# Phrases I Don't Understand. Any You Don't Get? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 8, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483 "2010-10-08T14:12:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/61 "2010-10-11T02:02:47Z")
What a timely thread! I was just wondering about the phrase “Gangway! Coming through!” I know the 2nd part, but how the heck did ‘gangway’ get mixed up into that? ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/62 "2010-10-11T02:44:48Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > What a timely thread! I was just wondering about the phrase “Gangway! Coming through!” I know the 2nd part, but how the heck did ‘gangway’ get mixed up into that? Isn’t gangway the name for a plank leading off of a ship? So “gangway, coming through” might mean “hey the gangway’s down, watch out, pirates offloading” or something like that? ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/63 "2010-10-11T02:50:33Z")
I actually made a topic about this one on here years ago: “Shit-eating grin” If I remember correctly, nobody else really understood it either and I received a huge number of different, half-hearted guesses. Who is going to smile if they’re eating shit? Why does it imply that currently eating shit or already having eaten shit would make one grin? Is this figurative shit? Like talking shit? Even so, it doesn’t make much sense…because making someone eat their words is a bad thing for them…so why would they be grinning? Makes no sense as a phrase. ETA: A second one I never understood is “Everyone talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it”. Well, it would make sense if people actually had the power to control the weather, but since they can’t, how does this one make a lick of sense? Often I hear it said when people are complaining about adverse conditions in which they do have the power to control, so why would someone else liken it to something they had no control over? I just don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/64 "2010-10-11T03:10:46Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9268452&postcount=7](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9268452&postcount=7) or shit eating grin explanation ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/65 "2010-10-11T03:16:37Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > What a timely thread! I was just wondering about the phrase “Gangway! Coming through!” I know the 2nd part, but how the heck did ‘gangway’ get mixed up into that? I always thought it was a perversion of “gain way”, and that it meant “get out of my way,” but in a more polite manner. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/66 "2010-10-11T03:26:54Z")
> [@Typo\_Knig](#): > > > [@pullin](#): > > > > Phonetic alphabet used by pilots and the military. It means “WTF?”. > > I saw what you did there! 🙂 I didn’t want to write “the Big F dash dash dash” outside of The Pit. Why? Either use the word in its entirety like a mature person, or find a way of phrasing the sentence to use something that’s not a swear word. Sorry, that’s my pet peeve- people censoring out swear words _on a site which specifically allows them_ for no particular reason. We all know the word you meant, so asterisking out a few letters doesn’t make it somehow non-offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/67 "2010-10-11T03:44:21Z")
> [@Cub\_Mistress](#): > > [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9268452&postcount=7](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9268452&postcount=7) or shit eating grin explanation Good point there…I guess I would just be trying to keep my lips as far away from the shit as possible but frowning/in anguish about it. The look on my face wouldn’t be confused as a grin, let me tell you, hahaha. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/68 "2010-10-11T04:27:10Z")
[QUOTE=Typo Knig] But what does the Grandmother suck eggs expression mean? Where did it come from? [/QUOTE] It doesn’t really work now, but if your grandmother had been an adult in the depression she may well have sucked eggs. This means to poke a hole in each end of an egg and suck out the contents, which you can then use as normal. But you now also have an intact eggshell which can be painted decoratively or whatever; they tried to reuse everything in those times.. The saying is used when you tell someone how to do something that you should have known they would know perfectly well how to do - say, trying to teach a 16yo how to use facebook. [QUOTE=Idle Thoughts] one I never understood is “Everyone talks about the weather but nobody does anything about it”. Well, it would make sense if people actually had the power to control the weather, but since they can’t … [/QUOTE] … which is precisely the point of Mark Twain’s joke. It’s not a saying. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/69 "2010-10-11T05:08:56Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > I actually made a topic about this one on here years ago: “Shit-eating grin” My understanding of the phrase “Shit Eating Grin” is that it’s a reference to the sort of disturbingly happy grin that someone who’s just eaten a bunch of drugs (sometimes referred to as “shit”) would be expected to have on their face. And, like most folk etymologies it’s probably completely wrong, but probably no more wrong than any of the other explanations for the term’s origins. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/70 "2010-10-11T05:22:56Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > The pessimist in me parses it like “Bad things come in threes.” If you are miserable now, just wait; things could still get worse. Whaaaat? No, it definitely doesn’t mean that. Have you ever been around someone who’s pissed off for whatever reason, and they get really pessimistic about things? Or they snap at the slightest provocation? Or they get really snarky if someone else has good fortune? Or they seek out others that are in a foul mood and erupt into this bitch-fest? It seems counter-intuitive to want to hurt others when you’ve just been reminded how much that sucks. So why would someone do that? Because…misery loves company. > [@Gestalt](#): > > “read for comprehension.” Everyone on the boards says it and I don’t know what it means. How else can one read??? Even been in the gym and tried to read a book on the treadmill, but when you got to the bottom of the page, you realize you didn’t retain anything on that page, so you have to read it again? That’s because you didn’t read for comprehension. You were just, as my friend puts it, “keeping your eyes busy.” > [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > > [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > > > I actually made a topic about this one on here years ago: “Shit-eating grin” > > My understanding of the phrase “Shit Eating Grin” is that it’s a reference to the sort of disturbingly happy grin that someone who’s just eaten a bunch of drugs (sometimes referred to as “shit”) would be expected to have on their face. > > And, like most folk etymologies it’s probably completely wrong, but probably no more wrong than any of the other explanations for the term’s origins. I always took that phrase to mean the fake smile you have just after your boss yells at you or you fall on your face in