Friday, October 24, 2008
On the latch
This morning we had a couple of workmen around to do some electrical work (also including some major rock breaking possibly more suited to a chain gang). They arrived bright and early -- early enough that they had to wait around a bit until 8am when they can make their noise. In my sleepy haze, I was not exactly prepared to untangle an unfamiliar British expression, but they threw it at me anyway:

One of them asked, "Can you put the door on the latch?"

It should have been obvious to me from the context (I blame the early hour), but I had trouble figuring out what he was talking about. After all, our front door is set up to lock from the outside. So if I left it latched, they would not be able to get in or out (the latch is disengaged with the key, not with the handle. Maybe there's a way to change this but why bother? I've only been locked out once - just after we moved in - and Mrs Dunce is too clever for that). I tried to explain that the door locks when it's closed, so putting it "on the latch" wouldn't work if they need to get in and out without my intervention. Actually my response turned out to be useful despite my confusion - the worker pulled the handle upwards, engaging the additional locks, so that the door was blocked from fully closing by the locks.

But it was definitely not "on the latch" according to my own US English interpretation ("on the latch" = "latched" in contrast to "open"). But as usual, I was wrong. Instead, "on the latch" seems to be more appropriately contrasted with "locked", as in this quote about east London from a travel guide (describing the stereotypical view of the East End)

Colourful local characters never stop arguing with each other, yet there's a sense of neighbourliness and community, where you can leave your door on the latch and everyone is a member of the pub darts league !

Or a University of Bristol warning:
Please never allow others to tail-gate you into the Units
NEVER leave unit doors on the latch
If on a Ground Floor then ensure your room windows are secured before you go out
Do not leave your room door ajar or unlocked - if found it will be shut
CONTACT HALL STAFF AT ONCE IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE FOUND AN INTRUDER.


So leaving something on the latch just means "shut but not locked". Not to be confused with "going for a slash" (see previous post) or "going on the lash" (a night out, including excessive alcohol consumption).

language
Friday, October 24, 2008 11:50:43 AM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Disclaimer  |   | 
 Monday, October 13, 2008
Going for a slash
There's no shortage of terms or phrases to refer to urination, and one of my favorites (if not really in my vocabulary) is the UK English term "slash", as in "going for a slash". Although I have not done any formal research on the use of this term, or even informal research beyond a bit of web searching (not even consulted any informants!), I consider myself an expert on the topic. The OED straightforwardly defines it as "an act of urination", with the earliest example from 1950. Although I have only heard this particular sense of "slash" used as a noun (the first time I heard the term was in an Attila the Stockbroker poem, which contained plenty more nearly incomprehensible British informal expressions), the OED also has a verb listing (as derived from the noun), with one classy example from Martin Amis (IF YOU ARE MY MOTHER, PLEASE SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH NOW!): (If you can slash in my bed (I thought) don't tell me you can't suck my cock.)

Like many other slang terms, the OED doesn't have a clear etymology of this sense of "slash": Of obscure origin, cf. Scots "slash" a large splash of liquid. To me this term has further connotations, of urination in a particularly informal manner (if urination can ever be said to be a formal act) and perhaps occurring in nonstandard venues - maybe referring to the temporary creation of visual art on, perhaps, the wall of a school, a snowbank, or the Bank of England. Often resembling a slash, at least when a male is doing it (I am not certain whether "slash" also refers to female urination - I have only heard it used to refer to the male act, but of course this may simply be for the sake of propriety ["powdering one's nose" etc]).

My own personal vocabulary in this domain has evolved over the years. The earliest I can remember, my own preferred terminology was "potty" (like so many other midwestern American children), although I am sure I used plenty of other terms earlier on. However, upon starting elementary school, social pressure quickly led to a few alterations. First of all, I was informed by a slightly older child that the semantic domain was divided into two primary terms, and I should adjust my behavior suitably. The term "potty" is fine, but refers to a clear liquid. For anything yellow, the term "pee" is more correct. Now I was convinced of the correctness of this so I mentally adjusted my term appropriately. However, I was also keenly aware that the Dunce home was not a place where one could freely experiment with terminology referring to taboo subjects (see the warning above). Fortunately, the phrase "going to the bathroom" served as a reasonable alternative (particularly appropriate if (a) one was unsure whether the term "pee" was worthy of having one's mouth washed out with soap, (b) one was not sure whether one's output would be transparent or colored, or (c) one might be intending to perform other activities not limited to urination).

At a certain point, however, "going to the bathroom" was deemed inappropriate, as a babyish term, and anyway inappropriate in a school context where in fact there were no opportunities for bathing ("Swirlies" do not count, nor do those unfortunate occasions where one enters a school restroom and finds oneself in the firing line [as it were] where young gentlemen are stepping backwards to see how far they can get before their urinal targeting abilities are exhausted). So "(going to/using) the restroom" became the more appropriate replacement, suitable for so many occasions. This same time also saw a massive boom in the popularity of swearing (outside the home only! Mmmmmmm soap) among a certain young gentleman's peer group, so of course the term "piss" also came into play (OED goes crazy with details of "piss". Although Now chiefly coarse slang lest I be tempted to call on the authority of the OED to justify my own usage). And about the same time I became very fond of (supposedly) comedic expressions ("bleed the lizard" and so on). Carefully restricting these uses to interactions with my peers (and occasionally teachers, with unpleasant consequences), and using more socially appropriate terms elsewhere.

I suppose the same is true today (with the exception that I no longer fear corporal punishment from teachers, and that I have discovered that most circumstances allow one to excuse oneself without announcing one's destination). But on those occasions where the specific destination must be mentioned (for example, asking where the appropriate facilities are located), I have been forced once again to adjust my terminology. "Restroom" just doesn't fly in the UK, and "bathroom" is the place where a bath is. Most appropriate terms appear to be "toilet" (hopelessly coarse in my brand of US English, at least to my ear) and "loo", although supposedly "WC" is also a contender. I usually find myself asking for the toilet - perhaps because my US pronunciation makes the word "loo" sound wrong (I only tried it a few times, but a few quizzical expressions led me to pick another term. Although really, what else could I have been asking for?). But if I'm going for a slash, I don't ask anyone where I ought to do it.

language | vulgar
Monday, October 13, 2008 4:42:38 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)  #    Disclaimer  |   |