Things that annoy you beyond reason...(Vol 4)
Discussion
SilverSixer said:
"He's made a right pig's ear out of that!"
No he hasn't you f
king trumpet, he's made a pig's, or more correct still, dog's breakfast out of it. Pig's ear is rhyming slang for beer.
Outside of London the phrase 'pig's ear' isn't slang for beer, it does mean 'make a mess of'No he hasn't you f
king trumpet, he's made a pig's, or more correct still, dog's breakfast out of it. Pig's ear is rhyming slang for beer.http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/pigs-ear.html
FourWheelDrift said:
Getting ready early in the morning and not finding out until later that the matched pair of socks you put on were matched to other pairs. One is black and the other is dark blue.
All of my socks are the same, dark gray, goes with anything, so no mismatches in my machine.MartG said:
SilverSixer said:
"He's made a right pig's ear out of that!"
No he hasn't you fking trumpet, he's made a pig's, or more correct still, dog's breakfast out of it. Pig's ear is rhyming slang for beer.
Outside of London the phrase 'pig's ear' isn't slang for beer, it does mean 'make a mess of'No he hasn't you f
king trumpet, he's made a pig's, or more correct still, dog's breakfast out of it. Pig's ear is rhyming slang for beer.http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/pigs-ear.html
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/pig's...
People have confused the two expressions because of the sow's ear thing - in that expression the ear is the starting point and not an outcome so nobody's ever making a pig's ear, they're using one to try and make something valuable and failing. Over the years the rhyming slang for beer has been confused with it and misused in an inappropriate context. As your link says it emerged in the mid-20th century to mean "a mess" - but whoever started doing that was using it in the wrong context and it has stuck in people's minds, sadly. And it annoys me beyond reason.
SilverSixer said:
As your link says it emerged in the mid-20th century to mean "a mess" - but whoever started doing that was using it in the wrong context and it has stuck in people's minds, sadly. And it annoys me beyond reason.
Perhaps. But English is an evolving language, and these days if you say that someone has made "a right pig's ear" of something, only a pedant would call you out on it; most people would recognise it as meaning that they had made a mess. Next you'll be saying that all homosexuals are merely happy and carefree.
ClockworkCupcake said:
SilverSixer said:
As your link says it emerged in the mid-20th century to mean "a mess" - but whoever started doing that was using it in the wrong context and it has stuck in people's minds, sadly. And it annoys me beyond reason.
Perhaps. But English is an evolving language, and these days if you say that someone has made "a right pig's ear" of something, only a pedant would call you out on it; most people would recognise it as meaning that they had made a mess. Next you'll be saying that all homosexuals are merely happy and carefree.
ClockworkCupcake said:
SilverSixer said:
Yes, I know I'm being a pedant. This is the annoyed beyond reason thread. I'm not at all annoyed about the example you give and am generally tolerant of linguistic evolution. However, there is a bee in my bonnet over pig's ears.
Point taken. Carry on. 
nonsequitur said:
MartG said:
People who use common phrases but don't have a clue how to spell them. A couple of examples:
'tow the line' instead of 'toe the line'
'on root' instead of 'enroute'
Hear hear.'tow the line' instead of 'toe the line'
'on root' instead of 'enroute'
I could probably go on.
Ransoman said:
yellowjack said:
Those damned socks would still escape though! I lost one yesterday. Checked into the washing machine, and checked out again. Then off to the garage to go in the tumble drier. Somewhere along the way to, or from the drier, it's leapt out of the basket and run away.
Or possibly it's in the bottom of the duvet cover. And that's back on the bed now, so I can't be arsed to check inside it...
Feckin' socks! Grrrr!
You don't own a Cocker spaniel do you? They are stealth sock theives.Or possibly it's in the bottom of the duvet cover. And that's back on the bed now, so I can't be arsed to check inside it...
Feckin' socks! Grrrr!
Happily, I can report that the AWOL 'Scott' branded cycling sock has been apprehended and returned to it's partner. No way I could have lived with losing a sock that came free with a mountain biking magazine. Rudolph had it!
I was somewhere yesterday that they were listening to Radio 2; which I gave up listening to after moving to a new office and was thankful for the relief.
I was reminded what annoys me about them. Their text-the-studio number is 88291. Which, many of the presenters will pronounce as "88-2-91" in a fasion that mirrors their radio frequency (88 to 91 FM... BBC RADIO TWOOOOOO... gaarh!!!)
But, stuck-in-past Steve Wright who needs to move over to a different show now, still insists on pronouncing their text number as "8-8-2-9-1" all the time. It is as if he doesn't get the link between them at all, or that nobody at the station has dared to tell him that it is a simple piece of numberplay.
I was reminded what annoys me about them. Their text-the-studio number is 88291. Which, many of the presenters will pronounce as "88-2-91" in a fasion that mirrors their radio frequency (88 to 91 FM... BBC RADIO TWOOOOOO... gaarh!!!)
But, stuck-in-past Steve Wright who needs to move over to a different show now, still insists on pronouncing their text number as "8-8-2-9-1" all the time. It is as if he doesn't get the link between them at all, or that nobody at the station has dared to tell him that it is a simple piece of numberplay.
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