Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/01/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]- --part1_48.c0b0b1.25be6f56_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In a message dated 1/23/00 5:10:36 PM, timphoto@nt.sympatico.ca writes: << Similar to the phrase "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" I had always been told that Nelson era ships stacked their cannonballs on a brass triangle with legs known as a brass monkey (in fact I remember this being pointed out when going round Nelsons HMS Victory once).>> There's a nice brass monkey in Heidelberg. And you touch his balls for fertility. THat's good luck, I guess. But for this group, with its Valkyrie obssessions, it should be "Colder than a witch's tit in a brass bra." And I don't know where that one came from. But it describes the weather in Michigan. DAS - --part1_48.c0b0b1.25be6f56_boundary Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Disposition: inline Return-Path: <daemon@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> Received: from rly-yb02.mx.aol.com (rly-yb02.mail.aol.com [172.18.146.2]) by air-yb04.mail.aol.com (v67_b1.21) with ESMTP; Sun, 23 Jan 2000 17:10:36 -0500 Received: from mejac.palo-alto.ca.us (mejac.palo-alto.ca.us [192.147.236.1]) by rly-yb02.mx.aol.com (v67_b1.21) with ESMTP; Sun, 23 Jan 2000 17:10:25 -0500 Received: (from daemon@localhost) by mejac.palo-alto.ca.us (8.9.1/8.9.1) id OAA02913; Sun, 23 Jan 2000 14:03:25 -0800 (PST) Received: from smtp11.bellglobal.com (smtp11.bellglobal.com [204.101.251.53]) by mejac.palo-alto.ca.us (8.9.1/8.9.1) with ESMTP id OAA02903; Sun, 23 Jan 2000 14:03:22 -0800 (PST) Received: from q1j8q1 (ppp138.nt.bellglobal.com [206.172.213.138]) by smtp11.bellglobal.com (8.8.5/8.8.5) with SMTP id RAA00687 for <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>; Sun, 23 Jan 2000 17:08:07 -0500 (EST) From: "Tim Atherton" <timphoto@nt.sympatico.ca> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> Subject: RE: [Leica] stitch-up - now freezing balls (OT) Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2000 15:03:15 -0700 Message-ID: <LNBBLBNFHNEHGFKFMALGKEMKGBAA.timphoto@nt.sympatico.ca> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 In-reply-to: <000901bf65e7$741ef5a0$cbeab094@new> Importance: Normal Sender: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us Precedence: bulk Reply-To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us Similar to the phrase "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" I had always been told that Nelson era ships stacked their cannonballs on a brass triangle with legs known as a brass monkey (in fact I remember this being pointed out when going round Nelsons HMS Victory once). When travelling in very cold climes (i.e. Canada!) the brass contracted enough for the balls to fall of...! So it is not exactly a terribly off colour phrase. And I'm sure those jolly matelots were unaware of the double entendre (ha ha ha). Maybe apocryphal, but the little device on the Victory was known as a brass monkey. Tim A > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us > [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Rod Fleming > Sent: January 23, 2000 2:19 PM > To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us > Subject: [Leica] stitch-up > > > Hi > > Gaifana (why don't you sign your posts?)wrote > > >. What does this mean, "stitched up?" > > Mmmm. Sort of "set up for the patsy". It's when someone performs a fait > accompli on you- manoeuvres you into a position you would rather > not be in. > > I have heard- and like a lot of these things this could be apocryphal, so > I'll stand corrected if this is wrong- that it comes from Royal > Navy slang- > mariners will know that the practise following a death at sea is > to sew the > deceased into a bolt of canvas sailcloth (modern warships, which > lack sails, > carry the stuff for this reason) before heaving them over the side- so > "stitched up"- put somewhere you don't want to be and unable to > do anything > about it. Whether or not the provenance is true, the sense is accurate. > > Cheers > > Rod > > - --part1_48.c0b0b1.25be6f56_boundary--