# What do you say that no one else 'gets'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 22, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660 "2010-07-22T23:47:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/21 "2010-07-24T02:34:04Z")
_shnrrphfpt_ (offers nasal spray to **SeaDragonTattoo** ) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/22 "2010-07-24T02:43:42Z")
“Get away from me, or I’ll hit you with this tire iron” returns [two results](http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&source=hp&q=%22Get+away+from+me+or+I%27ll+hit+you+with+this+tire+iron%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&fp=f35d552bedaedd0c) on Google. Three now, I guess. :o ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/23 "2010-07-24T02:45:45Z")
Has anyone seen Sam Lowry!? ---
**Author:** ![CoolHandCox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coolhandcox/32/16233_2.png) [@CoolHandCox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoolHandCox)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/24 "2010-07-24T02:57:20Z")
I don’t understand the question and I won’t respond to it. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/25 "2010-07-24T02:59:57Z")
(Explaining why the US Air Force is one of the most powerful fighting forces in the world) “If you were to point to any spot on a map of the world, the US Air Force has the capability to put your fingerprint there.” The first person to understand that particular choice of words and what they meant was my squadron commander, who took a good five or ten seconds of staring at me before it clicked. (I do, of course, make a reference to making a big ass crater. I would rather it not come up very often, but we DO have the capability if it’s ever needed. Preferably for something utterly awesome, like taking out an invading alien beachhead or a giant mutant squid. Something like that.) Some of the terminology I brought with me from when I was in college. Howdy, the occasional “Thanks and Gig’em”, Pull Out, Whip Out, Drop Handles, Smoking, “Shoot me the _name of object_”, and of course, I get funny looks when I respond to good news with a Whoop (though I guess that doesn’t count, as most folks can figure out what I mean by “WHOOP!”) Oh, and if I start talking in Chinese, or worse, Chingspaniol (what happens when I try to speak Chinese or Spanish and the words get mixed up). Some canned phrases, like “Duibuqi” (I’m sorry) or “Nihao” (Howdy) get blank looks. Oddly enough, if I start _cussing_ in Chinese, everybody can understand me clearly. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/26 "2010-07-24T03:02:53Z")
> [@Sir\_Rhosis](#): > > I’ve yet to, in real life, have anyone smile comprehendingly… > > [some obscure reference, no doubt hilarious if I’d seen that episode of some Western European comedy troupe] > > No doubt most everybody here gets the reference. No! _They **don’t**!_ And _ **I** _ don’t! And a lot of people _here have yet to, in real life, smile comprehendingly_. Okay, maybe they’re just shrugging and wandering off to MPSIMS. But I have to KNOW! (Y’know, Ignorance Not Going Unfought and all that). And googling usually brings up thousands of hits, or, in at least one case, _one_ hit. This thread. So… anyone want to explain, or guess at, the references? (or heck, at least just make something up, I mean, it’s just words on the internet…) (_ **I keeeedeeeng!** _) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/27 "2010-07-24T03:20:08Z")
And just to show what an accommodating guy I am: _I keeeedeeeng!_ = That friend of Andy Samberg… on SNL…aha, Bill Hader! Playing a talk show host on an odd, so-foreign-as-to-be-incomprehensible, celebrity interview show. So, now, in our family, the kids and I _(not the wife, oh, no. Somebody has to be the adult!) can make any outlandish suggestion or insult. As long as it is followed within 20 seconds by "I keeee_deeeng!" ---
**Author:** ![Pandoranoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce73a5/32.png) [@Pandoranoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pandoranoid)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/28 "2010-07-24T03:29:35Z")
> [@digs](#): > > No! _They **don’t**!_ And _ **I** _ don’t! > > And a lot of people _here have yet to, in real life, smile comprehendingly_. Okay, maybe they’re just shrugging and wandering off to MPSIMS. But I have to KNOW! (Y’know, Ignorance Not Going Unfought and all that). And googling usually brings up thousands of hits, or, in at least one case, _one_ hit. This thread. > > So… anyone want to explain, or guess at, the references? (or heck, at least just make something up, I mean, it’s just words on the internet…) (_ **I keeeedeeeng!** _) Maybe it was Utah…from the end of the wonderful Coen Bros flick ‘Raising Arizona’, when H.I. is describing a vision he’d had of his future as a content grandparent in an seemingly idyllic place, far from all the strife and conflict he has encountered throughout the story: ‘…I dunno…maybe it was Utah.’ Classic. The best argument for respecting Nicholas Cage that Hollywood has ever produced. ---
**Author:** ![Pandoranoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce73a5/32.png) [@Pandoranoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pandoranoid)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/29 "2010-07-24T03:34:17Z")
In homage to ‘Heathers’, my favorite expression of exasperation: ‘F\*\*k me gently with a chainsaw.’ Good for use in lieu of ‘cry me a river.’ ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/30 "2010-07-24T03:34:34Z")
