origin of the word "keech"
John McCorkindale
John McCorkindale
Adam Whyte-Settlar
"John McCorkindale" <jmc...@netvigator.com> wrote in message
news:a66q5s$fn...@imsp212.netvigator.com...
> can anyone advise the origin of the word "keech"
>
> John McCorkindale
>
Keech is just Scottish slang (or dialect maybe) for shite.
Words for shite don't have an origin.
Everyone knows that.
In *ngland keech means a blob of fat.
Dont know the origin though. From 'wife' maybe?
--
The adorable Adam Whyte-Settlar
- destined to be forever in the minority
Adam Whyte-Settlar
"John McCorkindale" <jmc...@netvigator.com> wrote in message
news:a66q5s$fn...@imsp212.netvigator.com...
>
> John McCorkindale
>
this word used it has been uttered by one of those amusing backward peasants
in the Utter Hebrides so its probably from that horrible Gaelic dialect they
have over there.
Barnaby
"John McCorkindale" <jmc...@netvigator.com> wrote in message
news:a66q5s$fn...@imsp212.netvigator.com...
>
> John McCorkindale
Most single-syllable Scots words come from the Anglian language that was
brought over by Germanic settlers in the Dark Ages after the Roman Empire
collapsed. I imagine that keich's the same.
The other main options would be Norse, Gaelic or Welsh (or Cumbric ;-) )
Barnaby
"Adam Whyte-Settlar" <grawi...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:KMEh8.441$V91....@news.xtra.co.nz...
>
> "John McCorkindale" <jmc...@netvigator.com> wrote in message
> news:a66q5s$fn...@imsp212.netvigator.com...
> > can anyone advise the origin of the word "keech"
> >
> > John McCorkindale
> >
> In fact - just had a thought - (dangerous I know) - most times I have
heard
> this word used it has been uttered by one of those amusing backward
peasants
> in the Utter Hebrides so its probably from that horrible Gaelic dialect
they
> have over there.
It's pretty widely used on the East Coast, too.
Adam Whyte-Settlar
"Barnaby" <barn...@hotmail.naespam.com> wrote in message
news:a67hd7$nne$1...@phys-ma.sol.co.uk...
and 2000 ad. Very helpful.
Adam Whyte-Settlar
conclusive so far.
Barnaby
Look, I've narrowed it down to Scotland, or maybe somewhere else. What more
do you want?
Barnaby
>
> "Barnaby" <barn...@hotmail.naespam.com> wrote in message
> news:a67hd7$nne$1...@phys-ma.sol.co.uk...
> >
> > "John McCorkindale" <jmc...@netvigator.com> wrote in message
> > news:a66q5s$fn...@imsp212.netvigator.com...
> > > can anyone advise the origin of the word "keech"
> > >
> > > John McCorkindale
> >
> > Most single-syllable Scots words come from the Anglian language that was
> > brought over by Germanic settlers in the Dark Ages after the Roman
Empire
> > collapsed. I imagine that keich's the same.
> >
> > The other main options would be Norse, Gaelic or Welsh (or Cumbric ;-) )
> >
> Well at least that narrows it down to more or less European between 400 ad
> and 2000 ad. Very helpful.
Well, I try...
the wean
a term to describe (wait for it) - a despicable person. (The Patter - a
guide to current Glasgow usage; Michael Munro, GDL Eds., 1985)
Cheers
John McCorkindale <jmc...@netvigator.com> wrote in message
a66q5s$fn...@imsp212.netvigator.com...
Barnaby
"the wean" <shona.d...@tin.it> wrote in message
news:cNJh8.42759$_u5.1...@news1.tin.it...
> Keech - with the 'ch' pronounced as in loch - means muck. Sometimes used
as
> a term to describe (wait for it) - a despicable person. (The Patter - a
> guide to current Glasgow usage; Michael Munro, GDL Eds., 1985)
> Cheers
Really? Over here (Embra, likes) it means shite, as well as not very good.
Ian MacAninch
<barn...@hotmail.naespam.com> writes:
Isn't there a Gaelic word that's pronounced "kach" which means shite?
