Thursday, March 21, 2013

Amazing Phrases

One Stranger, Sammy, recently sent me the content of a text exchange she had with a friend, which was spurred by her use of "twice up the barrel, once down the side." This is a nice demonstration of the power of such a phrase.


5:44pm, Mar 19 - Maude: I see. Kind of like, twice up the barrel, once down the side.
 
5:45pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: Go on...
 
5:47pm, Mar 19 - Maude: Well, it's similar to over the tally and passed the shoot. You know?
 
5:47pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: You know I don't.
 
5:48pm, Mar 19 - Maude: Okay, so it's out through the window and shut the door.
 
5:49pm, Mar 19 - Maude: But more specific.
 
5:49pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: You're making this up as you go along, aren't you?

5:52pm, Mar 19 - Maude: You seriously don't know what I'm talking about? Or are you just holding the dancecard and refusing to take names?
 
5:54pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: I don't know anymore.
 
6:11pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: Welp, that was constructive.
 
6:12pm, Mar 19 - Maude: What was?
 
6:13pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: Laying the tracks to derail the train.
 
6:17pm, Mar 19 - Maude: Well, if the foot walks in the right direction...
 
6:19pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: ...then you're just going in circles to see around the bend.
 
6:20pm, Mar 19 - Maude: So, you're telling me that when the hammer hits the tooth bites?
 
6:21pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: No, that would be like the hand pointing at its fingers.
 
6:23pm, Mar 19 - Maude: We wouldn’t want to make the horse grunt on a humid day.
 
6:23pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: Well, you know what they say, if the loaf rises, the bread slices.
 
6:24pm, Mar 19 - Maude: I know what you mean, the candle can't light without the flame.
 
6:26pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: And you can't have both if you beat them to the punch.
 
6:27pm, Mar 19 - Maude: Haha, exactly! The bust busts the bustier!
 
6:28pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: At that point you're just sacrificing the wagon to bolster the wheels.
 
6:30pm, Mar 19 - Maude: Don't be ridiculous! That would be like me holding the number and making it count.
 
6:31pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: How am I being ridiculous? A bucket full of rain is still a singular droplet.
 
6:32pm, Mar 19 - Maude: Yeah, but if the order isn't made it never gets delivered.
 
6:33pm, Mar 19 - Maude: And we all know you can't stop a mountain from looking to the east.
 
6:36pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: No, but when the sun goes down, the wind blows blind.
 
6:38pm, Mar 19 - Maude: But who measures time by the length of his nose?
 
6:38pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: The same man who would brine the world to escape a pickle.
 
6:39pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: I guess that's like being stuck between a door and its hinge.
 
6:40pm, Mar 19 - Maude: Yeah, right... And his neighbor has an apple with his sister, if you know what I mean.
 
6:41pm, Mar 19 - Maude: It's nothing like that. It's being handed a goat and scraping for gold.
 
6:44pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: First off, his sister is dumb. She couldn't chew the fat without tearing the bone.
 
6:44pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: And a goat is only as smart as its hairs.
 
6:46pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: Next you're gonna say that you'd rather swing from the weakest branch than disturb the roots.
 
6:46pm, Mar 19 - Maude: If that's true, then I'm going to go to the forest and build a fire.
 
6:48pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: You can't give a thumbs up without making a fist.
 
6:49pm, Mar 19 - Maude: And words don't speak without clicking your tongue.
 
6:52pm, Mar 19 - Charles Robicheaux, III: I'm shooting the pace rabbit, here.
 
6:53pm, Mar 19 - Maude: In that case, grab the bushel and pull.
 
 
Please respond to this post by leaving in the comments your own made-up phrase that sounds real.
 
~It Just Gets Stranger

32 comments:

  1. Well, you know what they say, two up the nose is better than one

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  2. -The ocean is calm when the birds are fed.
    -Shoot me once, love me forever.
    -Never trust a man whose sideburns don't match.
    -One smile a day brings soale your way.
    Flo.

