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Nov
19
Off book, off the hook…Oh, snap! (Phraseology, day 15)
2008 at 3pm Posted by Rebecca Joines Schinsky
It’s finally a cold winter day here, and I’m kickin’ it old-school. Long before Will Ferrell made the phrase famous with his shameless streaking, it was used in reference to a group of people noted for conservative views or principles on some professional or political matter, and it dates to 1749.
Welcome to day 15 of The Book Lady’s Phraseology fest.
If you ask me, that movie was totally off the hook, which was originally a reference to telephony, that one was not in danger of receiving a call if it was off the hook. When I go to the movies, I always get popcorn with extra butter. I never knew this before, but unpopped kernels are referred to in the industry as old maids. There’s a dirty joke in there somewhere, but I’m going to leave it alone for now.
Unlike Mr. Ferrell, an actor who appears and only speaks or acts once has an oyster part.
Off book in theatre is “in rehearsal” or “rehearsing without the script.”
I like to keep things simple, so I often refer to Occam’s razor: “when two compelling hypotheses explain the data equally well, choose the simpler.” It was named for English philosopher William of Ockham circa 1285-1349.
My hubby and I have been more than a little lax with our housecleaning lately, and we have a ton of oose—the furry stuff that gathers under beds, also called dust bunnies, trilbies, or kittens—to vacuum up.
Oh snap is an exclamation of dismay or disbelief, surprise, or joy; a euphemism for “oh, shit.” I never thought I would read a dry, academic explanation of that phrase, but there it is. In a great coincidence of the blogosphere, I found this diagram over at Don’stuff
:
As always, there are a few fun facts for the grammar geeks among us:
- off of is redundant.
- ought to is always right (as opposed to ought…which I infer is not always right)
- an oxford comma is the one before “and” in a series such as “red, white, and blue.” I know it depends on which style manual you follow and how you were taught, but it drives me nuts when I read lists without that last comma, and now I have a name for it. Yay!
Go out and find a creative way to use “oh, snap.” Tell me all about it.
Or just click here for days 1-14 of Phraseology fun.
No related posts.
I’m a 23-year-old white girl. I don’t know when “oh, snap!” became a part of my everyday, seriously-used phrase catalogue, but it’s so there. OHHH, SNAP!
why do you argue in favor of the oxford comma?
i am no expert by any stretch of the imagination but i never liked that use of the comma, except where it is necessary to reduce confusion.
Laurelstreet: It’s just a preference thing…I think it keeps things clear, and I was always taught that way, so it irks me when the last comma isn’t there. I don’t think it’s necessarily wrong not to have it–I just happen to prefer it there.
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