View Full Version : Our Language Is Odd
rrich
9th October 2009, 05:34 AM
Maybe this should be in the JOKES section.
Such a simple expression, "the truck", can mean different things.
In the US, the expression is more like (with emphasis) "THE TRUCK", in families with a pick up truck and another type of vehicle. THE TRUCK is usually the primary vehicle used by the family even when the other vehicles are newer or in better condition.
THE TRUCK remains in this number one status until the youngest child has obtained their first driver license. Usually the youngest child would refuse to accept THE TRUCK as a personal vehicle when Dad gets a new truck. (No self respecting teenager would be seen THE TRUCK.) Dad usually sells THE TRUCK and then purchases a new pick up. This new pick up is immediately elevated in status to "THE TRUCK".
As the children grow and move from the parental nest, the status of THE TRUCK changes. It is now, "Dad can I use THE TRUCK to move into my new apartment?"
Even neighbors and friends refer to the vehicle as THE TRUCK, especially when they do not have a pick up of their own. There are requests by friends and neighbors to borrow THE TRUCK for small moving tasks. ("We just purchased ... and could we use THE TRUCK to bring it home?")
Gingermick
9th October 2009, 08:00 AM
americans and the rest of the english speaking world are the only groups speaking the same language yet separated by it :D
Though a truck here is called a lorry in the UK,
joe greiner
9th October 2009, 08:45 PM
For some strange reason, the swivel at the top of a hefty flagpole is also called a "truck." My dictionary doesn't contain that definition, but indicates "truck" itself as possibly a short form for "truckle." And "truckle" seems to be derived ultimately from Latin trochlea, system of pulleys. Go figure.
IIRC, George Bernard Shaw is the source of "England and America are two countries separated by a common language."
Cheers,
Joe
Gingermick
9th October 2009, 09:05 PM
I would have posted a reference but didn't know it :oops:
.RC.
9th October 2009, 10:29 PM
I consider a truck something that resembles a truck...This does not include utes or things like F150/250/350, landcruisers, patrols, etc etc which are built more for comfort then carrying stuff..
Gingermick
9th October 2009, 10:56 PM
trucks are also the device that you attach skateboard wheels to skateboards with.
Skew ChiDAMN!!
9th October 2009, 11:46 PM
And they're the things that keep railway carriages from falling off the rails. :rolleyes:
acmegridley
10th October 2009, 02:14 AM
The undercarriage of the 747 is referred to as the truck.
Grumpy John
10th October 2009, 06:35 AM
Keep on TRUCKin', I'm still trying to figure that one out :hmm:.
RETIRED
10th October 2009, 08:18 AM
Keep on TRUCKin', I'm still trying to figure that one out :hmm:.Wellllll, you could be run up a flagpole, run over by an 18 wheeler, hit by a lorry, derailed, doing a half wave or flying somewhere. :D
artme
10th October 2009, 11:17 PM
Wellllll, you could be run up a flagpole, run over by an 18 wheeler, hit by a lorry, derailed, doing a half wave or flying somewhere. :D
:woot::woot::clap3: Very Clever.
I have no truck with...... Now where does a saying like that come from?
OK all you dinkum types: How many meanings for the word "blue"???
Black Ned
11th October 2009, 01:56 PM
Blue is also:-
Aussie for red/orange
Sad
Punch-up or fight
Name for a dog
Half of a bruise (blank and blue)
Lack of oxygen (breathing problems)
rrich
11th October 2009, 03:12 PM
I consider a truck something that resembles a truck...This does not include utes or things like F150/250/350, landcruisers, patrols, etc etc which are built more for comfort then carrying stuff..
Ah, another one that I love...
"utes"
It is PRONOUNCEABLE!!!
Not like our term, SUV.
Ashore
11th October 2009, 03:46 PM
Blue is also:-
Aussie for red/orange
Sad
Punch-up or fight
Name for a dog
Half of a bruise (blank and blue)
Lack of oxygen (breathing problems)
People with white hair are normally called blue
A cattle dog is a bluie
Someone who arrives unexpectedly ,( just blue in ):D
rrobor
11th October 2009, 04:34 PM
No sorry Im not having any truck with this.
RETIRED
11th October 2009, 10:36 PM
People with white hair are normally called blue
A cattle dog is a bluie
Someone who arrives unexpectedly ,( just blue in ):DI always thought red hair.
Skew ChiDAMN!!
11th October 2009, 11:10 PM
I always thought red hair.
Ditto. White haired blokes get called 'the young fella' around here. True blue! :;
AlexS
12th October 2009, 06:03 AM
But white haired ladies sometimes get called 'blue-rinsers.'.
arose62
12th October 2009, 12:23 PM
Blue was the stuff my grandma used to make white articles come out of the washing looking really white & bright.
It's also the stuff engineers use for marking out.
And, on weird words, SWMBO was given a stamp yesterday which had something about "moming" (like "a moming with a friend is a thing to warm the heart", or some equally soppy sentiment).
I'm online to go googling for "moming" (thats MOMING) but am curious as to whether anyone knows what it is???
Cheers,
Andrew
Skew ChiDAMN!!
12th October 2009, 04:49 PM
I'm online to go googling for "moming" (thats MOMING) but am curious as to whether anyone knows what it is???
"moRNing" printed with blobby ink?
arose62
12th October 2009, 10:55 PM
Could be - it looked like "MORNING" on the screen as I typed it, and I only found one reference to MOMING - something about tackling people at school?? Canteen mums, I guess...
So, I'll have to review the stamp again, and see if morning makes sense in the context.