al-in-chgo's definitions
by al-in-chgo March 23, 2010
Get the covert mug."Don't spit in the wind" is a commonly euphemized phrase in the USA, out of "Don't piss in the wind," a British nautical phrase with a literal meaning. Both phrases mean "Don't do something self-defeating," in the sense of "If you try to expectorate (urinate), don't do it into (against) the wind or the saliva (urine) will blow back on you in a nasty way."
A futile act is "spitting in the wind." So is a selfless but unheeding act that "boomerangs" or has dire consequences the doer hadn't contemplated, an act that "did more harm than good."
A futile act is "spitting in the wind." So is a selfless but unheeding act that "boomerangs" or has dire consequences the doer hadn't contemplated, an act that "did more harm than good."
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"You don't tug on Superman's cape /
You don't spit in the wind / *or 'into the wind'
You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger /
and you don't mess around with Jim."
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Popular song, "You Don't Mess Around With Jim", ca. 1972,
James (Jim) Croce, singer/songwriter.
Lyrics copyright (c) EMI Music Publishing (as of this date).
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"You don't tug on Superman's cape /
You don't spit in the wind / *or 'into the wind'
You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger /
and you don't mess around with Jim."
.
Popular song, "You Don't Mess Around With Jim", ca. 1972,
James (Jim) Croce, singer/songwriter.
Lyrics copyright (c) EMI Music Publishing (as of this date).
.
by al-in-chgo September 15, 2011
Get the spit in the wind mug.Casual way to say "penis." Not considered as vulgar as "cock," "prick," or "dick," almost cute in fact, but definitely not standard. Originally "pecker" was a Southern (USA) usage, but social mobility and innumerable HBO comic roasts have broadened its range.
"I've got Hubert's pecker in my pocket." Said by 1960s US President Lyndon Baines Johnson of his VP Hubert Humphrey, meaning (metaphorically) that Hubert was his bitch politically.
"I'd rather cut my pecker off." Said by same LBJ when told by his physician he had to stop smoking immediately.
"I'd rather cut my pecker off." Said by same LBJ when told by his physician he had to stop smoking immediately.
by al-in-chgo July 13, 2012
Get the pecker mug.Franticky is a combination of FRANTIC + PANICKY. It describes a situation in which a person is in a desperate hurry to do something, escape from a situation, etc., but whose efforts don't work because the panicked nature of his/her mood makes focus and resolve impossible.
"June, the phone bill is right here under your nose. You'd have found if if you hadn't been blindly riffling through the papers, all franticky."
by al-in-chgo March 5, 2010
Get the franticky mug.(Sometimes called TV Parking.) Not parking for the movies, but the kind of ridiculously easy parking a character in a movie gets when s/he pulls right up to his/her destination, zeroing in on a miraculously wide-open parking spot in what otherwise is an impossibly tight urban area.
During the 1950s and 1960s, in movies and on television, Doris Day got such a rep for manifesting that lucky talent that a spin-off term was coined; see "Doris Day Parking." Generally Ms. Day's roles had her piloting sensible domestic sedans and station wagons, a visual metaphor for her competence, efficiency, self-reliance and ability to live without a man. By way of contrast, the neurotic characters Tony Randall portrayed often struggled with temperamental British roadsters, and Rock Hudson played dissolute types who poured themselves into a taxi -- hungover, drunk, in a hurry, or all three.
Times did change -- a little. On "The Doris Day Show," CBS-TV's' late 1960s career-girl sitcom and vehicle (no pun intended) for Ms. Day, her character drove a 1969 Dodge Charger. A red convertible Charger, on a legal secretary's salary. Modernity notwithstanding, Doris never seemed to have much trouble finding instant parking. In San Francisco. Business-district and high-rise parts of San Francisco. In all fairness, though, the opening credits included a very brief shot of her on the California Avenue cable car.
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During the 1950s and 1960s, in movies and on television, Doris Day got such a rep for manifesting that lucky talent that a spin-off term was coined; see "Doris Day Parking." Generally Ms. Day's roles had her piloting sensible domestic sedans and station wagons, a visual metaphor for her competence, efficiency, self-reliance and ability to live without a man. By way of contrast, the neurotic characters Tony Randall portrayed often struggled with temperamental British roadsters, and Rock Hudson played dissolute types who poured themselves into a taxi -- hungover, drunk, in a hurry, or all three.
