English as She Is Spoke (1884) [pdf]

Post by jamiek88 » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:15 PM UTC

kgeist wrote: post #43

dang wrote: post #40

The Idiotisms and Proverbs section is one of the more hilarious and I wonder how many of them can be mapped back to originals. The only one I could trace is A horse baared don't look him the tooth , which presumably maps back to Don't look a gift horse in the mouth . Probably quite a few of them are no longer common in English either by now, which makes computing the inverse harder.

I could decode these, because there are equivalents in my native Russian: >"With tongue one go to Roma" = you can achieve anything with good communication skills >"It want to beat the iron during it is hot" = seize the opportunity while you can >"to come back to their muttons" you say "let's go back to our sheep" when you realize you digressed

Post by frozenlettuce » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:21 PM UTC

dang wrote: post #40

The Idiotisms and Proverbs section is one of the more hilarious and I wonder how many of them can be mapped back to originals. The only one I could trace is A horse baared don't look him the tooth , which presumably maps back to Don't look a gift horse in the mouth . Probably quite a few of them are no longer common in English either by now, which makes computing the inverse harder.

Post by marc_abonce » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:24 PM UTC

asveikau wrote: post #14

I think this highlights some differences between now and the 19th century. Global communication and travel, to say nothing of media consumption, is much easier today. Many more Portuguese or Brazilian people have easy access to English. But back then, someone who didn't even speak English could publish this phrase book and appear credible.

Post by pxeger1 » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:26 PM UTC

agentwiggles wrote: post #42

WalterBright wrote: post #20

One of my Iranian colleagues back when I worked in an office had many entertaining phrases, like: "I go make some shoppings" "Time for go" Naturally, the rest of the gang picked them up and used them. I still say them to the consternation of others.

In a similar vein, "do the needful" has become so entrenched in some of my friends' vernacular that it's now used almost completely unironically. Also, "like such as," from the old "Miss Teen USA" viral video, has stuck in my craw to the point that its use is unconscious (though still intended humorously).

Post by jonstaab » Mon, Jan 02, 2023, 9:41 PM UTC

wardedVibe wrote: post #9

Heaven forbid I disagree with Mark Twain, but star war: backstroke of the west[0] is another great example in this uh genre. [0]: https://web.archive.org/web/20170115091456/http://winterson....