Question and Answer (a game)

[Bryan]

IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS - "One stroke of good (or ill) fortune is often followed by many other instances of luck (or misfortune) when you least expect them. The proverb dates back to the eighteenth century. In 1726, English physician John Arbuthnot (1667-1735), published a book entitled 'It Cannot Rain But It Pours.' Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) and Alexander Pope (1688-1744) collaborated on an essay entitled 'It Cannot Rain But It Pours.' The saying has been use ever since." From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996). The saying, in a slightly different form, is the slogan for Morton Salt: ".The company developed a salt that would be free-running even in damp weather. In 1911, a little girl with an umbrella and her now-famous slogan, 'When It Rains It Pours,' were created to promote this new product in a national consumer advertising campaign. The Morton Umbrella Girl and slogan first appeared on the blue package of table salt in 1914. Throughout the years the ageless girl has changed dresses and hairstyles to stay fashionable. She was updated in 1921, 1933, 1941, 1956 and 1968. Together they have symbolized the growth and progress of the company through the years." From http://www.mortonsalt.com/consumer/about_us/history/index.htm

where did wet your whistle come from?

SCUBA diving? I always wet my whistle (safety whistle) when I go diving.

Am I right?

 

[wstein]

nope.....try again

 

[Bryan]

nope.....try again

WET ONE’S WHISTLE
[Q] From David Means, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA: “I got yet another of those e-mail ‘Fun Facts’ pages forwarded to me with a lot of false etymologies. I was able to find refutations for all but one of these on your site. Can you help prove or disprove this one: ‘Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. “Wet your whistle” is the phrase inspired by this practice’. I find this explanation too pat and so immediately distrust it. Can you help?”
[A] You’re right to distrust it. These e-mail pieces are fun to read, but they combine a morsel of truth with a large serving of invention. They lie at one extreme of the spectrum of folk or popular etymology, and they’re a very good illustration of the way that mistaken ideas about words and phrases can disseminate.
You can be sure that no pub cup or mug ever had a whistle fitted to it for this purpose. If you wanted another drink, you went up to the bar and asked for it; if the place was posh enough to have table service, you most certainly wouldn’t blow a whistle to get attention! You sometimes see such mugs today, but they’re the pottery equivalent of your e-mail, a joke on a long-established saying.
In the expression, whistle is just a joking reference to one’s mouth or throat and to the fact that one can’t easily whistle when one’s mouth is dry. It’s a very ancient expression: its first recorded appearance is in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales at the end of the fourteenth century, and it must surely be even older.
You can sometimes see the phrase as whet one’s whistle, as though it is in need of sharpening. It would seem that those who first wrote it that way—more than 300 years ago—were as unsure of the real source of the expression as many of us are today. I shudder to think what the anonymous writer of your e-mail message might make of that version.

What is your favorite sandwich?

 

[offroaddiver]

peanut butter and banana.

favorite supper?

 

[wstein]

depends on my mood, sometimes I want seafood, others italian, and others steak..

fave non-alcoholic beverage

 

[Bryan]

Lemon-Berry Slush from Sonic

Favorite fast food

 

[wstein]

bacon cheese burgers

same ?

 

[Bryan]

also bacon cheese burgers

favorite superbowl snack

 

[wstein]

beer, beer, and some more beer

favorite food for a baseball game?

 

[parrottheaddiver]

peanuts

do you sing during the 7th inning stretch?