Times did change -- a little. On "The Doris Day Show," CBS-TV's' late 1960s career-girl sitcom and vehicle (no pun intended) for Ms. Day, her character drove a 1969 Dodge Charger. A red convertible Charger, on a legal secretary's salary. Modernity notwithstanding, Doris never seemed to have much trouble finding instant parking. In San Francisco. Business-district and high-rise parts of San Francisco. In all fairness, though, the opening credits included a very brief shot of her on the California Avenue cable car.
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In 1985 writer-director-male lead Albert Brooks, playing opposite Julie Hagerty in the film comedy LOST IN AMERICA, saw a movie convention ripe for satire. The lead couple, having had all kinds of bad luck in the Heartland, moves to New York City to find new careers. As the soundtrack blares Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York," their car, shown in exteme high shot, dives (no backing) right into a perfectly sized parking space dead center in front of a white high-rise office building in Midtown Manhattan. This knowing send-up of, and homage to the Movie Parking convention (which fit the plot perfectly) never fails to draw howls from the audience.
"Man, we were so lucky. TV parking in front of the building; the FedEx van had just pulled away."
"You want to see Movie Parking at its finest? Alfred Hitchcock's VERTIGO from 1957. Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara bel Geddes, all drove right up to Jimmy's apartment building, and it seemed to be the same spot perpetually open and waiting for them. Diagonal parking stalls, no less, or as you Midwesterners like to call it, angle parking."
In 1985 writer-director-male lead Albert Brooks, playing opposite Julie Hagerty in the film comedy LOST IN AMERICA, saw a movie convention ripe for satire. The lead couple, having had all kinds of bad luck in the Heartland, moves to New York City to find new careers. As the soundtrack blares Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York," their car, shown in exteme high shot, dives (no backing) right into a perfectly sized parking space dead center in front of a white high-rise office building in Midtown Manhattan. This knowing send-up of, and homage to the Movie Parking convention (which fit the plot perfectly) never fails to draw howls from the audience.
"Man, we were so lucky. TV parking in front of the building; the FedEx van had just pulled away."
"You want to see Movie Parking at its finest? Alfred Hitchcock's VERTIGO from 1957. Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara bel Geddes, all drove right up to Jimmy's apartment building, and it seemed to be the same spot perpetually open and waiting for them. Diagonal parking stalls, no less, or as you Midwesterners like to call it, angle parking."
by al-in-chgo February 25, 2010
Get the Movie Parking mug.Name of the rock-based instrumental tune that opened and closed the syndicated Canadian TV show, THE KIDS IN THE HALL (1990s).
The song was performed by a rock trio called "Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet," which name is, unfortunately, one character too long to fit the 30-character limit for tags. The band (1984-1991) was based in Toronto and one of its members was/is friends with one of the Kids in the Hall. Shadowy Men had a successful career in its relatively brief life and has a reputation as both innovative and influential, in that it fused Punk with Surf styles. The group's bassist, Reid Diamond, died of cancer in 1991.
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See also UrbanDictionary listing: Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet.
The song was performed by a rock trio called "Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet," which name is, unfortunately, one character too long to fit the 30-character limit for tags. The band (1984-1991) was based in Toronto and one of its members was/is friends with one of the Kids in the Hall. Shadowy Men had a successful career in its relatively brief life and has a reputation as both innovative and influential, in that it fused Punk with Surf styles. The group's bassist, Reid Diamond, died of cancer in 1991.
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See also UrbanDictionary listing: Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet.
"Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet" is an unusual name, even for an indie band."
"A lot of their tunes have quirky names, too: consider "Having an Average Weekend," which The Kids In The Hall used as the intro / outro music for their show."
"TMI! Unless I can win a bar bet with it."
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"A lot of their tunes have quirky names, too: consider "Having an Average Weekend," which The Kids In The Hall used as the intro / outro music for their show."
"TMI! Unless I can win a bar bet with it."
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by al-in-chgo March 1, 2010
Get the Having an Average Weekend mug.Typesetter's name for a "regular" (pre-computer-era) slash mark (/) that associates related terms. On computer QWERTY keyboards, commonly found to the right of the key for a period. The virgule key + shift indicates a question mark.
by al-in-chgo March 3, 2010
Get the virgule mug.