Seldom-used words - M to A

[oggbashan]

Have you never heard the expression "Liver & lights" ?

Liver and lights were cheap cuts of meat popular with poorer families before the Welfare State. Liver has gone upmarket since then. As for 'lights'? Don't look to closely at cheap cat and dog food.

 

[beachbum1958]

Liver and lights were cheap cuts of meat popular with poorer families before the Welfare State. Liver has gone upmarket since then. As for 'lights'? Don't look to closely at cheap cat and dog food.

Traditionally, a Haggis in Scotland is made with the 'lights' of the sheep, the heart and lungs, which is why the importation of Haggis from Scotland into the USA is banned, due to the strict animal offal regulations imposed after the BSE outbreak. The fact the lungs are used in a traditional Haggis is just one of the many, many reasons I avoid going to Scotland for Burns Night with my relatives; that and the whiskey-fuelled punch-up that normally ensues...

 

[Handley_Page]

Traditionally, a Haggis in Scotland is made with the 'lights' of the sheep, the heart and lungs, which is why the importation of Haggis from Scotland into the USA is banned, due to the strict animal offal regulations imposed after the BSE outbreak. The fact the lungs are used in a traditional Haggis is just one of the many, many reasons I avoid going to Scotland for Burns Night with my relatives; that and the whiskey-fuelled punch-up that normally ensues...

And the Mess Committee might also agree . . .

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, beachbum, and Handley, I am glad to learn in advance of a trip to Scotland what is in Haggis, so that I can avoid it.

light-minded - adj (1575) lacking in seriousness: FRIVILOUS

 

[Handley_Page]

Og, beachbum, and Handley, I am glad to learn in advance of a trip to Scotland what is in Haggis, so that I can avoid it.

light-minded - adj (1575) lacking in seriousness: FRIVILOUS

do you mean frivolous
?

 

[AllardChardon]

Yes, Handley, I was on the phone with a friend, while trying to type. Silly me. Thanks for catching my mistake.

Another in the same vein;

light-headed - adj (1537) 1. mentally disoriented: DIZZY 2. lacking in maturity or seriousness: FRIVOLOUS

 

[Handley_Page]

Yes, Handley, I was on the phone with a friend, while trying to type. Silly me. Thanks for catching my mistake.

Another in the same vein;

light-headed - adj (1537) 1. mentally disoriented: DIZZY 2. lacking in maturity or seriousness: FRIVOLOUS

It's also a polite euphemism for getting slightly intoxicated.

 

[oggbashan]

More light from the Slang Dictionary

light and dark - park (Rhyming Slang)
light blue - gin
light cavalry - body lice
lighten the load - to masturbate
light feeder - a silver spoon (from the reflection off the metal)
light finger - (US) to steal
light food - chewing tobacco
lightfoot - 1. a male homosexual 2. (US Black) 70s-80s a ghetto neophyte - one who does not properly participate in the tougher ghetto world.
light frigate - prostitute 17C - 19C
lighthead - simpleton
light heels - a promiscuous woman; a prostitute 18C - 19C
light horse - 1. a courtesan 17C; 2. a highwayman 18C
light horsemen - Thieves who specialise in stealing from lighters in dock areas. 19C
light housewife - a prostitute 17C - 19C
light infantry - fleas
light in the loafers/light on her feet - (US) an effeminate male homosexual

 

[Handley_Page]

light on her feet - (US) an effeminate male homosexual

When I was growing up, the expression was used in some admiration for a competent female dancer, as seen on the stage or, perhaps, the TV.

 

[AllardChardon]

Handley, I have felt light-headed after a drink or two as well as weak in the knees. But "light on his/her feet" was used for both male and female dancers, when I was growing up. My parents often talked about how light Jackie Gleason was on his feet, regardless of his weight.

Og, I cannot thank you enough for posting from your slang dictionary or express properly how much I enjoy reading those entries and their definitions. The light cavalry and light infantry made me laugh out loud.

light-footed also light-foot - adj (15c) 1. having a light or springy step 2. moving gracefully and nimbly <~ prose>

 

[oggbashan]

When I was growing up, the expression was used in some admiration for a competent female dancer, as seen on the stage or, perhaps, the TV.

It's rarely true.

Don't sit too close to the stage for a ballet. The thudding of the ballerinas' feet can be distracting, particularly when the corps de ballet is in action..

 

[Handley_Page]

It's rarely true.

Don't sit too close to the stage for a ballet. The thudding of the ballerinas' feet can be distracting, particularly when the corps de ballet is in action..

Thank you for that hint, Ogg.

PS. Love this music.

 

[oggbashan]

Thank you for that hint, Ogg.

PS. Love this music.

You can hear the feet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5H4UMbKkgs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVZi_JLbTYw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU3k9kRGCYw

 

[CarlusMagnus]

…The light cavalry and light infantry made me laugh out loud.

If body lice are light cavalry, are hair lice heavy cavalry?

