聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 There are many phrases in the English language, and as English is my second language, I had to learn what they meant. Here are a few.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽Bob鈥檚 your uncle! I heard that the first time shortly after I had arrived in Vancouver. I asked a stranger for directions to Stanley Park. 鈥淕o straight down this street,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd turn right when you get to the bottom of the hill, and Bob鈥檚 your uncle 鈥� that鈥檚 Stanley Park.鈥� 鈥淗mm!鈥� I thought, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have an uncle named Bob, and if I did, what did he have to do with Stanley Park?鈥� I soon learned that it meant the same as 鈥渢here you are!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽If you鈥檒l pardon my French! Was another expression that I encountered while being new to Canada and still living in Vancouver. There weren鈥檛 many French speaking people in Vancouver at that time. However, a new found Canadian friend was telling me about his neighbour and said, 鈥渉e needs a swift kick in the ass, pardon my French!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淗uh?鈥� I said, I had learned a little bit of French in high school back in Norway, but I didn鈥檛 recognize any French words in what was just said. It finally dawned on me that the phrase is used to excuse a mild swear. Does that mean that all French people swear?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽The lights are on but nobody鈥檚 home! I have met people that are a perfect fit for this phrase. Most are bureaucrats, some are office secretaries and others work in the service industry.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽鈥淲hen pigs fly!鈥� is another oft used expression when talking about something that will never happen, as in when I expressed a desire to live on Mars! I decided to test out this phrase when we were raising pigs. I was sure I could get one of them to fly. Try and picture this in your mind. After having constructed a very sturdy kite, I grabbed one of the weanlings and tied the end of the kite rope around his belly. I chased him down the pasture in an effort to get the kite up in the air, but the pig just dug his snout into the ground as he did not have any sense of urgency, or any desire to fly for that matter, so I gave it up.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽Talking about pigs, there is an expression that says to pig out. I figured that out first time I heard it. My new found Canadian friend invited me to lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. The sign outside said 鈥淎ll you can eat buffet!鈥� We observed a patron who was stacking his plate, sat down and proceeded to eat it all in a hurry and then went back for seconds. 鈥淭hat guy is pigging out!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽Finger lickin鈥� good is self-explanatory. When you eat a juicy burger or some finger foods like French fries or break apart crab or lobster claws, and instead of wiping your fingers with a napkin you use your mouth to lick your fingers clean. Yummy!
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽To have a cast iron stomach. Another self-explanatory expression. This phrase would apply to somebody eating spicy foods like deadly spicy chicken wings! Uffda!
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽To drink like a fish! Is another phrase often used to describe certain thirsty individuals. However, I don鈥檛 think fish drink any more than they require, and when they do drink it flows right through them. This phrase is used to describe somebody that abuses alcohol, but it is misplaced because fish are very sober and never drink alcohol!
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽Everything but the kitchen sink. This phrase could be used to describe many different situations. When your teenager is moving out and into his own apartment, you might say, 鈥渉e took everything but the kitchen sink!鈥� And if you complain too loudly to him, he might say:
聽鈥淧ut a sock in it!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 This basically means to shut up. 鈥淲hy a sock?鈥� I wondered, if it was old and dirty it would taste horrible, whereas a clean sock would leave a lot of lint from the dryer. Perhaps it is one of the socks missing its partner?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽鈥淕et a leg up!鈥� Which means to get an advantage over somebody or an edge in a competition. The first time I heard this phrase, I scratched my head trying to figure out what it meant. I tried picturing it in my mind, but got nowhere. Some raunchy thoughts entered my mind, but were quickly dismissed. I did some asking around, and found out from an old British gentleman that expression actually came from an act of a jockey receiving help in mounting his horse.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽鈥淕ot your goat!鈥� My new Canadian friend said that to me one time after he had tricked me and made me angry. I told him that I don鈥檛 own or have a goat, but I have a cat! He had to explain to me that it meant that he had succeeded in making me angry, somewhat like 鈥淕otcha!鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽Ole went to the post office to mail a small package. The postal clerk put the package on the scale, and told Ole that the package was too heavy, and he had to put another $1 postal stamp on it.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲ill that make it lighter?鈥� asked Ole.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 聽Just a quick multiple choice quiz:
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Question:
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 What is the definition of Nordic Combined?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Answer:
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 1: An inter Scandinavian marriage, such as between a Norwegian and a Swede, or
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 2: An implement for harvesting Scandinavian grain, or
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 3: A competition involving XC skiing and Ski jumping, or
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 All of the above!