Ian MacAninch
Helen Ramsay
> "Barnaby" <barn...@hotmail.naespam.com> wrote
> > "Adam Whyte-Settlar" <grawi...@hotmail.com> wrote
> > > "John McCorkindale" <jmc...@netvigator.com> wrote
> > > > can anyone advise the origin of the word "keech"
It's a variation of 'kach' 'cach' meaning human excrement or as Mr
Whyte-Settlar put it in his own inimitable way...'shite'. Accotrding
to the Concise Scots Dictionary it origins are: ME (Middle *nglish)
'cakke'; L (Latin) 'cacare' MDu (Middle Dutch) 'cacken'.Other
variations are 'cawk', 'kich'
> > > In fact - just had a thought - (dangerous I know) - most
> > > times I have heard this word used it has been uttered by
> > > one of those amusing backward peasants in the Utter Hebrides
> > > so its probably from that horrible Gaelic dialect they
> > > have over there.
> >
> > It's pretty widely used on the East Coast, too.
> >
> Yes - well, there are a lot of backward peasants there too. Not very
> conclusive so far.
Oi you! Mair remarks like this an it'll no jist be the pastie-faced
dwarf ye'll hae tae contend wi!
Cheers, Helen
Barnaby
"Ian MacAninch" <sc0t...@aol.compere> wrote in message
news:20020307095403...@mb-me.aol.com...
Now you mention it, isn't it fairly ubiquitous? I think Spanish and Dutch
have "kack" too.
Lindy1026
>From (Ian MacAninch)
And while we're at it, how do you pronounce "shite?" I've seen it written
countless times, but still don't know if it's pronounced the same as its
counterpart without the "e" at the end, or if the "e" at the end makes the "i"
become a long sound instead of a short one.
-Melin
Chic McGregor
<helen_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>"Adam Whyte-Settlar" <grawi...@hotmail.com> wrote
>> "Barnaby" <barn...@hotmail.naespam.com> wrote
>> > "Adam Whyte-Settlar" <grawi...@hotmail.com> wrote
>> > > "John McCorkindale" <jmc...@netvigator.com> wrote
>
>> > > > can anyone advise the origin of the word "keech"
>
>It's a variation of 'kach' 'cach' meaning human excrement or as Mr
>Whyte-Settlar put it in his own inimitable way...'shite'. Accotrding
>to the Concise Scots Dictionary it origins are: ME (Middle *nglish)
>'cakke'; L (Latin) 'cacare' MDu (Middle Dutch) 'cacken'.Other
>variations are 'cawk', 'kich'
Macbain's Ertymological Dictionary lists the Scottish gaelic word cac
(excrement) amongst others as Irish gaelic, (cacc) Latin (caco) Greek
kákk(nu). Looks like it might be PIE to me.
Don't see how ME can lay claim to it.
Now Bollocks, that's worth talking about. It may come from the gaelic
bòilich; tall talk, boasting. From the bo IE root and implying cow
like noises.
Also I've heard a probably wishful thinking based story that
'bullshit' comes from, and excuse my memory. e.g.
'Se buerla suid a tha thu a'bruidhinn'.
'Ishay boorla shit a ha hoo a bree-n'
Meaning 'That there is English you are talking.'
>
>> > > In fact - just had a thought - (dangerous I know) - most
>> > > times I have heard this word used it has been uttered by
>> > > one of those amusing backward peasants in the Utter Hebrides
>> > > so its probably from that horrible Gaelic dialect they
>> > > have over there.
>> >
>> > It's pretty widely used on the East Coast, too.
>> >
>> Yes - well, there are a lot of backward peasants there too. Not very
>> conclusive so far.
>
>Oi you! Mair remarks like this an it'll no jist be the pastie-faced
>dwarf ye'll hae tae contend wi!
>
>Cheers, Helen
>
>
>
Chic :-)
Barnaby
"Lindy1026" <lind...@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
news:20020307105952...@mb-cq.aol.com...
No, it's a long vowel. It rhymes with "write".
Ian MacAninch
lind...@aol.comnospam (Lindy1026) writes:
>And while we're at it, how do you pronounce "shite?" I've seen it written
>countless times, but still don't know if it's pronounced the same as its
>counterpart without the "e" at the end, or if the "e" at the end makes the
>"i"
>become a long sound instead of a short one.
