# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/101 "2009-09-18T19:21:12Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > I’m in Texas. “That dog won’t hunt” is pretty commonly heard around here. I have heard it used numerous times in NC. I am pretty sure that it was even used in a political ad by one of the Senate candidates last year. What about “in a coons age”? For example, “I haven’t seen him in a coons age”. I hadn’t heard that one before my wife used it. When I used it in front of my brothers they both thought I had lived in the South for too long. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2009, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/102 "2009-09-18T19:31:33Z")
> [@statsman1982](#): > > It means to give someone a stern lecture about something, similar in meaning to “read the riot act”, but less severe. > > ETA: I searched for the origin of this phrase and found this, although it doesn’t explain why the phrase means what it does. The way I read the story is that if the police officer insists on knowing how the “cow” is eating the cabbages, she’s eventually going to have to say “It’s sticking them up its ass.” She doesn’t want to say it, and won’t be happy to have heard it – but it needs to be said, all the same. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Randydeluxe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Randydeluxe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randydeluxe)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/103 "2009-10-30T16:10:28Z")
I just read a new one this week! A colleague started a discussion thread with the subject line: > [@](#): > > Off the beating path. I love this stuff. But I never once heard the question “Are you a turtle?” until I read [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11567449&postcount=84). I still can’t figure out where I was supposed to have heard it otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/104 "2009-10-30T17:29:35Z")
> [@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 had a friend who always said “sort of speak” when he meant “so to speak.” Made me cringe every time. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/105 "2009-12-10T03:31:47Z")
I have a ton. I once had an ex girlfriend who had never heard of the phrase doing something “like it’s going out of style”…for example “Wow, you’re eating those chocolates like they’re going out of style”. Behind a spoiler since it may be TMI: I have another very close friend who didn’t know what DP meant when used in a sexual way. And while I can understand being a little innocent, she’s almost 30. I thought that DP was a bit more common knowledge than that. (She also didn’t have any idea what a facial was, in the sexual sense) I use the phrase “I’m not gunning for it” a lot, but that’s seemed to fall out of being well known or even known at all. And lastly…I’ve had a total of three people look at me strange when they’ve said something I’ve agreed with and I replied with “And how!”. Two of them asked “and how what?”. Does nobody use “And how!” that way anymore? ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/106 "2009-12-10T04:27:59Z")
I use a few that seem more obscure, but probably more recent and sound better in a hillbilly accent: “Busy as a cat in a sandbox” meaning “too busy to take a break”, and “Tell (someone) where the bear shits”, meaning to lay down the law or issue an ultimatum. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/107 "2009-12-10T05:27:17Z")
"That really gets my goat"was a favorite expression of my father. He also cautioned against letting people know what irritates you, as “It’s easy to get your goat if you let everyone know where it’s tied.” ---
**Author:** ![Neptunian\_Slug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce7236/32.png) [@Neptunian\_Slug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptunian_Slug)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/108 "2009-12-10T05:49:17Z")
When I first moved to Philadelphia, I mentioned that something was “all the way out in BFE” and I was surprised that no one knew what the hell I was talking about. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/109 "2009-12-10T07:52:59Z")
Cripes! ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/110 "2009-12-10T08:55:53Z")
> [@Neptunian\_Slug](#): > > When I first moved to Philadelphia, I mentioned that something was “all the way out in BFE” and I was surprised that no one knew what the hell I was talking about. I would have gotten it from context, but I’m more familiar with BFN, buttfuck nowhere, Buttfuck, Alberta, the ass-end of nowhere. Occasionally I’ll come across someone who’s not familiar with “metric fucktons” or “a metric assload.” Finally, until recently I had no idea that the phrase “elbow grease” didn’t mean a certain kind of grease. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/111 "2009-12-10T10:00:50Z")
Here’s one from about ten years ago that put egg on my face. I was working at a nursing home and feeling pretty tired one day. A co-worker was behind me and we were chatting whilst ambling when she said “You’re a litt;e pokey today”. Me: :dubious: Huh? I haven’t touched you, let alone poke you. I have no desire to poke you at all. Why are you spreading these vicious rumours about me? I have not harassed anyone! What I actually said was “Pokey? Huh, wha”? Co-worker: Pokey, you know, slow. You never heard that before? Me: Uh, no. CW: Really? Me: Uh, yeah, really. And I hadn’t. No one I knew has ever said “pokey” to mean slow. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/112 "2009-12-10T10:13:59Z")
“Delaying the Eschaton.” My new slogan. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/113 "2009-12-10T11:49:04Z")
> [@Charger](#): > > My first girlfriend, back in high school circa 1992, used to sit there quietly on our dates. It was like trying to have a conversation with the wind. One day, I said, “Every time we go out and you sit there, not giving a rat’s ass.” She responded, “That doesn’t even make any sense!” I explained that “to give a rat’s ass” means “to care,” or “to give a shit,” as it were. When I first relocated here from NYC, I once said “I don’t give a rat’s ass!” and got some very strange looks. It was a fairly common expression in New York; by now I think it’s common everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/114 "2009-12-10T12:35:52Z")
> [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](#): > > … > And I hadn’t. No one I knew has ever said “pokey” to mean slow. The pokey little puppy and his rolly-polly brothers would like a word with you. My Mom—“Hot Dog and a Pickle!” when she’s excited My Dad–“Christ on a Cracker!” usually when he’s broken something ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/115 "2009-12-10T12:59:36Z")
I worked for a guy who knew several phrases for any given situation but would always end up mixing them when speaking. So he’d say something like “Let’s not work on that right now, we don’t want the dog wagging the cart.” ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/116 "2009-12-10T14:14:20Z")
I’ve had to explain “spitting feathers” (“thirsty”) a few times. Apparently it’s only common in the north of England? ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/117 "2009-12-10T15:33:57Z")
> [@Fantome](#): > > I call my wife a nosy parker all the time because it sounds funny, but the only reason I know the phrase and have heard it no where else is from _9 1/2 Weeks_. I remember when Siskel & Ebert reviewed this on their show. I’m pretty sure it was Ebert who mentioned this phrase and said he had no idea what it meant. He also couldn’t tell whether Rourke was saying parker or porker. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/118 "2009-12-10T15:55:23Z")
Apparently, Kermit the Frog isn’t quite as popular as he once was, because nobody seems to like it when I greet them with “Hi Ho”, which I borrowed from Kermit’s Sesame Street News Pieces \* (“Hi Ho; Kermit thee frog here for Sesame Street News”)\* An old girlfriend was completely insulted when, after a long day, I commented to her, “Boy are you a sight for sore eyes.” She could not grasp this as a compliment. I explained it over and over but she was still upset. Dumb B-tch. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/119 "2009-12-10T16:04:20Z")
I actually use a lot of phrases mentioned in this thread, and have never gotten any flak for them, except once recently when someone raised an eyebrow at my use of “cat’s pajama’s.” I was taken aback by his being taken aback by the phrase. Now what’s all this about being pecked, picked, nibbled, or otherwise attacked by ducks? This is something I’ve never heard of until just now. > [@Baracus](#): > > What about “in a coons age”? For example, “I haven’t seen him in a coons age”. I hadn’t heard that one before my wife used it. When I used it in front of my brothers they both thought I had lived in the South for too long. HA! This makes me laugh quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![kapri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4491bb/32.png) [@kapri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kapri)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178/120 "2009-12-10T16:08:01Z")
**Idle Thoughts:** the phrase you put in the spoiler, which I won’t mention here since you hid it–I’ve never heard of that, either. Now I’m curious as to what it means. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youd-think-people-would-know/510178.md?page=7)