# Phrases you'd think people would know **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 15, 2009, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178 "2009-09-15T15:19:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/41 "2009-09-15T21:44:47Z")
Years ago someone used the, I presume Aussie, phrase “black catter” to describe someone. I had never heard it, even though he assumed it was in common use, but because the explanation was so perfect I started using it. I don’t think I have ever used it when anyone has known what it means. The meaning: he’s the kind of guy that if you have a big house his house is bigger; if you have a fast car his car is faster; if you have a black cat… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/42 "2009-09-15T21:57:41Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > My cat doesn’t wear pajamas, so the phrase ‘cat’s ass’ or ‘buttocks of the feline’ applies. That’s funny - my cats wear their fur pajamas all the time. It’s handy, since all they do is sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/43 "2009-09-15T21:59:30Z")
> [@Randydeluxe](#): > > I had a co-worker who was incapable of correctly producing common complex phrases. But for some reason, he insisted on using them… in e-mails to customers. Examples: > > “It’s a doggie dog world, you know.” > > “For all intensive purposes…” > > “Then we saw it was a blessing in the skies.” > > “We’re not going to take it for granite that you trust us with your business.” > > I’m not sure how I didn’t snap. Of course, he was repeatedly promoted and given raises and more authority. I would probably say all of these sayings, twisting them on purpose. But that’s just how I roll, nomesane? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/44 "2009-09-15T22:11:42Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Until a few months ago, I would have thought more people would know what “teabagging” is. I’ve heard every phrase in this thread (except black-catter), and used most of them. But I just found out what “teabagging” was a few months back. Does that really happen often enough that they need a word for it? I wasn’t even aware of the _concept_, much less the word. ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/45 "2009-09-15T22:39:32Z")
I once answered a coworker’s question with, “That’s how it was done in days of yore.” She replied with, “In days of my what?” So I said, “No, I mean back in the day.” “Oh, why didn’t you just say that?” \ ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/46 "2009-09-15T22:43:25Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > I think that “new rope” saying is pretty self explanatory even you hadn’t heard it before. > > Try “23 skidoo” to confound someone. Or 86. > > [Urban Dictionary: 86](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=86) I just told my daughter she’d complain if she was hung with a new rope the other day–this was one of my dad’s favorites when I was but a wee lass. And I totally remember being 86’d from a bar so I remember that one as well. The only one in this thread I hadn’t heard before is black-catter. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2009, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/47 "2009-09-15T23:38:53Z")
I’m sure I’ve posted this before. A co-worker was complaining that her teenaged son thought the world revolved around him. I asked, “And how are you going to disabuse him of that notion?” Word went round the office that I was advocating child abuse. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/48 "2009-09-16T01:15:40Z")
I think the bees knees has been taken over by the more feasible dogs bollocks. The other day “I havn’t got a bean” was met with a quizzical look. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/49 "2009-09-16T03:13:02Z")
> [@FallenAngel](#): > > I once answered a coworker’s question with, “That’s how it was done in days of yore.” > > She replied with, “In days of my what?” > > So I said, “No, I mean back in the day.” > > “Oh, why didn’t you just say that?” > > \ You should have just rolled with it, made a routine out of it. Hey, it worked before - Who’s on first base? Right, Who’s on first. That’s what I’m askin’ ya! ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/50 "2009-09-16T03:46:23Z")
My dad looked at me askance when I referred to running a tight ship. He had not heard that use of the word tight and thought I was referring to being drunk, a use of tight which I had not encountered previously. A tight ship, sounds good to me! Booze for everyone! ---
**Author:** ![silvermist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@silvermist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silvermist)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/51 "2009-09-16T04:09:34Z")
> [@Gorgon\_Heap](#): > > All I’m saying is for toothless waterfowl, ducks sure have a reputation for being mean bastards. Yeah, it seems that way. I like ducks, I don’t think they’re mean. Geese on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/52 "2009-09-16T04:45:04Z")
