Sayings/phrases you never understood or that annoy you

whirlpool

"Hello, Mr [insert your surname here]."
"Mr [insert your surname here] is my father, you can call me [insert your first name here]"

e.g. "Hello Mr Murphy"
"Mr Murphy is my father, you can call me John."

Eh, no, what does that even mean?! I think you'll find that your name is also Mr Murphy, ye dope.

Any other sayings that get on your nerves?

wazky

His fathers first name is Mr.

Simples.

CastingCouch

6 of one, half a dozen of the other.

I get it, but just doesn't make sense.

matthew8

CastingCouch wrote: »

6 of one, half a dozen of the other.

I get it, but just doesn't make sense.

Why not?

endacl

'Smoke me a kipper. I'll be back for breakfast'

Makes no sense.

CastingCouch

matthew8 wrote: »

Why not?

6 of what? And what is the other they're on about? :P

Mariasofia

CastingCouch wrote: »

6 of what? And what is the other they're on about? :P

Eggs.

Sir Osis of Liver.

Who the fcuk is John Murphy?

Karl Stein

'He wants to have his cake and eat it'.

Didn't make sense to me until it was explained on boards.ie last year.

It understand it now but still think it's stupid.

Chucken

endacl wrote: »

'Smoke me a kipper. I'll be back for breakfast'

Makes no sense.

Makes perfect sense if you're telling him you'll be back for breakfast.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/member.php?u=2405

paddy147

"The head on ya and the price of cabbage".

everlast75

Applying 'does exactly what it does on the tin' to every f*cking thing!

Too Tough To Die

Doesn't annoy me but taking the piss? How did that one originate?

madalig12

Can't see a stime...

Well can ya?

LordSutch

I slept it out . . . .

What did you sleep out

April O Neill

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Timmyctc

The usage of the phrase "All but" meaning very nearly as opposed to "everything but" i.e. very far from.

"Team x have all but won the league"

That and "Having your work cut out for you". Didn't know what that was about till I had it explained to me.

Daveysil15

A sight for sore eyes. How is a nice sight going to help a sore eye?

April O Neill

everlast75 wrote: »

Applying 'does exactly what it does on the tin' to every f*cking thing!

Yes! I cringe whenever someone does this.

Too Tough To Die

Daveysil15 wrote: »

A sight for sore eyes. How is a nice sight going to help a sore eye?

I still don't know if that means a good sight or a bad sight.

Daveysil15

Too Tough To Die wrote: »

I still don't know if that means a good sight or a bad sight.

I used to thing it meant a bad sight until a friend corrected me. It's still stupid though.

Mariasofia

Heard said of rough places : ah theyre grand lads in there. They are so nice they will take off their shoes before they kick ya :0

matthew8

The worst one is "I could care less". I know exactly what they're trying to say but they're just so outrageously wrong.

LordSutch

Tesco/Dunnes/Super Value checkout girl says That'll be twenty five euros - "when you're ready"

That "when you're ready" really gets on my tits!

I'm ready now, I have the money in my hand 'look' I'm ready, no need to ask if I'm ready!

mattjack

The early bird gathers no moss and the second mouse gets the worm.

Doesn,t annoy me , cant unstand it though.

The King of Moo

whirlpool wrote: »

"Hello, Mr [insert your surname here]."
"Mr [insert your surname here] is my father, you can call me [insert your first name here]"

e.g. "Hello Mr Murphy"
"Mr Murphy is my father, you can call me John."

Eh, no, what does that even mean?! I think you'll find that your name is also Mr Murphy, ye dope.

Any other sayings that get on your nerves?

The son isn't denying that his name is Mr. Murphy, rather stating that he prefers to be called by his first name, as the use of Mr. Murphy is more common for addressing an older person.
He means "Please don't call me Mr. Murphy, as I'm too young for that. Please call me John."

CastingCouch wrote: »

6 of one, half a dozen of the other.

I get it, but just doesn't make sense.

CastingCouch wrote: »

6 of what? And what is the other they're on about? :P

Image someone gives you two options: "one" and "the other."
You think they're both equal choices, so you say "six of one, half a dozen of the other" to show that they're both of equal value. Six of one option is equal to six of the other, because they're basically the same thing.

More specifically, it's often used when talking about a situation about which someone has offered two potential interpretations. You use this phrase to say that both interpretations are valid. You imagine it's an object composed of 12 units, 6 of one interpretation, and 6 of the other.

whirlpool

The King of Moo wrote: »

The son isn't denying that his name is Mr. Murphy, rather stating that he prefers to be called by his first name, as the use of Mr. Murphy is more common for addressing an older person.
He means "Please don't call me Mr. Murphy, as I'm too young for that. Please call me John."





Image someone gives you two options: "one" and "the other."
You think they're both equal choices, so you say "six of one, half a dozen of the other" to show that they're both of equal value. Six of one option is equal to six of the other, because they're basically the same thing.

Thanks, I think we understand the sayings, we're just saying they're stupid as f***.

Oneiric 3

'Get (or take) the finger out'

Never understood what that actually meant, either in the context it is used in or just literally.

whirlpool

LordSutch wrote: »

Tesco/Dunnes/Super Value checkout girl says That'll be twenty five euros - "when you're ready"

That "when you're ready" really gets on my tits!

I'm ready now, I have the money in my hand 'look' I'm ready, no need to ask if I'm ready!

"when you're ready" isn't a question.

