Post AYlp9aa7JDRlrfFZqa by grammargirl@zirk.us
(DIR) More posts by grammargirl@zirk.us
(DIR) Post #AYlp9aa7JDRlrfFZqa by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-08-15T23:38:42Z
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Do any of you know of casual phrases using the word "house" to mean "attention"?As in "Did he give you any house?" to mean "Did he pay you some attention."If you listen to my podcast, you know I play a voicemail with a listener's familect story at the end. I got an interesting call today about a woman who used "house" that way. The caller thinks it may have been a general saying from the 1930s or 1940s instead of something only her mother said, but I can't find anything about it.
(DIR) Post #AYlpMByw56M9KnrvSi by queenofnewyork@newsie.social
2023-08-15T23:40:56Z
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@grammargirl Hm interesting! Never heard this one before!
(DIR) Post #AYlpONHN36Jix4X3RI by tantramar@nojack.easydns.ca
2023-08-15T23:41:23Z
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@grammargirl this is the first I’ve heard of this. fascinating!
(DIR) Post #AYlphClANsYtpQRpOy by KevinMarks@xoxo.zone
2023-08-15T23:44:47Z
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@grammargirl any relation to the theatrical use of "house" meaning audience? As in "counting the house" or "full house tonight"
(DIR) Post #AYlpw1XSO0eJN26M7c by Tooden@aus.social
2023-08-15T23:47:25Z
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@grammargirl It must have been very localised, because I've never heard it used that way. I've heard of giving someone 'house room' - meaning being welcoming.
(DIR) Post #AYlpwNLVJ89z0Kg7Xs by riffle@mastodon.social
2023-08-15T23:47:29Z
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@grammargirl Can't immediately recall one but my mind lept to "nous" which I have heard used that way incorrectly.
(DIR) Post #AYlpxGNAidArfQsjHU by jjdavis@infosec.exchange
2023-08-15T23:47:43Z
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@grammargirl Hmm, I've heard a fair amount of second-hand '40s slang (from the #swingdancing world) but not that one.
(DIR) Post #AYlqIG9Mk3kx3eR5Wa by EllenInEdmonton@mstdn.ca
2023-08-15T23:51:27Z
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@grammargirl There are so many odd language variants. My in-laws would "off the lights" or "gas the car" and their bedroom cabinets were called chiffoniers.
(DIR) Post #AYlqnYIfJJuQKHhuMK by macgnys@mastodon.social
2023-08-15T23:57:03Z
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@grammargirl I’ve never heard this use. Is it at all related to ‘have no truck with’?
(DIR) Post #AYlsQ9tW5GIpshuuDA by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-08-16T00:15:21Z
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@macgnys I don't think it's related to "have truck with," but now I'm wondering where that comes from too!
(DIR) Post #AYlsTmccYJTkrSk5c8 by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-08-16T00:15:57Z
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@EllenInEdmonton I've never head of bedroom cabinets being called "chiffoniers"!
(DIR) Post #AYlsZ81CQcoWfXmtNY by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-08-16T00:16:56Z
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@KevinMarks Possibly. That's definitely one theory. Someone else said someone who gets a lot of applause can be described as "getting house."
(DIR) Post #AYlsh7eJgVDxqCtcZc by bioluminescently@disabled.social
2023-08-16T00:18:22Z
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@grammargirl I've never heard of it with just "house" alone, but I wonder if it's related to a phrasing I do know: I've heard people talking about "giving house-room to" something, in the sense of accepting an idea or argument as valid or worthy of consideration, in the way that you'd welcome a guest into your home.
(DIR) Post #AYlt4LX0EmzrYWY760 by Artemis201@mstdn.social
2023-08-16T00:22:35Z
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@grammargirl I've only ever heard "house" used for slang to mean impressive, competent, overwhelming, capable.As in "when it came to football, the sports team was an absolute house"
(DIR) Post #AYlteeNxcEGiSKdB1E by jmccyoung@mstdn.social
2023-08-16T00:29:00Z
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@grammargirl Not in my idiolect nor my parents' (born mid-'20s, grew up PA/MD and Bronx).
(DIR) Post #AYlu7UaB8qRMS06BIe by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-08-16T00:34:19Z
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@colorblindcowboy A couple of people have mentioned not giving someone house room, and I can imagine an extension of that leading to a positive use of "house" for attention. Free Dictionary labels it as "old fashioned" and "British." https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/not+give+someone+house+room
(DIR) Post #AYlu9Br9jhPSx3qiq8 by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-08-16T00:34:41Z
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@colorblindcowboy We were writing at the same time! :)
(DIR) Post #AYluEHrQq5ON1QPP8q by EllenInEdmonton@mstdn.ca
2023-08-16T00:35:34Z
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@grammargirl I know, so fancy! And they were Germans from Russia who grew up on farms and had a 6th grade education. No idea how that word appeared in their lexicons!
(DIR) Post #AYlujCAU3R5MLM3fqS by lauxmyth@mastodon.online
2023-08-16T00:37:57Z
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@EllenInEdmonton @grammargirl I recall ‘chifferobes’ from To Kill a Mockingbird. Also a cabinet but as I recall much bigger. Could one be misheard to become the other within this one family? The podcast had a name for these but it eludes me right now.
(DIR) Post #AYlujCzsyKCaum6ixs by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-08-16T00:41:09Z
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@lauxmyth @EllenInEdmonton Maybe you're thinking of a mondegreen?
(DIR) Post #AYlv5Iy9RsqRo7pgSu by macgnys@mastodon.social
2023-08-16T00:45:10Z
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@grammargirl You’re welcome.
(DIR) Post #AYm15TA09qUV8ipxPU by lauxmyth@mastodon.online
2023-08-16T01:52:26Z
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@grammargirl @EllenInEdmonton No. I know those. I also just heard of eggcorns. Also fun.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F12LSAbos7ABack on topic, I ran to wikipedia."The term itself is a portmanteau of the words chiffonier and wardrobe."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chifforobe