DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

[Stanley]

From Webster: Where does lackadaisical come from?
Alas, alack, there are times when life seems to be one unfortunate occurrence after another. We’ve all had days when nothing seemed to go right. When folks had one of those days back in the 17th century, they'd cry "Lackaday" to express their sorrow and disappointment. Lackaday was a shortened form of the expression "alack the day." In the mid-1700s, lackadaisical was coined through addition of the suffix -ical. The word lackadaisy also was used around that time as an interjection similar to lackaday, and this word, though never as prevalent as lackaday, might have influenced the coinage of lackadaisical.
Whelps. Wilfred was a good historian and I don't doubt had evidence. Why not trust him?

[Tripps]

A realtor group in Texas says it is going to stop using the word "master" to describe bedrooms and bathrooms

That didn't take long to be adopted in UK. You saw it here first. Master

What on earth would they make of this? Intercom .. Not to mention brake cylinders.

PS Just noticed this in the Intercom ad. Should be enough to close down the whole business.

"The main attraction of the master-slave system is you can use up to 1000 number of slaves with one master set. "

[Stanley]

Mastercard, master keys, schoolmaster, 'Mastermind' quiz... They have opened a can of worms!
If you can add the prefix 'im' to movable, mobile and a lot of other words how come in many cases that usage with the prefix has survived when the word hasn't? Think impressed or importunate.

[chinatyke]

Word meanings: when is a suffix a prefix?

[Stanley]

Thanks China!
I missed that and have corrected it.

[Tizer]

Word meanings: when is a suffix a prefix?

When it's in a language that's written from right to left?

I suppose future history books will have to use m*ster and sl*ve instead of master and slave when discussing slavery. Ot perhaps they won't even mention slavery...

[Stanley]

Note to weather forecasters, humans congregate, showers coalesce.

[Tripps]

Second note to weather presenters - if you leave out 'in the way of' it will not change the forecast one bit.

[Tizer]

Third note to weather presenters - rain cannot `organise' itself.

[PanBiker]

Fourth note to weather presenters, rain cannot "march" across the country either.

[Stanley]

Shipping forecast should be the criterion for all forecasters. The facts and nothing but the facts.

[Tizer]

In the Politics thread Stanley used the phrase `on a hiding to nothing'. Where does that come from, I wonder?

[Tripps]

It's from the rich tapestry of horse racing. This is the best I can find. From World wide words. Now sadly inactive.

"Early users took care to explain it, so they clearly expected their readers not to know what it meant. My guess is that they wanted to share an item of racing-stable jargon to add colour and make them seem insiders:

His trainer, whoever he might be, would have been in the unenviable position of being on “a good hiding to nothing” — in other words, he would have got no credit if Flying Fox had won,(the nothing) and if he lost would have come in for a good deal of adverse criticism (the good hiding) ."

Liverpool Mercury, 19 Mar. 1900."

[Stanley]

David and Tiz. Brewer and Morris are both silent on the origin. I can't find anything on the web either. I think this may be because the origin of the phrase is evident, you don't pick a fight with a known champion otherwise you are going to get a good hiding. IE. Your hide will be attacked and damaged.

[Tripps]

Heard a word on the wireless this morning as I was trying to wake up - I think the voice was Jacob Rees Mogg. Can't remember hearing it for a very long time.

"peevish"

[plaques]

From one of the Hollies songs. And the meaning is ??????????

A pair of forty fives made me open my eyes

[chinatyke]

From one of the Hollies songs. And the meaning is ??????????

A pair of forty fives made me open my eyes

Colt 45s?

[Big Kev]

I recall it being something to do with breasts...

[Stanley]

Oh dear.....

[Stanley]

David, 'Peevish'... I went for a furtle.
"etymology derives from Middle English peyvesshe (“capricious, silly”), as a possible corruption of Latin perversus (“perverted”). The meaning “fretful” develops in the 16th century. "

[Stanley]

'Dangle', now there's an interesting word....

[Stanley]

I looked dangle up and it is evidently of Scandinavian origin.

[Tripps]

So did I. It was a bit sparse on the etymolgy.

[Stanley]

Nice word though....

[Tripps]

Judge Judy is a rich source of interesting words. She just called someone 'mashugana' Stanley will explain that for you.

This is a good word 'Certain things in your complaint are strugglesome to me.