No. 2 will do (in more ways than one...) the former we would spell shitty.
Ian MacAninch
MacRobert
paused to reflect but wrote anyway:
Same as "bite", Melin.
Stephen
Roderick MacDonald
from "John McCorkindale" <jmc...@netvigator.com> contains these words:
> can anyone advise the origin of the word "keech"
> John McCorkindale
According to the CSD keech comes from cack, or cawk, early 16th
century Scots usage for void excrement, which in turn may come from:
Latin: cacare
Middle English: cakke
Middle Dutch: cacken
It gives early usage in Caithness, Banffshire, and Ayrshire.
Rod
Barnaby
"Roderick MacDonald" <r.mac...@zetnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:200203071...@zetnet.co.uk...
> The message <a66q5s$fn...@imsp212.netvigator.com>
> from "John McCorkindale" <jmc...@netvigator.com> contains these words:
>
> > can anyone advise the origin of the word "keech"
>
> > John McCorkindale
>
> According to the CSD keech comes from cack, or cawk, early 16th
> century Scots usage for void excrement, which in turn may come from:
>
> Latin: cacare
> Middle English: cakke
> Middle Dutch: cacken
Unlikely to come from Latin, since Latin was a highbrow language. It looks
like the word may be very old indeed, since there are cognates in a lot of
different Indo-European languages.
ZsaZsa
raving variety though, but sly. A lot of immigrants in Toronto speak
neither French nor English when they arrive, but are very, very eager to
learn. When my uncle met such a person, he would shake the person's hand,
eagerly and vigorously pumping it up and down, beaming from ear to ear, and
saying keech, keech, until the person repeated it back to him. He trained
lots of people to say keech for hello this way.
ZsaZsa
news:6u3f8usiksdbhgfdh...@4ax.com...
>"Helen Ramsay" <helen_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > "John McCorkindale" <jmc...@netvigator.com> wrote
> >
> > can anyone advise the origin of the word "keech"
> >
> >It's a variation of 'kach' 'cach' meaning human excrement or as Mr
> >Whyte-Settlar put it in his own inimitable way...'shite'. Accotrding
> >to the Concise Scots Dictionary it origins are: ME (Middle *nglish)
> >'cakke'; L (Latin) 'cacare' MDu (Middle Dutch) 'cacken'.Other
> >variations are 'cawk', 'kich'
>
> Macbain's Ertymological Dictionary lists the Scottish gaelic word cac
> (excrement) amongst others as Irish gaelic, (cacc) Latin (caco) Greek
> kákk(nu). Looks like it might be PIE to me.
Italian - caca
ZsaZsa
>
> "Roderick MacDonald" <r.mac...@zetnet.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:200203071...@zetnet.co.uk...
> > The message <a66q5s$fn...@imsp212.netvigator.com>
> > from "John McCorkindale" <jmc...@netvigator.com> contains these
words:
> >
> > > can anyone advise the origin of the word "keech"
> >
> > > John McCorkindale
> >
> > According to the CSD keech comes from cack, or cawk, early 16th
> > century Scots usage for void excrement, which in turn may come from:
> >
> > Latin: cacare
> > Middle English: cakke
> > Middle Dutch: cacken
>
> Unlikely to come from Latin, since Latin was a highbrow language.
People with high brows don't shite?
MacRobert
reflect but wrote anyway:
>
>"Barnaby" <barn...@hotmail.naespam.com> wrote in message
>news:a689nt$sfe$1...@phys-ma.sol.co.uk...
>>
>> "Roderick MacDonald" <r.mac...@zetnet.co.uk> wrote in message
>> news:200203071...@zetnet.co.uk...
>> > The message <a66q5s$fn...@imsp212.netvigator.com>
>> > from "John McCorkindale" <jmc...@netvigator.com> contains these
>words:
>> >
>> > > can anyone advise the origin of the word "keech"
>> >
>> > > John McCorkindale
>> >
>> > According to the CSD keech comes from cack, or cawk, early 16th
>> > century Scots usage for void excrement, which in turn may come from:
>> >
>> > Latin: cacare
>> > Middle English: cakke
>> > Middle Dutch: cacken
>>
>> Unlikely to come from Latin, since Latin was a highbrow language.