front of everyone. It’s when you either want to or have to pretend to be happy, despite being embarrassed or sad. “Simpson! Get in here! Eat this plate of shit.” “Yum! My favorite! Sure is some tasty shit, Mr. Burns.” [shit eating grin] ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/71 "2010-10-11T06:09:18Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > > [@Dusty\_Rose](#): > > > > My mom used to say this: They’d bitch if you hung 'em with a new rope. > > > > I didn’t understand it then and I don’t understand it now. If you’re hanging someone, are they supposed to be happier because you’re using a new rope instead of an old one? > > Hee, I never understood this one either (your mom must be my mom’s twin, [and she really does have one] because mine says that too). > > I guess it’s supposed to be sort of a backward “yes, this situation DOES suck, but bitching doesn’t help” sort of saying. But it still doesn’t make sense. To me, that simply means that some people will bitch about the most inconsequential things. It’s an exaggeration, of course, because they _should_ be bitching about being hung, not the condition of the rope. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2010, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/72 "2010-10-11T09:15:08Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > [QUOTE=Typo Knig] > But what does the Grandmother suck eggs expression mean? Where did it come from? It doesn’t really work now, but if your grandmother had been an adult in the depression she may well have sucked eggs. This means to poke a hole in each end of an egg and suck out the contents, which you can then use as normal. But you now also have an intact eggshell which can be painted decoratively or whatever; they tried to reuse everything in those times. [/QUOTE] As a slight hijack, I wanted to say I own several decorative eggshells, painted by my grandmother who did exactly as described above. She also painted wooden and ceramic eggs. I’ve also heard the phrase as “don’t teach your grandpa to chew cheese”. It means “Don’t try to teach someone how to do something that they’ve already been doing successfully long before you came around.” ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/73 "2010-10-12T14:06:04Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > > [@YogSosoth](#): > > > > What a timely thread! I was just wondering about the phrase “Gangway! Coming through!” I know the 2nd part, but how the heck did ‘gangway’ get mixed up into that? > > Isn’t gangway the name for a plank leading off of a ship? So “gangway, coming through” might mean “hey the gangway’s down, watch out, pirates offloading” or something like that? You are partly correct; the “gangway” is any narrow walkway, like the passage between seats in a theatre, or that connecting ship to shore (sometimes the “gangplank”). Point is that it is invariably narrow. Usually has really only room for one to pass. So “gangway, comming through” warns others not to come the other way, because there isn’t room to pass - generalized, “get out of the way”. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/74 "2010-10-12T14:25:37Z")
> [@](#): > > It doesn’t really work now, but if your grandmother had been an adult in the depression she may well have sucked eggs. This means to poke a hole in each end of an egg and suck out the contents, which you can then use as normal. But you now also have an intact eggshell which can be painted decoratively or whatever; they tried to reuse everything in those times.. > The saying is used when you tell someone how to do something that you should have known they would know perfectly well how to do - say, trying to teach a 16yo how to use facebook. The saying is far older than that\*. It’s pretty clear to me that the reason grandma is sucking the eggs isn’t to get a nice shell she can decorate – she’s doing it because she lost her teeth, and back when the phrase was coined false teeth were incredibly hard/expensive to impossible to get. So grandma sucked a _lot_ of eggs (no chewing required). And you’d be an idiot to try to teach someone so experienced at it how to do it. \*I actually haven’t researched it.Tolkien uses it in _The Hobbit_ (1937), but I’m pretty sure I’ve encountered it in earlier sources. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/75 "2010-10-12T14:53:40Z")
“From your mouth to God’s ear” “Horses for courses” “Dog’s breakfast” Maybe these phrases are English, or maybe they’re just gay, but I don’t understand them and they annoy me considerably. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/76 "2010-10-12T15:05:11Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > “From your mouth to God’s ear” “I wish that your words would travel from your mouth to God’s ear, so that God will hear and act upon them.” Or, in short, “I wish that what you just said would happen”. > [@](#): > > “Horses for courses” Different racehorses are suited for different types of racecourses; some run better in mud, etc. It’s a case of some things/people being better suited for some situations than others. > [@](#): > > “Dog’s breakfast” I assume this is a cooking analogy, as in “you’ve messed up cooking breakfast so badly that it’s only fit to give to the dog to eat”. It means to make a complete mess of something or otherwise do a task very badly. But speaking of dogs: can anyone tell me why being the “dog’s bollocks” is a \*good \*thing? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/77 "2010-10-12T15:14:53Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > But speaking of dogs: can anyone tell me why being the “dog’s bollocks” is a \*good \*thing? WAG: if you have a dog that hasn’t been neutered, the bollocks are the prized part of the dog for breeding purposes. They also tend to be rather prominently on display, on many dogs… ---
**Author:** ![Ninja\_Lauren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/46a35a/32.png) [@Ninja\_Lauren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ninja_Lauren)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/78 "2010-10-12T16:03:26Z")
“They’re sure full of piss and vinegar!” I don’t get that one. I know it’s meant to say someone is full of energy, or spunk. But I don’t see why piss and vinegar would ever be mixed in the first place. Does piss and vinegar do something crazy if you mix it? Maybe I’m just being to literal. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/79 "2010-10-12T16:07:18Z")
Until today I didn’t understand “Coyote Ugly”. I thought it was a weird name for a bar where the women don’t actually look all that bad. But apparently it refers to the very specific situation where you wake up after you’ve been drunk and find yourself in bed with someone you apparently had sex with the previous evening asleep across your arm, and they’re so ugly that you would rather gnaw off your arm, like a coyote caught in a trap, rather than chance waking said ugly person up. That;'s a pretty specific set of circumstances, and I never woulda guessed that this was the origin of the phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483/80 "2010-10-12T16:26:22Z")
I don’t know how the term “to be beside oneself” (meaning agitated or upset about something) arose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-dont-understand-any-you-dont-get/556483.md?page=5)