Oh! Just remembered. About a week ago I was walking into a store, and near the entrance were two kids, boys, just goofing around a bit, probably waiting for their parents. The older one, about 10, was holding a box that contained some sort of toy air rifle (wish I remembered the name of it, but it wasn’t, well, you know). I couldn’t help myself. As we walked past, I said, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid!” with a smile and a wink. His blank look about crushed my heart. So much for beloved Christmas family classics that “everyone” has seen. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/31 "2010-07-24T03:59:24Z")
My coworkers, all much younger than me, blank out when I say “and they ate Robin’s minstrels.” ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/32 "2010-07-24T04:26:08Z")
> [@Pandoranoid](#): > > Maybe it was Utah…from the end of the wonderful Coen Bros flick ‘Raising Arizona’, when H.I. is describing a vision he’d had of his future as a content grandparent in an seemingly idyllic place, far from all the strife and conflict he has encountered throughout the story: ‘…I dunno…maybe it was Utah.’ Classic… Which puts me in mind of the end of _Harvey_, where the doctor asks the Eponymous Rabbit (no, not a band name): _“Have you ever been…to…Akron…?”_ ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/33 "2010-07-24T05:00:35Z")
One I just used today most people seem to never understand: A red letter day. I swear this is a _real_ phrase, but every time I use it no one gets what it means. It’s just a very important day…one you would mark in red letters on a calender. Also Jesus’s words in the good book. Anyone else ever heard of it? Also if something isn’t working for someone I pull a Dr. Evanzan voice from Star Wars and say “He/she/it doesn’t like you…I don’t like you either!” Few get the reference ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/34 "2010-07-24T05:13:55Z")
Other person “Thank you” Me “You’rerealscum” Other person _blink_ * * * Other person “Should I put some more on?” Me “whadya call me?!” Other person _blink_ I’m an unappreciated nerd. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/35 "2010-07-24T05:42:07Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > One I just used today most people seem to never understand: A red letter day. > > I swear this is a _real_ phrase, but every time I use it no one gets what it means. It’s just a very important day…one you would mark in red letters on a calender. Also Jesus’s words in the good book. Anyone else ever heard of it? Yeah, it’s the name of the second chapter of Half Life 2, IIRC. I had to look it up after Dr. Kleiner used that expression in the game. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/36 "2010-07-24T13:03:13Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > One I just used today most people seem to never understand: A red letter day. > > I swear this is a _real_ phrase, but every time I use it no one gets what it means. It’s just a very important day…one you would mark in red letters on a calender. Also Jesus’s words in the good book. Anyone else ever heard of it? I’ve heard of it and had no idea people had _not_ heard of it. Weird. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/37 "2010-07-24T15:03:22Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Yeah, it’s the name of the second chapter of Half Life 2, IIRC. I had to look it up after Dr. Kleiner used that expression in the game. So then what exactly does it mean? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/38 "2010-07-24T16:22:19Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > > [@Raguleader](#): > > > > Yeah, it’s the name of the second chapter of Half Life 2, IIRC. I had to look it up after Dr. Kleiner used that expression in the game. > > So then what exactly does it mean? I think you should ask Sir T-Cups. He had a perfectly serviceable explanation in post 33. And, yes, I’ve heard it all my life. And it makes sense, unlike all the other “old sayings” that my mom trots out: “Maybe I’ll have a snack to **Tide Me Over**.” “Ummm, mom? Did you really want some laundry detergent? Or did you mean ‘enough to keep you from being hungry until the tide comes in and we can set sail?’ Or did you want to eat something while tied up?” “Well, I don’t know what it _means_… Oh, you understand…” “Actually, I don’t. And you don’t. So why do you use a phrase that you don’t know the meaning of?” “Oh, I’ll get my_self_ something…” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/39 "2010-07-24T17:18:56Z")
> [@digs](#): > > > [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > > > > [@Raguleader](#): > > > > > > Yeah, it’s the name of the second chapter of Half Life 2, IIRC. I had to look it up after Dr. Kleiner used that expression in the game. > > > > So then what exactly does it mean? > > I think you should ask Sir T-Cups. He had a perfectly serviceable explanation in post 33. I would have thought this was pretty universally-known, but I can see that Sir T-Cups’ explanation might not parse well for someone totally in the dark. So… “Red Letter editions” of the Bible used to be popular. In these, words attributed to Jesus were printed in red, for special emphasis, as something worth paying particular attention to. By extension, a “Red Letter day” is an especially significant day. I realize that this explanation may disappoint those few who might reasonably have inferred that a “Red Letter day” is one which presents the opportunity for illicit sex. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660/40 "2010-07-24T17:26:21Z")
Wait, red letter days didn’t come from the Sundays being printed on red on the church calendars? That’s what I was told it was, and sure enough, the Sundays were always in red on the Episcopal calendars I’ve seen. (I haven’t seen other denominations’ calendars.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-say-that-no-one-else-gets/547660.md?page=3)