Old Sayings I dont understand

[lifesaver]

So you see on old movies and tv documentaries where people say that they would "send for their things," or "send for their family."

Exactly how was that done? I've always wondered. If you send for your things, did you send a letter and say mail it to me at the following address? Did you actually send someone to go get your stuff? And if you could send someone else, why couldnt you just go get it yourself? Would you just tell your family how to get to wherever you were? If it was so dangerous that you had to go it alone, how was it ok for your wife and kids to make the same journey, by themselves.

I've always been confused by that. Can anyone explain this to me?

[LightBulb]

I think "send for my things" was a rich and privileged thing, meaning it would be like some rich lady saying that and then a servant would go back to her home to get her trunk because it would either make her like improper (unladylike) or poor.

"Send for my family" would mean asking someone else to bring your family to you. Like asking someone to send for the doctor, sending for your family would get them brought to wherever you were.

Just my thoughts though.

Does anyone understand "A rolling stone gathers no moss"? I would, but I am not sure - is the moss a good thing or a bad thing? Is it trying to gather moss or not?

[Lil' Hannah]

Bartelby's Dictionary of Cultural Literacy has proverbs and such. A rolling stone gathers no moss just means that people pay a price for being always on the move, in that they have no roots in a specific place.

[LightBulb]

Thanks Hannah!

[citydogisu]

cant find the history of the phrase
"you're shitting me"

[RedRoseSAI]

See, I always thought that gathering moss was a bad thing, and the rolling stone was being productive, not sitting there covered in moss.

Who knows?

[AlphaSigOU]

Originally posted by citydogisu
cant find the history of the phrase
"you're shitting me"

Old Air Force lore states that the the (in)famous expletive expressing disbelief started in a pilot's ready room during the Vietnam War. When they asked for volunteers to fly the "Wild Weasel" air-defense suppression missions, Capt. Jack Donovan stood and said: "You gotta be sh*tting me!" Soon, it became the unofficial motto of the Wild Weasels.

Early Wild Weasel tactics were primitive, and in some cases, suicidal, especially going after the well defended cities of Hanoi and Haiphong. Going after antiaircraft radar, cannon and missile sites is not conducive to a long life! Two Weasel pilots (Leo Thorsness and Merlyn Dethlefsen) earned the Medal of Honor in Vietnam flying Wild Weasel missions.