Lord Melchett’s meaning here could be substituted with “and damn me if.” But the pattern under examination is a speech act designed to work in two parts: 1) setting the scene, and 2) finishing with a paraprosdokian to elicit in the listener the same surprise or astonishment as experienced by the speaker. I say you’re a weedy pigeon, Blackadder, and you can call me Susan if it isn’t so.Ī close reading, however, puts paid to the idea. Cows aren’t known for their speed, and they are usually out and about, wandering until feeding time. You twist and turn like a twisty turny thing. Til the Cows Come Home: Settle in, because whatever we’re talking about is going to take all day. It has been suggested that this may not be a pattern unique to the American South, as an episode of Blackadder contains the following line: Fry me in butter and call me a catfish.Slap me with bread and call me a sandwich.Please Be Advised That Messages Will Be Responded On Business Days Within 24 hours. It’s also possible to tone the phrase down a bit by getting away from all the butt-business: Address: 512 Stackhouse St, Sunnyside, Washington, US. The pattern readily allows other nouns in place of a name: Well sit on my face and call me Bernard!.Some opt to change the gender from female to male, perhaps more useful for female speakers: Stick a banana up my ass and call me Susie!.Well slap my ass and call me Clementine.The name is subject to immediate substitution, e.g.: ”Ī search of Web comments and discussions readily turns up: The longer form has spawned a range of variants in the form of “ my and call me. The same action can be performed with “Well I’ll be!” This elides the verb, which is understood to be “switched,” “struck dumb,” “a monkey’s uncle,” or something of the sort. This earthy interjection expresses surprise or astonishment. Which, I was hoping it would be filled with things my grandparents actually said. There was a lot of research that went into the book, but, many of the sayings are things created in the past 20 years. Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit! Really liked the book and bought for my grand daughter who is always saying, ' Well, butter my butt, and, call me a biscuit'. Book Synopsis Theyre called colloquialisms, idioms, of just good old fashioned. What interests us here are the expressions that allow for wider substitutions, such that a basic pattern exists and the speaker can alter them on the fly for the level of force and humor desired. Butter My Butt and Call Me a Biscuit - by Allan Zullo & Gene Cheek (Paperback). Regardless, the point will be similar to “Even a broken watch is right twice a day.” Others, like “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while,” and “Even a blind mule doesn’t trip over the same rock twice” have a bit of flexibility in them, such that other animals can be substituted for the usual ones, or they’ll overcome a different kind of obstacle. Some, like “bless her heart,” sound benign but have a darker edge to them (she’s an idiot, but lovably so). Southern dialect abounds with colorful expressions, most rooted in rural life and relationships.
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