Michel sez: > Looking up your "by gum", which I had never heard before, I came > across a nice web page where I was delighted to learn the hidden > meaning of this and other such expressions, such as Blimey (god blind > me) or Heck (hell). > > Some others do an even better job at concealing their meaning, I > wouldn't be surprised if even the most distinguished native English > speakers here didn't know them off hand: > > Dagnabbit > Drat > For crying out loud > Odds-bodkins > Suffering succotash > What in Sam Hill? > Zounds > > Answers here: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/minced-oath.html > > Michel
Hi Michel, Most of the phrases you cite appear to be outdated by decades. It's unlikely that most of the younger generations addicted to getting all their information from the Internet would admit to using any of them. As a fifty-six year-old old fart (in training) I show my antiqueness by being fond of using the word: "Dang!" Just make sure you don't use the term "helo" to describe a helicopter. It's a dead giveaway that the English language is not your native one. See "Denver is Missing" http://www.amazon.com/Denver-missing-D-F-Jones/dp/0802703550 http://tinyurl.com/8abxgr Read the brief review by Beverly Blackman. All sorts of interesting things happen when a deep sea oil rig hits an unusual gas pocket at the bottom of the sea bed. Regards Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com www.zazzle.com/orionworks
