# Phrases you're surprised people aren't familiar with **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 20, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974 "2011-09-20T18:44:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/21 "2011-09-20T21:09:46Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I didn’t learn that a “bumbershoot” was an umbrella until my late 30s— and that was some time after I first heard the word associated with the Seattle festival. I think I picked that one up from the 60’s Batman show. Odd that The Penguin would be a good influence on my vocabulary. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/22 "2011-09-20T21:13:19Z")
> [@Raygun99](#): > > In one of my education classes the other day, we were asked to consider the meaning of the phrase “Those who can, do, those who can’t, teach” May I assume you’re familiar with the addendum: “…and those who can’t teach, teach teaching”? > [@zoid](#): > > to which I replied _“Shit, you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting one”._ > > The room erupted in laughter and it took me an hour to convince some of them I hadn’t made that up. Usually, the cat isn’t dead in that phrase. Could they have been laughing at your alteration? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/23 "2011-09-20T21:16:15Z")
“That movie has legs.” Not well known outside of show biz. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/24 "2011-09-20T21:17:45Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Leave Yogi alone! (crying) > > For the record, Mister Berra himself tried to set the record straight by declaring “I never said half the things I really said.” > > … > > Oh, all right. My favorite is someone asking him “Hey Yogi, what time is it?” to which he replied “You mean right now?” > > . [hijack] My favorite Yogi story occurred in 2003 at the Yankees’ home opener. A list of the deceased great Yankees players was flashed up onto the scoreboard. Whitey Ford told the New York Post that as he and Yogi were walking off the field together, Yogi said, “I hope I never see my name up there.” [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/25 "2011-09-20T21:19:29Z")
The cats I’ve swung were always dead first. Never heard of a bumbershoot. My (answer) phrase which gets blanks looks: “Or what.” (In response to a sarcastic question like “Is this great, or what?”) ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/26 "2011-09-20T21:20:27Z")
Huh? You swing a live cat? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/27 "2011-09-20T21:21:38Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Huh? You swing a live cat? Not unless you want your forearms all clawed up and bloody. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/28 "2011-09-20T21:35:58Z")
My wife looked at me funny the first time I used “rat’s nest” to describe a tangled mess of cables. She had never heard that, and had always used “wasp’s nest” to describe the same thing, which is totally nonsensical to me; wasps are actually pretty orderly. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/29 "2011-09-20T22:02:14Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Huh? You swing a live cat? Of course I do! The dead ones don’t really swing, being all stiff and rigor-mortissy. FWIW “room to swing a cat” gets about 710,000 hits on Google; “room to swing a dead cat” only gets 6990. ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/30 "2011-09-20T22:17:47Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > May I assume you’re familiar with the addendum: “…and those who can’t teach, teach teaching”? Bringing this full circle, I had not. However, I _entirely_ relate. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/31 "2011-09-20T22:19:44Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > May I assume you’re familiar with the addendum: “…and those who can’t teach, teach teaching”? The version I heard ends with “…and those who can’t teach, administrate.” ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/32 "2011-09-20T22:27:49Z")
“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good” - I had to explain that one to my team mates. I referenced the Marx Brothers and got a bunch of blank looks also. Kids these days - no knowledge of the classics. More to come, but I’m off to the saltmine. Not sure my co-workers have heard that one before. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/33 "2011-09-20T22:50:42Z")
I once thought that everyone knew that “show your ass” meant to act out in public, not literally _show_ your ass. But apparently not. Must be a Southern thing. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/34 "2011-09-20T23:05:52Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > My wife looked at me funny the first time I used “rat’s nest” to describe a tangled mess of cables. She had never heard that, and had always used “wasp’s nest” to describe the same thing, which is totally nonsensical to me; wasps are actually pretty orderly. I’ve heard both “rat’s nest” and “mare’s nest”, but never heard “wasps’ nest”. I refer to reading glasses as “cheaters”, and gotten quite a few strange looks for that. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/35 "2011-09-20T23:06:31Z")
It’s funny that in this thread, it’s obvious that many of the posters don’t know what “No room to swing a cat” means. It refers to a [cat o nine tails](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_o'_nine_tails) ---
**Author:** ![Lilacs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lilacs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lilacs)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/36 "2011-09-20T23:07:02Z")
My best friend and I were watching American Pickers the other night. Mike said, “I’ll be on that like a duck on a June bug!” My friend burst out laughing. “Where does he come up with those sayings?” She asked. She’d never heard it before. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/37 "2011-09-20T23:30:24Z")
Several times, when I used “Have you stopped beating your wife?” in a debate, I got indignant replies about how I dared to suggest they are violent towards their spouse. “Bumbershoot”? Count me as one of the ignorant ones. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/38 "2011-09-20T23:54:57Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It’s funny that in this thread, it’s obvious that many of the posters don’t know what “No room to swing a cat” means. > > It refers to a [cat o nine tails](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_o'_nine_tails) Except that the first recorded use of the phrase actually pre-dates the first recorded use of the name ‘cat o nine tails’. So that doesn’t really stand up. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/39 "2011-09-21T00:01:39Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I didn’t learn that a “bumbershoot” was an umbrella until my late 30s— and that was some time after I first heard the word associated with the Seattle festival. Me too, assuming that my current age (36) is considered late 30s. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974/40 "2011-09-21T00:16:37Z")
> [@Lilacs](#): > > My best friend and I were watching American Pickers the other night. Mike said, “I’ll be on that like a duck on a June bug!” My friend burst out laughing. “Where does he come up with those sayings?” She asked. She’d never heard it before. The only time I’ve ever come across it is in reading _Gone with the Wind_, where it appears a number of times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-youre-surprised-people-arent-familiar-with/596974.md?page=3)