I limp to the end of this week with a rather generic offering from 1993. However, I’m beginning a project which should have an indirect affect on what we do here. “The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum” at the Ohio State University has accepted my donation of several dozen original Arlo & Janis comic strips, going back to when the strip began. In the next few weeks, I’ll be rooting through pretty much everything I’ve drawn since 1985. I’m going to pick out a couple of strips from each year to give to the folks in Columbus, but I’ll keep an eye out for anything that might interest us here, as well. Who knows what lurks? I certainly don’t remember. Now, somebody please explain what Boxing Day is.
“I’m figuratively dyin’ here!”
By Jimmy Johnson
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158 responses to ““I’m figuratively dyin’ here!””
Did a search for I swan and found a word site that is new to me. Here is what it had to say: http://www.word-detective.com/2013/09/i-swan/
I’d heard swan before, but being in/from Massachusetts I have to believe I picked it up from Symply reading Sam Clemens as a child.
@Nodak Wayne,
Not my shop, a friend’s where work gets done and bulls get shot or thrown,careful where you Fargone walk!
@sandcastler
I believe I am going to be very full of this machine, certain I can spare a screen shot for the village….care to see the air sucker?
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/1476055_10204612996278135_5053564998966621687_n.jpg?oh=7613b00c316e8420d1fb441cb11c49f8&oe=54F9384B&__gda__=1429150241_9a9adab5e6d71cbffd6b70464655dec4
I also heard “I swan” – from my mother or grandmother, I think. Grandfather on that side was from Birmingham, Alabama; grandmother was born in France, grew up in Chicago, so had an interesting mix of expressions.
@Jackie,
I have been catching up on a lot of posts and have to give you my sincerest condolences on your loss…I am so sorry for you and at this time of year.
Philippe E. Gut
Actually, about the only times I’ve heard “I swan” is on a TV show or in a movie was when non-Southern actors/actresses were trying to “sound Southern”. Not saying it’s not authentic, just that it wasn’t very common in the parts of the South where I’ve lived.
Two I have heard in the South:
“He’s so ugly he has to sneak up on a glass of water to get a drink.”
“She’s as plain-looking as a mud fence.” (Followed, of course, by “Bless her heart.”)
My Kentucky relatives said “I swan” quite often. I always thought it was a variation of “I swear.”
Similarly, I had two aunts whose names ended with “a”, but I didn’t know that as I child. I thought the names ended with “y”! Those gals put a “y” on almost every name. For example, instead of “Gloria” I was known as “Glory”. Glad that didn’t follow me throughout life!
I’m not sure of the origin of most colloquialisms, but am guessing that lovely list is not all Southern in origin. ‘Ugly as a mud fence’ may well be; heard it first from Mom, who grew up in Bay St. Louis.
First, and most often, heard ‘gag a maggot’ from a fellow bio prof*, who grew up on ‘da Rainch’. He was of Irish ancestry, but surrounded by Poles [who, BTW, call themselves Polocks], Norskies, EYEtalians, Finlanders, and a smattering of others. Lots of Scandihoovian Looterans. *died at 64; serious nicotine addict.
Most of the German Looterans are farther south, mixed, of course, w/ many German Catholics. Stearns Co., MN, is said to have the highest % of Catholics in the US. It’s the home of St. John’s U. and [m] Monastery, the [f] Monastery and College of St. Benedict [in the town of St. Joseph]. Its major city = St. Cloud, which is in three counties, mostly in Stearns.
Also, first heard ‘herd of turtles’ here, after age 29 or more, but possibly from another prof, and they come from all over. Peace and Bonne Année, emb
emb, here is equal time for Minnesotans: http://www.brownielocks.com/minnesotatalk.html
Debbe, hope you aren’t in the lockup for clobbering Skittles. Here’s a song about a rooster for you, enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5wXb9XJicM
emb – You have just made my evening. My grandma once informed me that my beloved Herbie (a ’92 Dodge Spirit, with a horn that sounds like it was swiped from the famous Beetle) took off like a “herd of turtles.” I get most of my favorite “-isms” from her.
P.S. The county where I grew up is heavily German Catholic and the local dialect is more Southern in flavor. When I attended college at Eastern Michigan and lived in Rochester Hills, everyone thought I was from south of the Mason/Dixon. I get odd looks around here because I say soda, wash with NO *r*, orange with NO *i*, and refuse to say or write “drive thru window.” (You aren’t driving THROUGH the darn window, you drive UP TO the window!)
Must go to bed. Hugs to all.
https://img0.etsystatic.com/031/1/8147526/il_340x270.582944012_hwgd.jpg
Dang it; wrong image. Ignore the one above.
http://fitandfabapparel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/run_like_a_turlle.png
Ghost, here’s a shirt for some of the Villagers: http://www.thingsyouneverknew.com/product/before+the+internet.do?sortby=newArrivals&refType=
No one can find anything in my house, including my clothes, so daughter and I did a fast run to larger town to look for red and black clothes refined enough for services. I do not know if I said I was burying my mom in a lovely red and black cocktail suit, red lipstick and nail polish with huge arrangements of all red roses on either side and large rose arrangement on top of cherry wood coffin. I promised her I would do this.
We also promised Mike we would not wear doleful black for him either. When he was fighting cancer so hard, he railed out at my mom about her tendency to wear black like Johnny Cash. He wanted us to wear colorful clothes, so we packed up mom’s huge collection of black clothes, leaving her with an equally huge collection of colorful ones.
