"Teddy-bear syndrome" (unfamiliar sayings here in the UK, and their meaning)

grahamg

grahamg

Old codger
Location
South of Manchester, UK
I picked up a book yesterday called "From Hue and cry To humble pie" (Curious, bizarre & incomprehensible expressions explained), and thought you might like to take a look at a few I've found I didn't previously fully understand, (if at all :) !).

"Teddy-bear syndrome"
Quote: "This describe the characteristics of someone who gets married or enters a relationship simply because he or she fears being alone and needs the constant presence of a comforter"

"Send in the clowns"
Quote: This expression from the world of showbiz means "The show must go on"

"Old grey whistle test"
Quote: "Songwriters would play their newly penned tunes to the 'old greys' - the elderly around the offices of the music publishers and if they were still whistling the songs after a few days they might be worth publishing"

"To pass the acid test"
Quote: "Gold is not attacked by most acids, but reacts with nitric acid (once known as aqua fortis), therefore providing a test"

"According to Cocker"
Quote: "This describes a statement or calculation that is reliably correct" (named after Edward Cocker, a London Schoolmaster of mathematics from the seventeenth century).
 

More unfamiliar sayings:

"To sow Dragon's teeth"
Quote:
"To stir up trouble, strife or war, to foster disagreements, or perhaps to act with the intention of putting an end to conflict but to succeed only in starting it".

"To be in like Flynn"
Quote: "A ribald phrase that means to take instant advantage of any chance that might be up for grabs, (more particularly it means "Not to miss an opportunity of seducing a woman").

"Here's mud in your eye"
Quote: "To wish good fortune", (from WWI troops saying they would rather have mud in their eyes than anything else they might encounter).

"Not my bag"
Quote: "A slang expression for something which is definitely not one's subject or style", (probably from American jazz scene, and a personal style of playing).
 

Pepper said:
All these sayings are familiar to me as an American.
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Are you familiar with these too?

"As the bell clinks, so the fool thinks"
Quote: "A foolish person believes what he desires"

"Charlie's dead"
Quote: "A slang euphemism to indicate that a woman's petticoat is showing, or a men's trouser zip is undone"

"To settle someone's hash"
Quote: "To subdue or silence someone in no uncertain terms, or to sort out a muddle for them"

"To bay at the moon"
Quote: "To crave for what is unattainable"

"To shoot the moon"
Quote: "An American expression meaning to leave without paying one's bill or rent"
 
Do you know where the term “shot of whiskey” comes from? In the Old West, in the days of the cattle drive, a cowboy would develop a thirst, but might not have been paid yet. The price of whiskey and the price of a bullet were the same. So the bartender would exchange a small glass of whiskey for a bullet. Hence the term “shot” came into being.
 
grahamg said:
"To shoot the moon"
Quote: "An American expression meaning to leave without paying one's bill or rent"
Click to expand...
"Shoot the moon" is also an expression in card games: to achieve the lowest or highest score possible, such that the player is usually rewarded with bonus points. The expression is also used generally to mean attaining great heights, a high value, or a numerically high measurement.
 
CarolfromTX said:
Do you know where the term “shot of whiskey” comes from? In the Old West, in the days of the cattle drive, a cowboy would develop a thirst, but might not have been paid yet. The price of whiskey and the price of a bullet were the same. So the bartender would exchange a small glass of whiskey for a bullet. Hence the term “shot” came into being.
Click to expand...
I had no idea at all, but as I'm due in our local bar in a few minutes I'll be checking the level of knowledge of my mates and the landlord! :

Quote:
"“In the old west a . 45 cartridge for a six-gun cost 12 cents, so did a glass of whiskey. If a cowhand was low on cash he would often give the bartender a cartridge in exchange for a drink"

And then there's this too:
 
Pepper said:
I lived in England for a few years, so I guess that's how I know some of the obscure ones. The rest are known here in usa.
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I told my mates at the local bar, (or "Public House" as you'll know we call them), and no one hand ever seemed to have heard of the origins of the "Shot of Whiskey" saying, not even the landlord, or their pub quiz team. :)
 
grahamg said:
I told my mates at the local bar, (or "Public House" as you'll know we call them), and no one hand ever seemed to have heard of the origins of the "Shot of Whiskey" saying, not even the landlord, or their pub quiz team. :)
Click to expand...
Dave and I toured the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky a few years ago. We also learned that the term “proof”:meant exactly that. Proof is the measure of the amount of alcohol. Back in the day in America, goods were often bartered for other goods or services. One such commodity was corn, often dried, but just as often turned into corn liquor aka moonshine. But how to tell that a barrel of “white lightening“ hasn’t been diluted? You need proof. So you take a little gunpowder, add a few drops of moonshine, and set it afire. We were told that if the flame was blue, then it was the real deal. Or so I recall. We heard a lot of great stories on that trip.
 
Happy as a pig in sh*t. Self explanatory really.
Born in a barn, were you? Shut the door, often accompanied with a strong profanity.
Not give a monkey's. To not care at all about something.
Bob's your uncle. Typically, someone says it to conclude a set of simple instructions or when a result is reached.
Making a right pig's ear of something. To do something badly, wrongly, or awkwardly.
A sandwich short of a picnic. To indicate in a humorous way that you think someone is very stupid.
Anorak. Someone that's a little bit geeky, with strong interests or expertise in a niche area.
Codswallop! Something untrue, often made up for dramatic effect.
Cream Crackered. Cockney rhyming slang for "knackered," if you're "cream crackered" then you're incredibly tired.
(A "knacker" was the person that slaughtered worn-out horses in the 19th and 20th centuries for their meat, hoofs, and hide. So, if you're "ready for the knacker's yard," you're exhausted beyond relief.) Google can be very helpful at times.
Curtain twitcher. A nosey neighbour, often caught peering out on their street's activities from a curtained window.
 
Here is one American saying I'd heard before but never understood:

"Shooting the breeze"
Quote: "Refers to empty chatter or gossip"

Some more I'd not heard before:
"Mystery meat"
Quote: "Spam or some meat based dish sold in a cafeteria from unknown origin"

"Lets table this"
Quote: "Means "shelve whatever in might be in the USA", (whilst it means lets put it on the agenda for discussion in the UK)

"Jump the shark"
Quote: "Something ceasing to be culturally relevant"

"The long tooth"
Quote: "Similar to the meaning of Jump the shark"

"Ate it"
Quote: "Someone fell over hilariously"
 
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