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Author Topic: Fri., 11/6 Victor Barocas  (Read 4643 times)

magus

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Fri., 11/6 Victor Barocas
« on: November 06, 2015, 09:06:45 AM »
THEME:   synonyms of "list" are arranged alphabetically, and when unscrambled are first words of common phrases
   
GOOD ONES:     
ILST {& theme}   ALPHABETIZED LIST [the word is alphabetized: I L S T]   
More pinlike?   NEATER ["neat as a pin"]   
Genesis creator   SEGA [the game not the book]   
Long time ending?   NO SEE ["long time, no see"]   
Zipper opening?   ZEE   
   
BTW:   
Wax on an envelope, say   SEALER [can't remember when I received a letter sealed by wax: maybe it was some new car announcement --- and was I impressed!]   
   
Is down with   HAS [as in "is down with the flu" --- and I'm down with this clue.]   
   
   
RATING: ;D ;D   
Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun   

Thomps2525

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Re: Fri., 11/6 Victor Barocas
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2015, 03:53:47 PM »
What is so "neat" about a pin? What is the origin of the phrase "as neat as a pin"? Well, I found the answers. Actually, I found four answers:

1. "Neat" derived from a word which also meant "shiny."

2. The phrase uses the original 16th-century of definition of "neat" as "clean; free from dirt." But who would ever describe a pin as "neat"?

3. The phrase references the well-made mass-produced pins of the early 1800s in contrast to the earlier hand-made, and often irregular, pins of previous years.

4. The 1898 Dictionary Of Phrase & Fable lists a variant of the phrase: "Neat as a Pin, or Neat as a New Pin. Very prim and tidy." The phrase may have originally been "as neat as a new pin" and became shortened in the same way that "Happy as a clam at high tide" became shortened to "Happy as a clam" (which makes no sense) and "The proof of the pudding is in the eating" became shortened to "The proof is in the pudding" (which makes no sense).

So I found four different origins of the phrase.....and I can't pin it down any further. (Today's bad pun. :) )

 


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