I'm sure you've all heard the phrase "living in your parent's basement." I was just wondering if it is common or if young adults/people actually live in basements or if it's just a saying. Where I'm from (southern california), I've never actually heard of anyone living in a basement, usually they will have a room in the house.
posted by nathanm
on Jan 22, 2013 -
63 answers
Where does the phrase "Flippin' Henry" come from (to express exasperation)?
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posted by chill
on Oct 12, 2012 -
4 answers
Does anyone know if 'sucking on words' is an idiom or common phrase? If so, what is the meaning?
posted by Le pest
on Jun 26, 2012 -
10 answers
We were at the local watering hole this weekend and one of the servers brought us a comment card that a customer had filled out. In the comment area, the customer put "This place is pie chops!!!"
No one could figure out what this could possibly mean. Any ideas? We tried googling the full phrase and just pie chops, but came up empty. The customer seemed happy so we assumed it was a compliment.
posted by jshort
on Feb 27, 2012 -
11 answers
I'm looking for obscure but beautiful or amazing sayings or phrases or words in languages or dialects other than American English.
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posted by jitterbug perfume
on Feb 7, 2012 -
32 answers
Does your profession or hobby have a pithy saying that encapsulates the work or its ethics? For example, "Make no little plans" (Daniel Burnham) resonates with city planners. Perhaps "First do no harm" (or Primum non nocere) might be an example related to physicians and other health care workers... or is it just outsiders who think so? What about "Serve and protect" for law enforcement? The quotes can be funny, ironic or sincere... it doesn't matter so long as they are short (think something that could be engraved on a charm) and people in the profession recognize the phrase as somehow emblematic of their work. Thanks in advance!
posted by carmicha
on Dec 29, 2011 -
136 answers
Q: What's wrong with the world? A: I am. - G. K. Chesterton... really? Verified citation please?
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posted by KMH
on Aug 17, 2011 -
16 answers
Can you help me pin down an old saying from Westerns (or at least from the American Old West) along the lines of "the second cow is free"?
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posted by argonauta
on May 4, 2011 -
4 answers
Where does the colloquial English phrase "I'm good" come from, and has it suddenly exploded in popularity?
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posted by bad grammar
on Sep 28, 2010 -
32 answers
"If [blank] were [blank(s)] then [blank] would be [blank]." Have you heard this before? Like, is this a particular saying with specific words in the [blank]'s? Or are there different permuations? I've had this general pattern in my head all day and I can't for the life of me remember how I've heard it go. Please fill in the [blank] and help me get it out of my head.
posted by hegemone
on Sep 20, 2010 -
53 answers
So my boyfriend posted his first app to the Android Marketplace. I want to get him a cookie cake thing to celebrate it. But I need a witty and Androidy related phrase to have written on it. I'm not witty. The best(i use that word in the lightest sense) I've come up with is "Condroidulations!" That is stupid. Please help! Portmantos(obviously) welcome!
posted by Epsilon-minus semi moron
on Sep 8, 2010 -
32 answers
Polish(?) Language Filter: My grandma often says something that her mom used to say that sounds like this: "Yat-skoo, Yat-skoo, Spee-yet-o-gah-me!" Help us figure out the language and meaning of this phrase so we know what she's actually calling us!
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posted by thorny
on Jun 14, 2010 -
6 answers
The phrases "Don't Drink the Kool Aid" or "Drinking the Kool Aid" are
references to the 1978 cult mass-suicide in Jonestown, Guyana. Though the origin of the saying is awful and unfortunate, sometimes the current phrase as it is used now just fits the situation. What are some other widely used phrases in American culture that have their origin in an unfortunate historical event?
posted by angiewriter
on Jun 12, 2010 -
102 answers
What are some short quotes or sayings that can be used to remind yourself to treat others with compassion and generosity? I'm looking for quick reminders (maybe one-liners) to be used on the fly during the day.
Thank you!
posted by jenmakes
on May 29, 2010 -
53 answers
"I Haven't Had So Much Fun Since the Pigs Ate My Brother." Aside from this post, what year and where was the first time you heard this phrase?
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posted by eccnineten
on Aug 23, 2009 -
11 answers
I'm looking for a Latin translation of an American colloquialism (knowing that such translations are at best approximations/don't work because the idiom never existed in Latin.)