>
>People with high brows don't shite?
10/10
ian-s...@blueyonder.co.uk
<shona.d...@tin.it> :
>Keech - with the 'ch' pronounced as in loch - means muck.
>Sometimes used as a term to describe (wait for it) - a despicable person.
Whit ?
Why all this recent flack "sur le Continent" for moi ?
I expect it from "across the pond" but from fellow Scots ?
Is this the scs/sci Women's Group going into action ?
-- The Contemptible Campbell
-- Perfidious Alban
-- http://www.scs.informer.ukgateway.net
d@ve Dundлл, Scotland
Who said they were just a heap o' shites ?
--
d@ve Dundee, Scotland
<ian-s...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:cevf8uk90hch59shl...@4ax.com...
Charles Ellson
<6u3f8usiksdbhgfdh...@4ax.com>
charles....@ntlworld.com "Chic McGregor" wrote:
<snip>
>
> Now Bollocks, that's worth talking about. It may come from the gaelic
> b?ilich; tall talk, boasting. From the bo IE root and implying cow
> like noises.
>
It's just a variation of balls (ball + -ock = a testicle), as in "it's
all ball[ock]s".
<snip>
--
_______
+---------------------------------------------------+ |\\ //|
| Charles Ellson: cha...@ellson.demon.co.uk | | \\ // |
+---------------------------------------------------+ | > < |
WARNING: all mail will be bounced from | // \\ |
them...@ellson.demon.co.uk Alba gu brath |//___\\|
Adam Whyte-Settlar
"Charles Ellson" <Cha...@ellson.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:101556...@ellson.demon.co.uk...
> On Thursday, in article
> <6u3f8usiksdbhgfdh...@4ax.com>
> charles....@ntlworld.com "Chic McGregor" wrote:
>
> <snip>
> >
> > Now Bollocks, that's worth talking about. It may come from the gaelic
> > b?ilich; tall talk, boasting. From the bo IE root and implying cow
> > like noises.
> >
> It's just a variation of balls (ball + -ock = a testicle), as in "it's
> all ball[ock]s".
> <snip>
Seeing as you are all so bloody knowledgable would anyone like to hazard a
guess as to where the phrase " cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass
monkey" comes from?
I know this one <smirk>
Adam Whyte-Settlar
"Ian MacAninch" <sc0t...@aol.compere> wrote in message
news:20020307095403...@mb-me.aol.com...
Perhaps you're thinking of Sassenach?
Adam Whyte-Settlar
"ZsaZsa" <re...@ng.org> wrote in message
news:EoOh8.60168$aFN....@news1.bloor.is...
> >
> > Unlikely to come from Latin, since Latin was a highbrow language.
>
> People with high brows don't shite?
The Queen doesn't even fart.
Elaine Goldberg
Adam Whyte-Settlar stated:
>The Queen doesn't even fart.
How do you know?
Elaine
Adam Whyte-Settlar
"Elaine Goldberg" <ElaineF...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:22589-3C...@storefull-2254.public.lawson.webtv.net...
Lachie Macquarie
Rambaud,<TCXh8.721$V91.1...@news.xtra.co.nz> and displaying the suave
and sophisticated disposition of Archibald Leach, Adam Whyte-Settlar
<grawi...@hotmail.com> sgrìobh,
>
>"Charles Ellson" <Cha...@ellson.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:101556...@ellson.demon.co.uk...
>> On Thursday, in article
>> <6u3f8usiksdbhgfdh...@4ax.com>
>> charles....@ntlworld.com "Chic McGregor" wrote:
>>
>> <snip>
>> >
>> > Now Bollocks, that's worth talking about. It may come from the gaelic
>> > b?ilich; tall talk, boasting. From the bo IE root and implying cow
>> > like noises.
>> >
>> It's just a variation of balls (ball + -ock = a testicle), as in "it's
>> all ball[ock]s".
>> <snip>
>
>Seeing as you are all so bloody knowledgable would anyone like to hazard a
>guess as to where the phrase " cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass
>monkey" comes from?
>I know this one <smirk>
On ships of the line, the racks that held the cannon balls was made of
brass and when our jolly tars were in colder climes the brass contracted
and the cannon balls fell off.