> [@Claire\_Beauchamp](#): > > I said something to my boss’s boss (formerly my direct boss) the other day that lately work was like being “bit to death by ducks.” She’s a very smart person, older than me, and had never heard it before. I know this is egotistical, but: If I haven’t ever heard of your phrase, it is not in any common usage in American English. I used to break apart the Summer Reading Goals for kids. I have read more books than I can count. I have watched probably 300 hours of British TV. I am considered a local Answer Man. I have never heard of your phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Awesome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Captain\_Awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Awesome)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/53 "2009-09-16T04:46:44Z")
‘Flat battery’, which just cropped up in another [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11559657&postcount=3). I assume it’s a British-English vs. American-English idiom. Incidentally how is it expressed in the USoA? ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/54 "2009-09-16T05:18:48Z")
> [@Captain\_Awesome](#): > > ‘Flat battery’, which just cropped up in another [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11559657&postcount=3). I assume it’s a British-English vs. American-English idiom. Incidentally how is it expressed in the USoA? Dead battery, since it is dead and not live or shorter than it was, or less bumpy. . .😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/55 "2009-09-16T05:36:07Z")
“I don’t have a dog in this fight”. I thought it was a phrase everyone knew, until I used it at a party (in the City) and no one knew what I meant. Once I explained it, they were all delighted by my quaint country turn-of-phrase. I still think I must have been in a room full of halfwits. Everyone’s heard “I don’t have a dog in this fight”, right? It’s not even an Aussie expression! It’s travelled internationally to get here, I hardly think it bypassed the metro areas and only caught on in these rural parts. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/56 "2009-09-16T06:01:44Z")
I’d never heard ‘I don’t have a dog in this fight’ until I came to the SDMB. No one I know in real life uses it. Except me. There are a few expressions I’ve read here than I wasn’t able to quite figure out. If only I could remember what they were, this’d be the ideal thread to have my ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/57 "2009-09-16T06:27:40Z")
I have used two expressions the last couple of weeks that have been met with puzzlement: “Stickybeak” and “Long in the tooth” Are these really such obscure phrases? ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/58 "2009-09-16T11:16:30Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > I know this is egotistical, but: If I haven’t ever heard of your phrase, it is not in any common usage in American English. > > I used to break apart the Summer Reading Goals for kids. I have read more books than I can count. I have watched probably 300 hours of British TV. I am considered a local Answer Man. > > I have never heard of your phrase. Re: 'being bitten/pecked/nibbled to death by ducks." I’ve heard this phrase for years. I don’t know how common it is, but people use it. > [@Cazzle](#): > > “I don’t have a dog in this fight”. > > I thought it was a phrase everyone knew, until I used it at a party (in the City) and no one knew what I meant. Once I explained it, they were all delighted by my quaint country turn-of-phrase. > > I still think I must have been in a room full of halfwits. Everyone’s heard “I don’t have a dog in this fight”, right? It’s not even an Aussie expression! It’s travelled internationally to get here, I hardly think it bypassed the metro areas and only caught on in these rural parts. I’m in the US, and I’ve heard this phrase for years and years. > [@Blake](#): > > I have used two expressions the last couple of weeks that have been met with puzzlement: “Stickybeak” and “Long in the tooth” > > Are these really such obscure phrases? I wouldn’t say “long in the tooth” is obscure. I’ve heard it and read it in books. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/59 "2009-09-16T12:03:45Z")
I always thought “The bee’s knees” was how a hep cat might pronounce “the business,” e.g. “That song’s the business!” would become “That crazy tune is the bee’s knees!” ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2009, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/60 "2009-09-16T12:11:13Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > I know this is egotistical, but: If I haven’t ever heard of your phrase, it is not in any common usage in American English. > > I used to break apart the Summer Reading Goals for kids. I have read more books than I can count. I have watched probably 300 hours of British TV. I am considered a local Answer Man. > > I have never heard of your phrase. My neighbor bought a little plaque that says “being a mom is like being pecked to death by ducks”. Christmas tree shops- doesn’t much more middle America than that! 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178.md?page=4)