My mom was so poor that in college she and her two sisters shared three dresses and they would take turns wearing them. My grandfather educated five daughters with degrees, including one grad school in an era when women were not educated at all.
I think this left my mom with a hunger for clothes because she always had way too many and often gave them away to her family unworn. We plan to donate most of her clothes to a women’s shelter I support that helps battered women locally, along with most of my mother in law’s clothes, since I have not had time to sort and donate them either.
Those of us who have too many material things, as Arlo often points out to Janis should do this more. I try to donate to local groups, not large nationals, as I feel the locals tend to get the donations distributed better than large ones.
Really tired and need to get some sleep and get up early. I hope Debbe is OK, I always fear one of those augers or belts is going to take her out. Don’t ask me how I would worry about that!
Love, Jackie
Forgot to say how much I have enjoyed the Southern dialect conversation. I have a neighbor just down street here in OKie Land who says “I swan” all the time. I come from a long line of Southern colloquial speakers.
I have told the story of my grandmother who raised me and her description of taking a sponge bath: “You wash down as far as possible, then up as far as possible. Then you wash possible.”
That one beats “You can see creation in that dress!”
Love, Jackie
I am a 1770’s (USA) reenactor. In our period Boxing Day is not called same. It is, of course, the first day of Christmas (no Christmas Day is Christmas Day, not the first day of Christmas, count the days to Jan 6 and it will work out) and St Stephen’s Day.
On this day children are given small gifts by parents if they have been good (really small gifts – a piece of candy or fruit, a very small toy, a piece of coin (or a piece of a coin).
Gifts were given to servants on this day (in the US most servants were slaves or indentures). Again a gift of a coin (or piece thereof) or a small piece of silver jewelry such as a bracelet.
If a man A did business with man B (for example) and man B’s employee (say a carter who delivers items for man B to man A) is involved on a regular basis, then Man a will give a gift or vale (as it is called, a tip in our terms) on this day.
In London the poor boxes were opened and the money distributed.
It was became common for the gifts to be given in a box and in the the 19th century the term Boxing day came into use.
The other things mentioned – such as military – have obviously developed.
I know I’m late to the “I swan” discussion, but I’m a Southerner born and bred (Carolinas) and I’ve never heard that expression. Far more likely to hear someone say “I declare!” in what I take to be similar usage.
Ghost is right about the “bless her heart” added to any comment about someone else’s misfortune. And oftentimes it’s really just a thinly veiled insult or, to be honest, the southern form of schadenfreude.
Regarding other southern expressions, I was well out of college before it was brought to my attention that “might could” was not proper grammar. As in, “I might could get two cakes baked in time for the church ladies’ luncheon.” I had absolutely no idea — and I went to a good university! No one had ever corrected me.
Good morning Villagers……
I’m baack!!! I have been defragged, it took Ian three times to defrag old Dell here. He says it should clean things up and run a little faster. I went through withdrawal yesterday by not being able to post my usual morning rant.
You guys are so sweet to worry about me 🙂
I love the above colloquialisms (spell check helped me on that). Never heard of “I swan”, and some of them took me down memory lane.
Loved the T-shirt Mark…I really should get one of those.
Got stuck with just ‘Skittles’ yesterday, and Andrew came by to check on us. Those idiots brought in three roosters and enclosed them in three skids….hoping to see a fight. You know what, they just flapped their wings and huddled together. Skittles discovered a rooster the other day whose comb is so big and red, and heavy that it hangs over his left eye thereby closing his left eye. It is hard for him to even lift his head, but he does manage to eat and drink. I told Andrew that we should get an itty bitty eye patch for him and call him “Rooster Cogburn”….but we’ve used that name before.
Say your prayers for me today as I will have all three teenagers….by myself….The Boss’s and my objective is to get both hen houses’ curtain backs and beams scraped off….literally knocking the chicken poop into the pit. My one nephew-in-law (Jason) is living with us and is in between jobs now….so The Boss said he could help. Ian and him will be at the other hen house.
(Note to self….take your anti-stress tabs with you today…and remember, only three a day are prescribed 🙂 )
GR 😉 how was your time spent with your Mother? Are you back at work?
The two songs links I will have to listen to later. I’m interested in seeing how much faster they down load since I’ve been “defragged”. Oh, and I’m virus free too…..that didn’t come out good, did it?
Ya’lll have a blessed Tuesday….
=^..^=
I’m not anonymous…I’m Debbe…………..but you all knew that, didn’t ya?
…and this is why I don’t have blinds 🙂
https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/8413346048/h1EDF17BE/
I am so mean….but does this take anyone back a couple of months ago….I was going to post it then, but I thought it would be “distasteful”, but now that we’re troll free…….
https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/8332739072/h6B144F27/
…and yes, my lolcat pages do load faster 🙂
Good morning Debbe, welcome back. Like the caption on the cat with the blinds. Think of it this way, everything is a toy to a cat.
Glad to hear from you, too, Jackie. Who needs organization? Just get a big enough search party and keep looking!
Debbe, two excellent examples of life with cats. Comment on Tuesdays strip, cats do notice everything; ball caps and headphones freak out one of ours.
Ghost, you might be in luck: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/30/giada-de-laurentiis-split-todd-thompson_n_6395202.html?utm_hp_ref=entertainment&ir=Entertainment
hang on to your 2014 calendars for 2025 and 2031 and you can pull out your 1998 or 2009 calendars to use for 2015. —– — –and I always get misty eyed when I see the TCM little tribute film of everyone who died in the year, they’re all on youtube “tcm remembers”