Hence the Malay saying "durian jatoh sarong anggat". D'you ken the
meaning of that?
--
Lachie Macquarie, Bod an Deamhan--smaoineachadh miannach.
Chic McGregor
Ellson) wrote:
>On Thursday, in article
> <6u3f8usiksdbhgfdh...@4ax.com>
> charles....@ntlworld.com "Chic McGregor" wrote:
>
><snip>
>>
>> Now Bollocks, that's worth talking about. It may come from the gaelic
>> b?ilich; tall talk, boasting. From the bo IE root and implying cow
>> like noises.
>>
>It's just a variation of balls (ball + -ock = a testicle), as in "it's
>all ball[ock]s".
><snip>
Or that use of balls came from mistaking bņilich for bollocks.
chic
Chic McGregor
<grawi...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>"ZsaZsa" <re...@ng.org> wrote in message
>news:EoOh8.60168$aFN....@news1.bloor.is...
>
>> >
>> > Unlikely to come from Latin, since Latin was a highbrow language.
>>
>> People with high brows don't shite?
>
>The Queen doesn't even fart.
Yes she does. She let's a ripper out at the start of every function.
That's what the fanfares are designed to cover up.
The snoot nose affectation was originally a natural olfactorial
response the need for which is now disguised by the omnipresence of
fresh paint in the queens vicinity.
All this reminds me of when we were about 7 playing with a wee English
boy who was visiting, and discovering he was utterly convinced that
the queen didn't do jobbies.
chic
Adam Whyte-Settlar
"Lachie Macquarie" <Lac...@lachiemacq.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
> >Seeing as you are all so bloody knowledgable would anyone like to hazard
a
> >guess as to where the phrase " cold enough to freeze the balls off a
brass
> >monkey" comes from?
> >I know this one <smirk>
>
> On ships of the line, the racks that held the cannon balls was made of
> brass and when our jolly tars were in colder climes the brass contracted
> and the cannon balls fell off.
You make me puke.
Except I heard they were stacked on brass 'plates' (known as 'monkeys' for
some reason) not 'racks'. Also it was the balls that contracted (any male
will appreciate the logic of that) and not the brass 'monkey'.
And you are also way off in your assumption that the tars were 'jolly' at
the point in time when the balls on the monkey were frozen off.
So to sum up - I was right again after all.
Adam Whyte-Settlar
> On Fri, 8 Mar 2002 18:15:24 +1300, "Adam Whyte-Settlar"
> <grawi...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >
> >"ZsaZsa" <re...@ng.org> wrote in message
> >news:EoOh8.60168$aFN....@news1.bloor.is...
> >
> >> >
> >> > Unlikely to come from Latin, since Latin was a highbrow language.
> >>
> >> People with high brows don't shite?
> >
> >The Queen doesn't even fart.
> Yes she does. She let's a ripper out at the start of every function.
> That's what the fanfares are designed to cover up.
> The snoot nose affectation was originally a natural olfactorial
> response the need for which is now disguised by the omnipresence of
> fresh paint in the queens vicinity.
I dont know if this is true but it *is* an AW-S fact.
The Queen's train broke down and was forced to make an unscheduled stop at a
minor station - which of course had been painted for her to flash through at
BR's max of 35mph. She had time to notice the empty paint tins stacked
almost out of sight and was *quite* put out that they had painted the
station for her flying visit. Like she really didn't know that the world is
perpetually revamped twenty miles ahead of her.
> All this reminds me of when we were about 7 playing with a wee English
> boy who was visiting, and discovering he was utterly convinced that
> the queen didn't do jobbies.
That wasn't in Glasgow round about April 1962 by any chance?
Chic McGregor
<grawi...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>"Chic McGregor" <charles....@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
>news:26ug8uoq1s03lcbpt...@4ax.com...
>> On Fri, 8 Mar 2002 18:15:24 +1300, "Adam Whyte-Settlar"
>> <grawi...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> >
>> All this reminds me of when we were about 7 playing with a wee English
>> boy who was visiting, and discovering he was utterly convinced that
>> the queen didn't do jobbies.
>
>That wasn't in Glasgow round about April 1962 by any chance?
Nope. Perth c 59.
chic
the wean
outside pawn-brokers shops.
