Speaking only for myself, I'm finding the Norm and Gary thread fascinating, if only for the dialect. Hi, Norm, I'll be over to invite you as a friend in a minute. Anyone who calls his wife or sweetheart 'she who must be obeyed' is a friend of mine, lol Where is Bob? Haven't seen him since the 12Daily disaster. He's Canadian by the way, Gary. Cheri

Thanks Linda, I searched high and low for that thread and was unable to find it. Was it archived or something? Gary

Howdy Cheri, ================ "Speaking only for myself, I'm finding the Norm and Gary thread fascinating, if only for the dialect." ================ Jeez. And we haven't even said "streuth" yet - LOL. It's interesting - the things we all say over here as common everyday (I was gonna say "lingo") language seems so fascinating to people from other countries. Yeah Cheri - Let's start a WHERE IS BOB? search - he is one funny guy. And I know he is Maple Leafer but he seems to have a very good grasp of French. Now I find that to be a very poetic language - and Italian too. As I type this I am listening to Patricio Buenne's CD called "The Italian." Now THAT is my style of music - so relaxing. Anyway - Norm - back to you - now that Linda has kindly found the MLM thread - have a read - "knock yourself out." There's a lot of diverse opinion there, some madness from me and a heap of good advice to balance out the newbie "rabid glazed-eyed, permanent fixed smile, MLM afficionados." Cop you all later. (No - it's not rude! Just say it slowly.) Gary

Dear all, Being a language lover, my time in Oz was truly amazing - close to 20 years on and off. One of my dearest possessions is called 'A Dinkum Aussie Dictionary' and I have been laughing my way through this for the past 30 years or more. When I feel down - I always turn to it for a memory and a smile - how many Dictionaries do YOU know that can do this? I always loved the expressions (often crude - but always to the point). This is one of my favorites - and seriously there are people who talk like this over there. Quote: 'Cripes, mate, my luck is so crook that if it was raining mansions, I'd get hit by the dunny door!' Rough translation - 'things couldn't get much worse' If things are 'crook' - they are 'bad' - and the 'dunny' is the toilet. Hope that explains things? Wonderful stuff. "she who must be obeyed" is a line by John Mortimer who introduced us all to a wonderful comic character called Rumpole of the Bailey. A London barrister who has a penchant for small cigars and quoting Wordsworth. He also lives under the tyranny of a despairing wife (Hilda)-who he always referred to in this manner.as Incidentally played on English TV by a great Australian actor called Leo McKern, regrettably no longer with us. Being one who is almost always in the deep and dark with the Boss (only the depth varies)- the expression is apposite! For Americans who like ironic and humorous writings - may I recommend your own brilliant H R Mencken? Here endeth today's lesson. Does anyone else REALLY find this interesting? Norm

Ah, Norm, would that you had been with us for our Word Games, which died an unfortunate death last fall. May it rest in peace. Thanks for your reply to my friends invitation. More mischief than you can 'poke a stick at', huh? In our deep South, which is where I grew up (Texas), we say more than you can 'shake a stick at'. Now, why anyone would want to poke or shake a stick at anything, I wouldn't know. But I got your drift, lol. You guys gab away...it's a hoot. (American expression for 'quite humourous') Cheri PS, Gary I've sent Bob a PM that we miss him and want him to come out and play again.