When I was in grade school, the school nurse used to come into every classroom several times a year and check everyone's hair for lice. My third grade teacher used to tell us that the nurse was checking us for passengers.

 

[Handley_Page]

You can hear the feet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5H4UMbKkgs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVZi_JLbTYw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU3k9kRGCYw

I think I prefer the Royal Ballet over Andre Rieu, somehow, even if the clogs are the real thing. Who was the dancer ?

When clogs were worn as a regular thing in Lancashire, they had similar dances and festivals. I doubt they do it these days, though.

 

[oggbashan]

I think I prefer the Royal Ballet over Andre Rieu, somehow, even if the clogs are the real thing. Who was the dancer ?

When clogs were worn as a regular thing in Lancashire, they had similar dances and festivals. I doubt they do it these days, though.

Dancer? Will Tuckett

They still do clogging:

Genuine Lancashire:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxRmIwyrOQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S42qtZloTTI

Elsewhere:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHXfPsQ88bI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtESUuA2gTc

And in America:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmJj6LZogms

 

[Handley_Page]

Oh, but it is nice to see the old traditions upheld.
Loved the flashmob

 

[oggbashan]

You can hear the feet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5H4UMbKkgs

That short extract from La Fille Mal Gardée shows one of ballet's traditional mime gestures - the rotating of hands above the head = "Please Dance" or "Let's Dance".

The Widow Simone expresses reluctance, but the repeated mime request persuades her.

That gesture assumes more significance in Giselle. The two male leads are forced by the Willis to dance until they die of exhaustion (or are saved by the heroine's intervention).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-20nbawHrb4

Meeting with Giselle as a ghost:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql3o-1eSdbQ

This is a useful guide to the gestures:

http://ballet.isport.com/ballet-guides/mime-meanings-in-ballet

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, thank you for posting so many great links. The clog dances are wonderful, but I do prefer the ballet. I took ballet for six years, from age six to twelve, when my breasts became too big to be taken seriously as a ballerina (1964). We spent considerable time learning how to land quietly, I can assure you.

Handley, that was a pretty dance to nice music, thanks for adding it.

Carlus, when my children were in school, I volunteered to check heads for lice. You see, my daughter's hair was down to her waist and she got lice at school without our knowing it. Once we had rid ourselves of the little pests, I wanted to know who had it, and so I volunteered. The first day of school for seven years straight, I was there checking every head. Those with it were sent home and rechecked upon re-entry. It took a couple of years, but the school became lice-free. The funniest part of the job were the mothers of children who were having birthday parties or sleep-overs. They would hunt me down to show me their guest lists and ask me if there was anyone who needed to be removed.

lighterage - noun (15c) 1. the loading, unloading, or transportation of goods by means of a lighter 2. a price paid for lightering

 

[CarlusMagnus]

…from age six to twelve, when my breasts became too big to be taken seriously as a ballerina (1964).

One wonders devil why your breasts wanted to be taken seriously as a ballerina.

 

[Handley_Page]

One wonders devil why your breasts wanted to be taken seriously as a ballerina.

<snigger>

 

[AllardChardon]

Hahahaha, good one, Carlus. Ballerinas and fashion models are usually small breasted, slender women, as I'm sure you've already noticed, and my body just didn't fit that description, after 12 years of age. Imagine Marilyn Monroe in a leotard, tights and tutu, dancing Swan Lake, and you will see my problem. Nowadays, it's not such a deterrent to young ballerinas, as it was back then. I must say, the physical training was the most rigorous of my life and I benefited greatly from the experience, even to the present day. Just so you know, my breasts did find the recognition they deserved, as time went by. hehe

This one goes with my last entry;

lighter(1) - noun (14c) a large usually flat-bottomed barge used especially in loading and unloading ships

 

[Handley_Page]

Hahahaha, good one, Carlus. Ballerinas and fashion models are usually small breasted, slender women, as I'm sure you've already noticed, and my body just didn't fit that description, after 12 years of age.
This one goes with my last entry;

lighter(1) - noun (14c) a large usually flat-bottomed barge used especially in loading and unloading ships

There's a movement in the EU to make sure that the models do NOT look like a starving refugee in future. We've a bit of a way to go first, o' course, but I think it's a good sign.

 

[oggbashan]

...

This one goes with my last entry;

lighter(1) - noun (14c) a large usually flat-bottomed barge used especially in loading and unloading ships

Some of my wife's ancestors were Licensed Watermen on The Thames. Lightermen were a lesser breed until Watermen and Lightermen merged their Guild in 1700.

Ships in the Pool of London used to unload cargo into lighters which were then taken to shore or into a dock by Lightermen on the tillers.

But only Watermen could carry passengers.

http://www.watermenshall.org/

 

[CarlusMagnus]

lighter(1) - noun (14c) a large usually flat-bottomed barge used especially in loading and unloading ships

I had a middle-school principal who would've qualified as a lighter—that is, she was a "flat-bottomed barge."

And there was another teacher, too, who could've qualified (at least where weight and turrets are concerned) as a battleship! Not so sure about her secondary armament…