I live and learn!
Cheers
Adam Whyte-Settlar <grawi...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
dk%h8.831$V91.1...@news.xtra.co.nz...
Helen Ramsay
> "Charles Ellson" <Cha...@ellson.demon.co.uk> wrote
> > On Thursday charles....@ntlworld.com "Chic McGregor" wrote:
> > > Now Bollocks, that's worth talking about. It may come from the
gaelic
> > > b?ilich; tall talk, boasting. From the bo IE root and implying
cow
> > > like noises.
> > >
> > It's just a variation of balls (ball + -ock = a testicle), as in
"it's
> > all ball[ock]s".
> > <snip>
>
> Seeing as you are all so bloody knowledgable would anyone like to
hazard a
> guess as to where the phrase " cold enough to freeze the balls off a
brass
> monkey" comes from?
> I know this one <smirk>
If you think that its meaning comes from the fact that in the days of
sailing ships a brass monkey was a tray on which cannon balls were
piled, and that in very cold weather the brass tray shrunk faster than
the iron cannonballs and so the pyramid of balls collapsed, you could
be wrong. This was discussed on one of the groups I read some time ago
and it seems that this explanation is pure bollocks!
See http://www.snopes2.com/language/stories/brass.htm
> I know this one <smirk>
Are you still smirking O Adorable One? If so maybe you'd share your
meaning with us now.
Cheers, Helen
Richard Kaulfuss
<grawi...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>"Lachie Macquarie" <Lac...@lachiemacq.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>
>> >Seeing as you are all so bloody knowledgable would anyone like to hazard
>a
>> >guess as to where the phrase " cold enough to freeze the balls off a
>brass
>> >monkey" comes from?
>> >I know this one <smirk>
>>
>> On ships of the line, the racks that held the cannon balls was made of
>> brass and when our jolly tars were in colder climes the brass contracted
>> and the cannon balls fell off.
>
>You make me puke.
>Except I heard they were stacked on brass 'plates' (known as 'monkeys' for
>some reason) not 'racks'. Also it was the balls that contracted (any male
>will appreciate the logic of that) and not the brass 'monkey'.
Apparently a "monkey" was also a type of small cannon, though I
would have thought that bronze was a more suitable material for its
construction than brass.
Perhaps the differential contraction meant that the balls were no longer
a snug fit in the bore? I am somewhat sceptical of any storage arrangement
that would be compromised by a bit of differential contraction. Surely it
would have been just as vulnerable to rough seas?
>And you are also way off in your assumption that the tars were 'jolly' at
>the point in time when the balls on the monkey were frozen off.
>So to sum up - I was right again after all.
Of course they were jolly, what with all that free rum, bum and baccy.
Just ask Synarse.
--
Dick
MacRobert
Kaulfuss) paused to reflect but wrote anyway:
And the singing! "Yo, ho, yo! HO!" Then when the ho turns around,
the negotiations...
MacR
Adam Whyte-Settlar
"Helen Ramsay" <helen_...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:hb4i8.473$OM1....@read1.cgocable.net...
>
> If you think that its meaning comes from the fact that in the days of
> sailing ships a brass monkey was a tray on which cannon balls were
> piled, and that in very cold weather the brass tray shrunk faster than
> the iron cannonballs and so the pyramid of balls collapsed, you could
> be wrong. This was discussed on one of the groups I read some time ago
> and it seems that this explanation is pure bollocks!
>
> See http://www.snopes2.com/language/stories/brass.htm
>
> > I know this one <smirk>
>
> Are you still smirking O Adorable One? If so maybe you'd share your
> meaning with us now.
Jings, Crivens and Help ma Boab! : ( <------ collapsed smirk.
It just goes to show that you can't believe a word anyone says these days.
My boss fed me that story the other night and seeing he is a nautical type
and fairly knowledgeable about the sea I had no reason to doubt him.
Though I must admit I did think it a bit odd that a ship that rocks about in
storms and the like should have such an unreliable method of storing cannon
balls.
Well I suppose you had to be right about *something* eventually - the law of
averages and the like.
OK, smartarse - where does the phrase " A dead ringer for somone" come from.
: ) <----------replacement smirk.
