Learning

M Is For Mush, Mighty Interesting

/ Ally Bean / 33 Comments
Screen Shot 2016-03-21 at 10.55.02 AMTurned to mush

… is an American slang phrase that means your heart &/or your mind are no longer sensible or clear.  Someone or something has evoked tender feelings within you so that you’ve become nostalgic, sentimental, or sad.

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I’ve no story to tell you about mush, so instead here’s a random list of information about the word “mush.”  Study & learn, my gentle readers.  This information will be on the test.  😉

Mush: Breakfast Recipe, Fried OR Breakfast Recipe, Porridge

Mush: History Of A Regional Company Known For It

Mush: British Slang Term [in a phrase]

Mush: Romany Slang [word alone]

Mush: Word As Used In Alaska In Iditarod

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{ SOMETHING TO LISTEN TO FOR FUN }

Only one word in the lyrics, care to guess what it is?

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J Is For Jelly, So Jazzy

/ Ally Bean / 38 Comments

Screen Shot 2016-03-21 at 10.53.39 AM“It must be jelly ’cause jam don’t shake like that.”

These are the lyrics from an old song.  I didn’t know the source of this saying, but that’s what I discovered.  And what a cool discovery it is.

I’m familiar with this saying because Zen-Den says it every so often.  It’s part of his repertoire of sayings intended to describe + amuse anyone who might be listening.

Which is what I think you, my gentle readers, should do now.

Listen and watch Ray McKinley & The New Glenn Miller Orchestra perform a swinging jazzy rendition of this song, and learn about the saying… in context.

It’s fascinating, as you will hear.

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“And lay it on me…”

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I Is For Ice Cream, I Do Believe

/ Ally Bean / 54 Comments

Screen Shot 2016-03-21 at 10.51.53 AM“I scream, You scream, We all scream for ice cream.”

This is what my Dad used to say, kind of like he was casting a spell, when we as a family would get in the car to go get ice cream cones at the local dairy.

This was big deal back then in my small town.

There were no stores open 24/7.  All we had were a few dairies in town, each featuring a rotating list of flavors, that sold ice cream cones, during limited hours of operation.

icecreamcone

I never knew why he said what he said.  But a fast googling tells me that this saying is part of the lyrics to a dreadful 1920s novelty song of the same name.  The stupid lyrics are whacked, making references to Alaska and Eskimos;  the irritating tune is a fox trot.

How he ever came to know this song I couldn’t say.  But like most of the food sayings I’ve talked about so far, they just get into your brain and never leave.

D Is For Doughnuts, Darn It

/ Ally Bean / 46 Comments
Screen Shot 2016-03-21 at 10.37.51 AMI’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts

… is a saying dating from 1904.  It means you are so confident about what you know that you’re willing to bet on it.  That is, a dollar has more value than a doughnut, so you are willing to give long odds, knowing that you’re going to win.

On the surface this saying has nothing to do with doughnuts, per se.  In fact, some 1880s versions of this saying were “dollars to buttons” or “dollars to dumplings.” 

There was even a “dollars to cobwebs” version of this saying.  Shocking that it didn’t catch on, eh?

But being of a contrary mind, I have to wonder if the fact that doughnuts look like little zeros contributed to the popularity, and subsequent staying power, of this particular version of the saying.

I mean think about it, once in a while who doesn’t like to talk about doughnuts [or donuts, if you lean toward the more modern spelling]?

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 { SOMETHING TO WATCH FOR FUN }

“Time to make the donuts.”

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