Oh! You mean "take the wind out of their sails"!?!
Linda, the string-a-holic in very wet Oregon
----- Original Message -----
From: "Avital" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Chat" <lace-chat@arachne.com>
Sent: Sunday, December 25, 2005 9:33 PM
Subject: RE: [lace-chat] Expressions
Hmmm. Maybe Clive uses it in a different sense from what I've heard. Also,
I
can't imagine how the expression would be used. Would Clive say, for
example, "I
called her an ugly cow, but she just smiled because she knew I was just
taking
the mickey out of her" (i.e., "She knew I didn't really mean it because I
followed it with 'bless your heart'")?
At our local clinic, the new doctor in town hung up his umpteen medical
certificates, including his Harvard diploma, in the hall on the way to his
office. This was considered a tad pretentious because the other doctors
had
theirs in their offices. The English receptionist told me that she took
the
mickey out of the doctor's equally pretentious wife by saying, "Have you
ever
seen all these certificates before?" The American woman rose to the bait
by
getting huffy and said, "Of course, I have!" It was not meant to be an
endearing
softening of an insult. She was just pulling Mrs. Harvard Medical School's
leg.
I've heard "taking the piss" out of someone as a synonym for "taking the
mickey"
and I think both expressions mean pulling someone's leg to deflate them,
like
pricking a balloon to let out the hot air. One does this to bring someone
down a
notch or two.
Maybe one of the English Arachnes could clarify the definition as soon as
you
folks recover from your Christmas pudding, wassail bowls, and King's
College
Choir marathons. And you'll have to tell us what the Queen wore this year
during
her annual address! ;-)
Best wishes,
Avital
Taking the Mickey out of anyone is sort of "Bless Her/His Heart" Say
anything you want as long as you bless hearts. Example, "Bless her
heart,
she's so fat she can't fit in the church pew!" or "Her green bean
casserole
tastes like it was made last week, bless her heart." Or, "Lord only
knows,
bless her heart, she can't carry a tune in a gallon bucket!" Since FH
Clive
is English, I am familiar with taking the mickey out of someone, so
blessing
hearts is a comparable expression in the South - maybe not North of the
Potomac...
Merry Christmas to All
Betty Ann in Roanoke, Virginia USA>
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