The phrase comes from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I'm learning English as a foreign language, and I don't know what it means and how to use it. Would you please explain it to me?
Thank you in advance!
Thank you in advance!
(Email Removed) had it ...
Alice in Wonderland is an excellent book, and is very poplar with people here. However, it is not a good place to find standard English words and phrases since the author had a playful streak.
Can we ask you to put your questions in the body of the posting, instead of, or in addition to, the Subject? It makes it easier to scan through posts.
The phrase doesn't really mean anything other than "gosh", or "goodness me". This is obvious from the context and the "Oh" but he could just as well have said "Oh my feet and fingers".
David
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The phrase comes from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I'm learning English as a foreign language, and I don't know what it means and how to use it. Would you please explain it to me? Thank you in advance!
Alice in Wonderland is an excellent book, and is very poplar with people here. However, it is not a good place to find standard English words and phrases since the author had a playful streak.
Can we ask you to put your questions in the body of the posting, instead of, or in addition to, the Subject? It makes it easier to scan through posts.
The phrase doesn't really mean anything other than "gosh", or "goodness me". This is obvious from the context and the "Oh" but he could just as well have said "Oh my feet and fingers".
David
==
The phrase comes from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I'm learning ... you please explain it to me? Thank you in advance!
Alice in Wonderland is an excellent book, and is very poplar with people here. However, it is not a good ... obvious from the context and the "Oh" but he could just as well have said "Oh my feet and fingers".
If it is convenient for you, look for a book called The Annotated Alice . It may be a very great help in understanding word-play in English. Charles Dodgson (who wrote as "Lewis Carroll) filled his books with subtle metaphors and allusions. Some are mathematical, others refer to games such as chess, and others make fun of the language itself. Many of these references are not apparent to ordinary readers today, and the "Annotated" versions of Dodgson help modern readers appreciate Dodgson's subtlety.
It is possible that "my ears and whiskers" echos a now-forgotten catchphrase that was popular in England 150 years ago.
Don
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don (Email Removed) had it ...
Good advice. The book is readable on amazon.com - there doesn't appear to be any annotation relating to the rabbit's various exclamations, which include "Oh my fur and whiskers" and "Oh my dear paws".
David
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If it is convenient for you, look for a book called The Annotated Alice . It may be a ... It is possible that "my ears and whiskers" echos a now-forgotten catchphrase that was popular in England 150 years ago.
Good advice. The book is readable on amazon.com - there doesn't appear to be any annotation relating to the rabbit's various exclamations, which include "Oh my fur and whiskers" and "Oh my dear paws".
David
==
[email protected] had it ...
The phrase comes from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I'm learning ... you please explain it to me? Thank you in advance!
Alice in Wonderland is an excellent book, and is very poplar with people here. However, it is not a good ... context and the "Oh" but he could just as well have said "Oh my feet and fingers". David ==
Thank you.
The phrase doesn't really mean anything other than "gosh", or "goodness me". This is obvious from the context and the "Oh" but he could just as well have said "Oh my feet and fingers".
I think there's a little more to it than that... but only a little.
A dear friend of mine once used the phrase "Oh, my stars and garters!" for a similar purpose. I suspect that "Oh, my s and s!" is a sort of template for a mild, humorous expression of astonishment, with any two nouns that the speaker thinks appropriate. This is very much in the underbrush in English usage; I believe that it would be difficult to find in any book.
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Don Tuite filted:
Forgotten?...surely the reference is to "my stars and garters"..r
"You got Schadenfreude on my Weltanschauung!"
"You got Weltanschauung in my Schadenfreude!"
It is possible that "my ears and whiskers" echos a now-forgotten catchphrase that was popular in England 150 years ago.
Forgotten?...surely the reference is to "my stars and garters"..r
"You got Schadenfreude on my Weltanschauung!"
"You got Weltanschauung in my Schadenfreude!"
Don Tuite filted:
It is possible that "my ears and whiskers" echos a now-forgotten catchphrase that was popular in England 150 years ago.
Forgotten?...surely the reference is to "my stars and garters"..r
What can one say but, "Honi soit qui mal y pense"?
Don
Don Tuite filted:
It is possible that "my ears and whiskers" echos a now-forgotten catchphrase that was popular in England 150 years ago.
Forgotten?...surely the reference is to "my stars and garters"..r
That's always been my guess. That one dates back at least to Arthur Murphy's 1758 The Upholsterer .
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