BTW, the Urban Dictionary says the this expression (Dad gum) is a modification of the much stronger form which I as a nice Christian girl will not repeat but will tell you the initials...gd.....clever huh...whoever first used this epithet, to not only substitute non offensive language but to also rearrange the order of the words....probably to fool their ever vigilant to any swearing granny. Probably wouldn't have been the first time that sneaky dude got his mouth washed out.Because it was on my mind, I found this and had to post the link. Enjoy!
I have a daily calendar on my desk which features a different island scene each day. My mini island get away for today was in Maine. The caption read: "The islands and coves of Cobscook Bay Maine are home to the largest group of bald eagles in the Northeast." As I studied the photo I thought that there can't be many eagles there unless there are a lot more islands and they are a lot bigger than this one..no wonder the bald eagle is endangered. Take a look. What do you think?
Did you know Shakespeare introduced many familiar phrases? How about these....A dish fit for the gods...from Julius Caesar
A foregone conclusion...from Othello
A sorry sight...from Macbeth
All that glitters is not gold...from The Merchant of Venice (originally the line was All that glisters is not gold, glisters was long ago replaced with glitters)
As dead as a door nail...used by Shakespeare in King Henry VI but was first in print in 1350
Eaten out of house and home...King Henry VI
Look it up...there are a lot more where these came from.
On the heels of yesterday's topic about a favorite school subject, let me mention one of my least favorites...okay...two. Grammar and science...wait make it three non-loved subjects...math, grammar and science.
You can tell grammar was not a favorite by my abundant use of ellipses...my run on sentences and my misuse of the English language. Forgive me, I was young and stupid...I should have learned the rules back when my brain was pliable.
As for math, it has never been easy for me...it just won't stick in my head. I can grasp concepts and learn to work problems fairly easily...easy as long as I practice daily. Once I let said practice go for a month or so, I have to start over learning at fractions again. I have seen the future and I face it bravely...I am and forever will be a math dummy.
Science is sort of interesting...the parts that have to do with the human body...as for fulcrums and levers and small machines and stuff like that...I don't have the brain for that either. But how the brain works, now that's a topic that excites me. I like pseudo-science books. Well not really fake, just not written like text books. Take The Hot Zone by Richard Preston for instance. I learned more biology from this book than the college level textbook I was reading at the same time. Among other things, Preston explained replicating RNA so well that it was virtually the only thing I understood during a whole semester of biology. ( I obviously had a horrible teacher leaving me to teach myself...an impossible task!)
So how about you...any random thoughts tonight? Any books that opened up a subject for you? Any quotes from milord Shakespeare you'd like to share?
I had no idea all those sayings came from Shakespeare.
ReplyDeleteI sometime use a phrase and my daughter will look at me like I have two heads. Oh, and that is a phrase, two heads are better than one!
denise
Loved science and English but couldn't deal with math. I'm still pretty bad with numbers. So is my kids' Dad. They never stood a chance. :)
ReplyDeleteI always loved science and art and literature in high school and college. Math was never my forte nor foreign languages (I was required to take Latin and French in high school!) I took a few years of Italian in college but sadly I'm not fluent.
ReplyDeleteMy career was exhausting (I worked the night shift) so many of those years I devoted to trying to do educational things for my children and not myself. Now I feel life is an open book! So much to learn!
A Shakespeare quote:
Out "dad gum" spot! LOL
That video is utterly amazing! How long did it take, I wonder, to come up with rhymes and snazzy fitting of every country name in the lyrics! What a fun fun way to teach geography or get kids (or anyone!)excited about it. Talk about a tongue twister!! I am going to show it to my daughter, I think its very entertaining...
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that Shakespeare was behind those sayings. And to think I've been using some of them for years....
ReplyDeleteSteviewren, you are a walking Encyclopedia!