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  3. Don't be the person that goes to the butcher to find their lost cow.

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  4. The man who's shoes are backwards never knows which way to go.
    Lou

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  5. You should totally start a Twitter game with made up phrases. It can be as simple as #phrases, and Strangers just tweet their made up phrases and end with that hashtag.

    It'd be like @EliMcCann you know what they say, he who waves with his right hand waves first. #phrases

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  6. If the bed’s been made then the car has already left the garage.

    If the “Closed” sign is out then the field is ripe for the plucking.

    Jump on in but watch out for snakes (for Eli)

    He’s got both oars in the water and one foot on the shore

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  7. This whole post was ridiculous, but hey, you can't look a unicorn in the eye without wearing an eye patch.

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  8. Don't tickle the clam if you don't want the chowder.

    A sleeping baby is great but offers no help when there's a fire to put out.

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  9. You've got to rock the baby if you want the wind to blow.

    The boat floats up when the river goes down.

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  10. Well the dog is real hungry but the cats been well fed.

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  11. I recently used the phrase "twice up the barrel once down the side" and no one even batted an eye. Struggled to keep it together since it made absolutely no sense even within the conversation.

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    Replies
    1. I finally got to use the phrase yesterday. In a conversation I said "well, they have us over the barrel don't they?" and when the person looked at me quizzically I then said "Twice up the barrel once down the side." Then the person sort of nodded like maybe she was understanding me. I nodded again knowingly and walked off. It was a lot of fun :)

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    2. I used that on my mom! And she was laughed and said *TWICE Up THE BARREL?" and I said... "Yeah mom! Over the shoot and passed the tally!" She acted as if she knew EXACTLY what I was talking about!

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  12. A ghost is only a ghost if the person is dead.

    You might be lying on a pile of broken glass, but you're not sleeping.

    Even the most beautiful gardens have flowers and dirt.

    Hugging a python might be exciting, but hugging your mother is always more comfortable. (For Eli)

    A baby is a baby until it grows up.

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  13. Because students are silent only when there's something to say.

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  14. you know what they say.... If the boot doesnt fit, thats when the snow falls!

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  15. It takes one to heave and two to leave.

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  16. "Ears, more than just sound holes."

    "There may be more than one way to skin a cat, but there's only one way to make it sing."

    "You can take the rocket from the astronaut, but you won't get to Mars any faster."

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  17. Shave my head and call me Bobby!

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  18. A meager fox is never as savvy as its prey . . .
    ( those words don't even make since but it flows)

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  19. Life is like a gnarly wave, hang tight and ride hard!

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  20. It's like my grandpappy used to say: If you can't pick your pumpkin, you're just two horse whips from a bean pole.

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  21. Five birds, one door.
    Can't bake a muffin without tinfoil.
    The phone doesn't ring on salads.
    Mousetraps have a habit of catching the sheets.
    The other day I was talking with my friends when I used the phrase, and they became really confused, more so when I continued to try to explain it to them using the phrases above. The chaos that ensued was absolutely hilarious. Although, one of my friends actually thought it was a real phrase, because her dad uses it at home. But she doesn't think he even reads blogs, and she now thinks he heard it from one of his younger coworkers. I just wonder what he thought it meant when he heard it...

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  22. "This is a taco and burrito conversation, nachos!" (Read it outloud, it might make more sense then)

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  23. Well, you know what they say, when life gives you lemons make apple juice. :D

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  24. -The ink insists on your counter.
    -It's past the ribbon's bows.
    -Looking up through ancients.
    -16ft of unmeasured cups.
    -when out, three for the bread.
    -send in, up, and down over again.
    -the strawberry player is a witness.
    -Crave your number in class.

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  25. It's like throwing out the tea leaves before the tea is steeped.

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  26. "It's better to be on the roof, than live with a nagging horse."

    This was said by my father. One Sunday. In church. At the pulpit. While preaching.

    Every person present immediately knew it never existed.

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  27. Well if you can't count the sheep, don't try to sleep. I'm just sayin'....

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