 6:53:13 AM UTC-5, Arcadian Rises wrote:
> > On May 8, 1:41 pm, Lane <inva...@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> > > Arcadian Rises wrote:
> > > > I understand that "toys in the attic" is a euphemism for mental
> > > > insanity.
> > >
> > > > How do you use it? "He's got toys in his attic"? or "There are toys in
> > > > her attic"?
> > >
> > > I rarely hear it, but when I have, it's always been "toys in the
> > > attic". No "his" or "her".
> >
> > Thank you. We finally got to the usage point.
> > Won't you please illustrate with an example for the imaginative
> > impaired (i.e. me)? I cannot picture the actual usage. Is it just
> > "there are toys in the attic"?
> > >
> > > First time I heard the expression was probably as the title of an
> > > Aerosmith album from the 70's.
>
> I realize I am way late on this. My note is that I heard the expression in an episode of X Files, last night. It is an episode from season 5 - maybe episode 6... (I'm binging the show before netflix takes it down April 1st).
Jerry Friedman
dangerous ones. Did Scully have some clue that the little girl might
have been autistic?
--
Jerry Friedman
bebe...@aol.com
> On 07/05/2011 10:44, Arcadian Rises wrote:
> > I understand that "toys in the attic" is a euphemism for mental
> > insanity.
> >
> > How do you use it? "He's got toys in his attic"? or "There are toys in
> > her attic"?
>
> I've never heard it. "the attic" can mean the brain (it's at the top),
bill van
insanity. "Bats in (her) belfry" would be a parallel; these expression
do not include information about a particular diagnosis. My reading: The
character Agent Scully was a medical doctor, who may have turned the
detective's vague, uninformed reference to the girl's insanity into a
reasonable assessment of her condition.
--
bill
Reinhold {Rey} Aman
--
~~~ Reinhold {Rey} Aman ~~~
Reinhold {Rey} Aman
>
> bebe...@aol.com wrote:
>>
>> Yes, as does "belfry" in "spiders in the belfry", a similar phrase.
>>
> In AmE: "bats in the belfry".
>
« avoir une araignée au plafond »
and
« avoir une araignée dans la tête ».
bebe...@aol.com
I've never come across "avoir une araignée dans la tête", though.