Helen Ramsay
> "Helen Ramsay" <helen_...@hotmail.com> wrote
A ringer is a horse substituted for another to defraud the bookies. In
this case, dead means exact rather than lifeless.
Are ye still smirkin' then? :)
Cheers, Helen
Adam Whyte-Settlar
Anyone can do a quick cut and paster from that website - but in this
instance the website is wrong anyway. Tough!
I will give a few other people a chance to come up with the right answer
before I amaze you all once again with my depth of useless knowledge.
Jim Stewart
Horseshoes...
Jim Stewart
Alan Hardie
>
> Though I must admit I did think it a bit odd that a ship that rocks about
in
> storms and the like should have such an unreliable method of storing
cannon
> balls.
That's why they came off in cold weather. Coz it was unstable.
See, if it hadn't been an unstable method, in cold weather when the brass
contracted on the monkey, the balls wouldn't have fallen off and then there
would be no expression to discuss. And this conversation would not have
existed.
See, you're clearly not thinking this one through, Adam.
Dubh@worldnet.att.net Madra Dubh
> : ) <----------replacement smirk.
YOU DID IT AGAIN!!!!
-Conway
MacRobert
<grawi...@hotmail.com> paused to reflect but wrote anyway:
>
>"Helen Ramsay" <helen_...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> A ringer is a horse substituted for another to defraud the bookies. In
>> this case, dead means exact rather than lifeless.
>>
>> Are ye still smirkin' then? :)
>>
>Yep - *and* you cheated!
>Anyone can do a quick cut and paster from that website - but in this
>instance the website is wrong anyway. Tough!
>I will give a few other people a chance to come up with the right answer
>before I amaze you all once again with my depth of useless knowledge.
>--
>The adorable Adam Whyte-Settlar
> - destined to be forever in the minority
>
>
Let's see, "saved by the bell" was supposed to be from burying a
string that could be pulled to ring a bell if you woke up in your
coffin, but "dead ringer" wouldn't help there...
MacR
Adam Whyte-Settlar
"MacRobert" <MacR...@th.hoose> wrote in message
news:3c8be60...@basic.bs.webusenet.com...
Adam Whyte-Settlar
"Madra Dubh" <Madra Du...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:1wMi8.1125$tP2.1...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Things have changed since I converted to Islam last Thursday evening. Its
now perfectly OK for me to be a hypocrit as I am a superior being and above
all criticism. Bit like being a Merkan politician really.
I also command you not to shout.
ian-s...@blueyonder.co.uk
MacR...@th.hoose (MacRobert) :
Actually, you're pretty close............
Recorded instances have shown that minor earth tremors can disturb a
coffin to the extent where the bell rings. Under such circumstances,
those above ground obviously do not know whether the person whom
they thought was deceased has awakened and rung the bell or whether
the alarm is due to the aforementioned natural causes.
In order to legislate for such occurences, most authorities decree
that such an alarm emanating from a coffin which has been buried
for a minimum of three years can be declared "false" and no further
action will be required except to cut the string.
-- The Despicable Stewart
-- Perfidious Alban
-- http://www.scs.informer.ukgateway.net
Dubh@worldnet.att.net Madra Dubh
>
> "Madra Dubh" <Madra Du...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
> news:1wMi8.1125$tP2.1...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> >
> > "Adam Whyte-Settlar" <grawi...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:cYvi8.244
> > <Snip>
> > > : ) <----------replacement smirk.
> >
> > YOU DID IT AGAIN!!!!
> > -Conway
>
> Things have changed since I converted to Islam last Thursday evening. Its
> now perfectly OK for me to be a hypocrit as I am a superior being and
above
> all criticism. Bit like being a Merkan politician really.
> I also command you not to shout.
EH?
WHAT SAY?
SPEAK UP, LADDIE, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!
-Conway
(Why must this younger generation mumble so?)
Jim Stewart
HE SAID HE BOUGHT A CONVERTABLE ISLATA LAST THURSDAY. Uses small type and I
can't find my glasses without my damn glasses....
Jim Stewart
Dubh@worldnet.att.net Madra Dubh
"Jim Stewart" <ste...@ceet.niu.edu> wrote in message
news:a6jq7m$1ip$1...@husk.cso.niu.edu...