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posted by usonian
on Aug 12, 2009 -
5 answers
What would a good Indian expression of suprise be? Specifically a pleasant suprise, such as the realisation that one is going to make a large amount of money, possibly from someone who is none too reputable. The Hindi (or other language) version and a literal translation would be most useful.
posted by Artw
on Dec 27, 2008 -
6 answers
Is this phrase or saying real? Something along the lines of "The play never changes, only the players".
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posted by rivenwanderer
on Dec 19, 2008 -
14 answers
I'm looking for sayings/proverbs/idioms etc. that convey or state, of one refusing to be told what to do (or think, or say). "When I say jump, you'll ask: 'how high?'" -- the *opposite* of something like this.
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posted by raztaj
on Jul 22, 2008 -
35 answers
What are some good - or bad - similes for slowness? (Like "As slow as molasses in January" but not so archaic.)
posted by Fuzzy Skinner
on Jul 16, 2008 -
40 answers
MajorDomesticDebateFilter : What is up? She says jig. I say gig. Google is undecided.
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posted by vizsla
on Apr 25, 2008 -
37 answers
What are retorts for some common sayings? For example, when people say: "The early bird gets the worm", you could retort "The second mouse gets the cheese".
Which other ones are out there?
posted by markovich
on Mar 14, 2008 -
80 answers
Isn't there some saying about "before you die/live life, you'll connect through Atlanta", referring to ATL being a huge hub airport? How does it go exactly? Google-fu failing and all that.
posted by tinkertown
on Feb 6, 2008 -
9 answers
I'm compiling a list of popular bon mots of the kind that are usually written in yearbooks, memory books, autograph books, etc. Things that are typically written by adolescents and teenagers to their friends and classmates.
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posted by amyms
on Dec 13, 2007 -
50 answers
I'm looking for phrases, sayings, anything that incorporates a fruit. For example: "Apple of my eye" or "Cherry on top." Thanks!
posted by KevinSkomsvold
on Oct 23, 2007 -
45 answers
What is the origin of the phrase "Local Boy Makes Good"? I Googled it and see that it was a Mervyn LeRoy movie from 1931, so it's at least that old.
posted by abbyladybug
on Sep 11, 2007 -
4 answers
What's a good alternate well-wishing statement to "good luck" that doesn't have anything to do with luck, fate, deism of any kind, or assorted other superstitions that still conveys good wishes?
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posted by ChrisR
on Apr 17, 2007 -
76 answers
What is the origin of the phrase "the beatings will continue until morale improves". Google has failed me on this, only the hive mind will save me.
posted by bumpkin
on Mar 30, 2007 -
12 answers
Does anyone know the origin of the term, 'carving nature at its joints' when used to describe the process of dividing up a territory into its constituent parts? I believe it goes back to Ancient Greece, but I don't know much more than that...
posted by barbelith
on Mar 6, 2007 -
5 answers
Help me think of phrases that come exclusively from game play. Some examples would be: "Ollie ollie oxen free" and "ready or not here I come" and "ring a round a rosy".
posted by typewriter
on Aug 9, 2006 -
60 answers
The phrase "Sometimes a pipe is just a pipe" is always attributed to Freud, but is so hackneyed by now -- so well-known -- that it always seems to be cited without any hint of a reference to its original context, which makes me wonder if it is apocryphal. Did Freud
really write/say this? If so, where? If not, where does its origins lie? Does anyone know?
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posted by .kobayashi.
on Sep 6, 2005 -
14 answers
Rhyming Aphorisms/Superstitions/Pieces of Folk Wisdom: (ie.
Wind from the east, fish bite the least). I can't get enough of them. Please tell me more.
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posted by cadastral
on Apr 14, 2005 -
88 answers
"Parts is parts". Have you ever heard this phrase? I acquired a few bumper stickers from a thrift store on the Oregon coast with said phrase on it- I thought it was funny. It was packed in with stickers making fun of Reagan, Qaddafi, Khomeni, and so forth. It's got to be from something, doesn't it? Do you know what?
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posted by thethirdman
on Dec 9, 2004 -
10 answers
Lost in Translation:
I'm doing a bit of
site redesign, and wanted to make sure that 'copie est mort' is a good French translation of the old MacLuhan adage "Print is Dead." Anyone able to say with more certainty than I?
and feel free to share any thoughts on the design itself. other than validation-related stuff, which i'm going to focus on once I have things up and running.
posted by kaibutsu
on Mar 24, 2004 -
7 answers
