About idioms ... (not necessarily only of Japan)

[astaroth]

I've been stuck with work. Sorry I'm replying only today ...

Aww pooh, I thought this thread was about idioms, but it's more on phonetics and linguistics ...

You're right but I didn't know what title to write ...

Childish terms for "mommy" and "daddy" in Japanese are typically かか and とと.

I see ... that's interesting.
By the way I was watching a dorama (Galileo) yesterday, and I was surprised a girl -- teenager maybe -- was referring to her own mother as お母さん when talking to out-of-her-group people (among which also a police detective). I always thought the term shouldn't be used in those situations ... what kind of nuance arises in these cases?

Childish terms for "mommy" and "daddy" in Japanese are typically かか and とと.

Those terms are awfully old-fashioned though. These days little kids say ママ and パパ or 父ちゃん and 母ちゃん .

Thanks Becki. I indeed heard a couple of times (in doramas of course) ママ and パパ being used ...
Is it 母ちゃん pronounced かあちゃん? same for 父ちゃん, とうちゃん ...

Most Americans will have no idea what is meant by "there's a bit of Barney round the pub" unless they lived in England or watch a *lot* of British TV. ....

Now that one I understand. It would be the same as a "donnybrook round the local".

えぇ〜　what are you guys talking about?

I'd love to try some barley tea. I had some barley coffee at my grandma's, since she prefers it over "real coffee", though that's quite surprising to me as barley coffee is always associated with the War in Italy ...

[chikara]

......

Most Americans will have no idea what is meant by "there's a bit of Barney round the pub" unless they lived in England or watch a *lot* of British TV. ....

Now that one I understand. It would be the same as a "donnybrook round the local".

えぇ〜　what are you guys talking about?

....

The term "barney" means a noisy argument or a fight and is used in parts of the UK and Australia. The term "donnybrook" also means a fight and is of Irish origin (Donnybrook is part of Dublin) and is used in Australia by older Australians of Irish decent. My father used to use this term. "Round" in this conext is "at". I assume you know what an "English" Pub is. "The local" is the local pub.

[AJBryant]

The term "barney" means a noisy argument or a fight and is used in parts of the UK and Australia.

Yup. I love that Cockney rhyming slang.

So many words we use... er, Brits and Strine-folk use... come from there.

Barney (as above) <-- Barney Rubble = Trouble
Cobblers ("ow, my cobblers!") <-- Cobbler's awls = balls
Butchers ("I'll go have a butcher's") <-- butcher's hook = look
Porkies ("Don't be giving me those porkies!") <-- porkpies = lies
China ("Bob's my China") <-- china plate = mate
Berk ("That guy is a real berk") <-- Berkshire Hunt = a nasty word for a woman
Trouble and Strife = Wife

[Infidel]

The term "barney" means a noisy argument or a fight and is used in parts of the UK and Australia.

Yup. I love that Cockney rhyming slang.

So many words we use... er, Brits and Strine-folk use... come from there.

Barney (as above) <-- Barney Rubble = Trouble
Cobblers ("ow, my cobblers!") <-- Cobbler's awls = balls
Butchers ("I'll go have a butcher's") <-- butcher's hook = look
Porkies ("Don't be giving me those porkies!") <-- porkpies = lies
China ("Bob's my China") <-- china plate = mate
Berk ("That guy is a real berk") <-- Berkshire Hunt = a nasty word for a woman
Trouble and Strife = Wife

Too funny.

Barney = Noisy Purple Dinosaur
Cobbler = Shoe guy, or a nice dessert. I like peach cobbler myself.
Butchers = I heard in the old days people went to the butcher for meat. Nowadays it's all in nice shrink-wrapped packages at the local grocery.
Porkies = High school comedy movie.

[tōkai devotee]

Butchers ("I'll go have a butcher's") <-- butcher's hook = look

That's funny. I'm Aussie and I always thought a Butcher was a small glass of beer. Maybe that's just an Adelaide idiom. /??
And Captain Cook is rhyming slang for 'a look'. i.e. "Have a Captain Cook at that" = "Look at that!"

[two_heads_talking]

Butchers ("I'll go have a butcher's") <-- butcher's hook = look

That's funny. I'm Aussie and I always thought a Butcher was a small glass of beer. Maybe that's just an Adelaide idiom. /??
And Captain Cook is rhyming slang for 'a look'. i.e. "Have a Captain Cook at that" = "Look at that!"

go figure, the Aussies would make up a term that is actually longer to say that the original term.. lol

[furrykef]

Well, we invented the World Wide Web... and dubbed it double-you-double-you-double-you.

(Except we didn't invent it. It was invented by an Englishman.)

[chikara]

Butchers ("I'll go have a butcher's") <-- butcher's hook = look

That's funny. I'm Aussie and I always thought a Butcher was a small glass of beer. Maybe that's just an Adelaide idiom. /??
And Captain Cook is rhyming slang for 'a look'. i.e. "Have a Captain Cook at that" = "Look at that!"

A Butcher is a beer glass in South Australia only. It is bigger than a Pony and smaller than a Schooner which in turn is smaller than a Pint. A Pint glass in South Oz does not hold a pint but is the same size as a Schooner in NSW. If you want a pint of beer you have to ask for an Imperial Pint. Ordering a glass of beer across Australia can be very confusing.

To me "to have a butcher's" is to have a look but maybe that is an older (Baby Boomer) person's thing

[tōkai devotee]

To me "to have a butcher's" is to have a look but maybe that is an older (Baby Boomer) person's thing

Chikara-san, you don't sound that old!

[chikara]

Chikara-san, you don't sound that old!

Some days I certainly feel it, especially in winter. Thankfully Spring weather by the end of the week.

I had to learn all the strange SA beer glass sizes when I first started drinking in pubs back in the 70's. Nowadays I believe that beer glass sizes have been standardised so having that knowledge kind of dates me

[two_heads_talking]

Well, we invented the World Wide Web... and dubbed it double-you-double-you-double-you.

(Except we didn't invent it. It was invented by an Englishman.)

No! John Kerry invented the internet..