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freedomdwarf1 -> RE: Really stupid sayings, phrases and names. (12/14/2016 10:04:32 AM)
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Spotted Dick a "bizarre food substance" Jeff???
No different to your "twinkies".
Lemme edjumacate you on some of these sayings -
Spotted Dick
The dish is first attested in Alexis Soyer's The modern Housewife or ménagère, published in 1849, in which he described a recipe for "Plum Bolster, or Spotted Dick—Roll out two pounds of paste ... have some Smyrna raisins well washed...". The Pall Mall Gazette reported in 1892 that "the Kilburn Sisters ... daily satisfied hundreds of dockers with soup and Spotted Dick".
The name has long been a source of amusement and double entendres, to the point that the catering staff of Flintshire County Council decided in 2009 to rename it to "Spotted Richard" because of all the jokes they were receiving. While "spotted" is a clear reference to the dried fruit in the pudding (which resemble spots), "dick" is more obscure. The word was widely used as a term for pudding in the 19th century; in late 19th century Huddersfield, for instance, a glossary of local terms described "Dick, plain pudding. If with treacle sauce, treacle dick." It could alternatively be a corruption of the word pudding, evolving through puddink, then puddick, then finally dick. Another possibility is that it is a corruption of "dough".
So.... Spotted Dick is perfectly sensible, thank you very much.
Across the pond
The best description I can find that makes any sense is from wisegeek.
The Atlantic Ocean is the only ocean ever referred to in the saying "across the pond". South America and Africa are never referred to in this idiom, even though they are across the Atlantic from each other. This is due to the fact that the saying is an English idiom, which is spoken widely in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, but rarely in the countries of South America and only in some areas of Africa.
As a literary device, “across the pond” is an understatement. Unlike hyperboles, understatements treat something as less than it is. A common understatement is calling a bad injury “just a scratch". Speaking of the Atlantic Ocean, a 41,100,000 square mile (106,400,000 sq. km.) body of water, as a pond is a humorous understatement.
Not only is the idiom an understatement, it can also be seen as irony. An ironic statement is one that means the opposite of what it literally says. When someone says they are traveling “across the pond,” they state it as if they are crossing a small body of water, when in reality they are crossing the second largest body of water in the world.
As a crazy Brit idiom - it sorta makes sense. lol.
The Emerald Isle
Have you forgotten that Emerald is a colour and the gem is named after it because of the colour?
The name “emerald” simply means “green gem”. That is perfectly logical, for if there is one defining characteristic of emeralds, it is their impossibly rich green color. In fact, the reason that Ireland is called the “Emerald Isle” is that its lush fields are the same vivid shade of green as the gemstone. The association grew from there until anything green is strongly associated with Ireland. They don't refer to St. Patrick's Day as “the wearing of the green” for nothing, after all.
[image]http://www.irishcentral.com/uploads/article/9509/cropped_MI-Ireland-Emerald-Isle1.jpg[/image]
As for Emeralds not being found in Ireland? False! They are mined there.
Aquamarine is one crystal mined in Northern Ireland. A form of Beryl, it has a calming energy that can help clear emotional issues and release attachments...
Like Aquamarine, other Beryls also come from Ireland. Beryl is a great crystal for stressful times, helping the user to find the guidance and clarity of mind to follow the guidance through tough times. Some other common Beryls are Morganite, Bixbite, Emerald, Heliodor and Goshenite.
So again.... "Emerald Isle" is a perfectly good description of Ireland.
Not only for its beautiful green rolling hills but also for its Emeralds mined there.
Old Blighty
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word derives from "bilayati", a regional variant of the Urdu word "vilayati", meaning "foreign", "British", "English" or "European." In India, vilayati came to be known as an adjective meaning European, and specifically English or British.
And seeing as Britain, as an empire, is indeed quite old and was spread across most of the known inhabited world at the time, it is quite appropriate.
As for the rest??? Meh!!
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