HIS WIFE LET HIM SPEND A LITTLE OF THEIR ACCUMULATED WEALTH, DID SHE?
If I do not lay my glasses down in a place I usually put them, the search is
on.
Which is why, at my age, I try to have a place for everything and everything
in its place.
-Conway
Jim Stewart
I DON'T KNOW, HE GOT SOME KIND OR RELIGON. GUESS HIS EYEBROWS ARE BLOCKEN
HIS EYES AGAIN.
I will find those damed glasses. Its my readin ones. I put the others in
their case.
Jim Stewart
Dubh@worldnet.att.net Madra Dubh
The older you get, the more important this becomes.
-Conway
Jim Stewart
Heck, I am always wondering what I will find when I stand at the urinal....
Jim Stewart
Adam Whyte-Settlar
large cubicles with the wheelchair symbol on the door.
Robert, (Auld Bob), Peffers
"MacRobert" <MacR...@th.hoose> wrote in message
> On 07 Mar 2002 15:59:52 GMT, lind...@aol.comnospam (Lindy1026)
> paused to reflect but wrote anyway:
>
> >
> >
> >>
> >>In article <a67rna$8kg$1...@phys-ma.sol.co.uk>, "Barnaby"
> >><barn...@hotmail.naespam.com> writes:
> >>
> >>>"the wean" <shona.d...@tin.it> wrote in message
> >>>news:cNJh8.42759$_u5.1...@news1.tin.it...
> >>>> Keech - with the 'ch' pronounced as in loch - means muck. Sometimes
used
> >>>as
> >>>> a term to describe (wait for it) - a despicable person. (The Patter -
a
> >>>> guide to current Glasgow usage; Michael Munro, GDL Eds., 1985)
> >>>> Cheers
> >>>
> >>>Really? Over here (Embra, likes) it means shite, as well as not very
good.
> >>
> >>Isn't there a Gaelic word that's pronounced "kach" which means shite?
> >>
> >
> >And while we're at it, how do you pronounce "shite?" I've seen it
written
> >countless times, but still don't know if it's pronounced the same as its
> >counterpart without the "e" at the end, or if the "e" at the end makes
the "i"
> >become a long sound instead of a short one.
> >
> >-Melin
>
> Same as "bite", Melin.
>
> Stephen
>
Frae Auld Bob Peffers:
Keech: said,(in the CSD), to be a child's variation of cach, (cack). Anyway.
Let's change the subject, talk about dishes. How's yer bowles?
--
Aefauldlie, (Scots for Sincerely),
Auld Bob Peffers,
b...@peffers50.freeserve.co.uk
Web Site, *The Eck's Files*
http://www.peffers50.freeserve.co.uk/
Robert, (Auld Bob), Peffers
Could it be as simple as ringing the changes?
Robert, (Auld Bob), Peffers
I remember arriving at Waverley Station one morning, coming off nightshift,
and just before Her Maj was due to arrive. There was the Station Master and
a porter slipping ready made canvas covers over the signs for the Gents
toilets. Poor old Liz must think there are a great deal of people about who
do not need to use the loo.
Adam Whyte-Settlar
"Robert, (Auld Bob), Peffers" <b...@peffers50.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in
message news:a7o4ql$lq7$1...@news7.svr.pol.co.uk...
I'd forgotten all about that - I think it was something to do with the
German(?) Doppel-ganger' (sp?) and doesn't actually come from the english
word 'ring' at all.
There are lots of other plausable suggestions - including 'ringing the
changes' on the church bells ( how that drifts to 'a dead ringer' I have no
idea.
Another one I heard on the radio years ago was that in days of yore most
bell-ringers ( of the single bell, 'come-to-church' variety) were itinerant
down-and-outs who got a bowl of soup from the vicar for thier labours.
This group were prone to suicide via the bell rope and any bankrupt wishing
to disapear would ask around the county for a 'dead ringer' to be used to
fake his own death. (presumably in a disfiguring accident). Despite my
endearing gullibility this one sounds very implausable to me - but I like it
anyway.
There is an 'fake' origin doing the rounds about a bell on a string leading
to a coffin in case the recently interred occupant is only in a coma and
recovers conciousness.
There are a couple of others that I can't remember now.