They're just being polite. There is a certain breed of customers who get offended by slightest, most meaningless things, so I imagine the checkout girl/guy is just trying to overcompensate as a preventative measure.

But I guess they've offended you in the process. Can't win!

The King of Moo

whirlpool wrote: »

Thanks, I think we understand the sayings, we're just saying they're stupid as f***.

"Eh no, what does that even mean?" in your original post and the thread title "Sayings/phrases you never understood or that annoy you" suggests the possibility of a lack of comprehension.

cabledude

matthew8 wrote: »

The worst one is "I could care less". I know exactly what they're trying to say but they're just so outrageously wrong.

That phrase should read 'I couldn't care less.' You know, even if I tried, I could not care less for him/her/them/it etc.

whirlpool

The King of Moo wrote: »

"Eh no, what does that even mean?" in your original post and the thread title "Sayings/phrases you never understood or that annoy you" suggests the possibility of a lack of comprehension.

Fair enough.

johnnyskeleton

endacl wrote: »

'Smoke me a kipper. I'll be back for breakfast'

Makes no sense.

It's a quote from red dwarf, which was a "programme" on "television" that people used to watch before they had the Internet on computers. You might have heard your parents or grandparents talking about it.

mattjack

Oneiric 3 wrote: »

'Get (or take) the finger out'

Never understood what that actually meant, either in the context it is used in or just literally.

Ah I know what that means.It an old navy term from when ships
used gunpowder in cannons.To stop the powder getting wet from seaspray and rain the gunner used stick his finger in the little hole where the powder was poured in.Just before action yhe gunnery officer used shout GET YER FINGER OUT.

You may bask in my refelected glory.

johnnyskeleton

whirlpool wrote: »

stupid as f***.

I don't really get this phrase. I don't know how you could measure the intelligence of a f***.

EchoIndia

cabledude wrote: »

That phrase should read 'I couldn't care less.' You know, even if I tried, I could not care less for him/her/them/it etc.

The "I could care less" version is the US usage.

bogwalrus

Too Tough To Die wrote: »

Doesn't annoy me but taking the piss? How did that one originate?

Me and my friend tried to work out the Etymology of this.

We figured the origins of "getting pissed" was when you would go to the pub and get so drunk that you were pissing every half hour. So Pints and alcohol seem to go hand in hand hence "pissed".

If we move on to the whole "Taking the piss" in relation to drinking if someone says you are "taking the piss" then your obviously not sober enough to make sense and pissed. So "taking the piss" is saying you are taking the drink.

cabledude

EchoIndia wrote: »

The "I could care less" version is the US usage.

Sure them lads have everything backwards. They even drive on the wrong side of the road FFS...:)

apollo8

A friend in need is a friend indeed

The King of Moo

apollo8 wrote: »

A friend in need is a friend indeed

It's a confusing shortening of "A friend (when you are) in need is a friend indeed."

Basically, it means someone who sticks by who when you need help is a true friend.

LordSutch

whirlpool wrote: »

"when you're ready" isn't a question.

They're just being polite. There is a certain breed of customers who get offended by slightest, most meaningless things, so I imagine the checkout girl/guy is just trying to overcompensate as a preventative measure.

But I guess they've offended you in the process. Can't win!

Thing is whirlpool, the bloody phrase only popped up about six months or a year ago! and its not polite, its just so silly when uttered in a parrot like fashion. I remember well hearing it my local Tesco and thinking to myself, well that's new - fast forward one year to last week, & its now spread to my local Lidl.

Phrases/catch words come and go, and hopefully this one will wear off sometime soon )

seosamh1980

LordSutch wrote: »

Thing is whirlpool, the bloody phrase only popped up about six months or a year ago! and its not polite, its just so silly when uttered in a parrot like fashion. I remember well hearing it my local Tesco and thinking to myself, well that's new - fast forward one year to last week, & its now spread to my local Lidl.

Phrases/catch words come and go, and hopefully this one will wear off sometime soon )

Ah no, I've heard that for years working in retail, it's not 6-12 months old.

Sonics2k

"It's always in the last place you look."

That ones pissed me off since I was a child.

Who the hell keeps looking after you've found it!

LordSutch

OK fair enough, so maybe its spread more in the last year (and reached my local shops), but being an ex retail man myself, I just don't remember it being around until relatively recently, either way, it irks me

hairyprincess

happy out/tired out/busy out; get the **** out of my life with that nonsensical shiite!!

Vito Corleone

"Cheer up, it might never happen."

I understand it, but I hate it. Whenever someone says this it makes me want to tell them that I'm terminally ill just so they'll feel bad.

Annasopra

"It's their culture"

bogwalrus

"Say a prayer to saint Anthony"


What?

I mean WHAT?

hairyprincess

Don't be away til you're back

Cee-Jay-Cee

Too Tough To Die wrote: »

I still don't know if that means a good sight or a bad sight.

They mean 'site' as in website such as specsavers.com

Cee-Jay-Cee

"There wasn't room to swing a cat"

Why would anyone be swinging a cat at all?

"A watched kettle never boils"

Bullsh*t, of course it does...unless there was a power outage or something. I've often switched on the kettle to make tea or coffee and stood there watching it till it boiled and switched off. It never failed to boil, ever.

When someone replies 'Divil, the hate' when you ask them 'what's happening' or 'what's going'...what the hell does that mean? Can't you just say 'Not much' or ' Not a lot'