Dot and carry
Some of the expressions I use are rather archaic, I fear. My son once asked me why I used ‘half a dozen’ or ‘a dozen’ to enumerate how many I needed of a certain item. Although British children post-1971 were educated in decimal currency and metric measures, we still hear Imperial System terms used to describe people’s height and weight.
Another thing we say is, ’Steady the Buffs.’ It means, ‘Calm down,’ and originated in the Royal East Kent Buffs, which was one of the oldest regiments in the British Army. It was used to encourage soldiers under pressure to maintain their discipline and self-control. My Kentish mother-in-law often quoted it, and it is one of our family expressions.
Speaking to someone the other day, I said my current method of going upstairs was ‘dot and carry.’ She looked puzzled, so I explained what I meant. It described how I put my left foot on the stair and brought my right up to meet it, and then proceeded in that way to the top of the stairs. Slow but sure!
However, (favourite word of mine!) it was used in times past to describe a limping person. Sometimes, the person might have one leg longer than the other, or he or she might have a wooden leg. The ‘dot’ was the sound of the artificial limb hitting the ground and the ‘carry’ was the movement of the other leg.
Are there
things you say that cause bewilderment?
Too many of them to mention - especially as I live in the states now lol. I think one I get the most quizzical looks from is when I say I was on the drag, meaning running a bit late. Garage is one - I say Garridge rather than Ga-raaage. I did stop saying things like they driv the car instead of they drove the car. Do people not use half a dozen or dozen anymore? Yikes. I feel quite old lol.
ReplyDeleteIt's only when someone pulls me up on something that I realise I'm behind the times - a long way behind.
Delete‘Dozen’ is common here still. Things are still sold by the dozen of half, maybe mainly baked goods if I think about it. I don’t know about the dot and carry, but it is somewhat descriptive of how I get around.
ReplyDeleteI'd hate to see 'dozen' leave the language. I expect people felt the same about 'thee' and 'thou.' 😁
DeleteDozen and half dozen are still used here especially in reference to eggs. I've never heard "dot and carry" so thanks for the explanation, it's how the twin grand daughters get up and down the steps from the backyard onto the porch. I probably say things that would need explaining to those from other countries, but here in Australia everyone raised here would know what I mean.
ReplyDeleteWe may all be English-speaking countries, but differences are bound to arise. They make life interesting.
DeleteWhen the younger generations use English that I don't use myself, I politely say "sorry luv, I don't know what that means". A can is fake English for a tin, vacation is fake for holiday, supper is not dinner, and thongs are shoes and not undies.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about can and vacation, but we have supper, though our children variously have dinner or tea, and thongs are definitely not worn on the feet.
DeleteLove that saying Jan, I say the 'bees knees' when someone thinks they are they are the best!
ReplyDeleteI love that expression, as well as 'mind your beeswax.'
DeleteIs that a new header photo? Nice.
ReplyDeleteI use dozen or half dozen. I didn't know I was archaic. Well, I suppose I am. The measure may be based on similar to 12 pence in a shilling but I don't see it as being metric or non metric. It is just a quantity of whatever. I think many people here still use dozen and half dozen, the most common measure of the number of hot cross buns.
I still think in Imperial measures but do use decimal as well.
DeleteLots of old nautical terms in englishm since we have always been a nautical nation. All men to the pumps, when every ones efforts are needed or clear the decks for action when preparing for something.
ReplyDeleteWe are affected by being an island nation, much more than we realise.
DeleteI have never heard that term 'dot and carry'. But it describes my way of navigating stairs very well.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one!
ReplyDeleteFascinating. One that springs to mind for me is ' withyshinds' (sp) meaning to go anti-clockwise - apparently it was considered bad luck to walk withyshinds around the outside of a church.
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
I'm sure I answered your comment, but it's disappeared!
DeleteIt's unlucky to turn widdershins (as I know the expression) anywhere, I think.
Dot and carry is a new one for me too.
ReplyDeleteI m sure that I use many archaic terms but just now I can't remember a single one!!! Oh, except for being in a right two and eight.
Is that Cockney slang?
DeleteHmm, 3 sheets to the wind (nautical) to describe someone who is drunk, Bang a uey (Boston for making a U-turn or turning around to go back the way you came) All set (Boston. I'm good or I'm all done with a task), Nosuh (Boston. No way!)
ReplyDeleteA couple of those would fox a non-Bostonian. 😎
DeleteAustralians "chuck" a u-ey.
DeleteI was just in London when the English pound changed to "our" pound and suddenly I got the same pound of meat as in Brussels ! I avoided to have to calculate ! the word Dot makes me laugh, because a family had called their hamster "Dot" it was in a plastic ball and ran behind little Golden Retriever puppies ! I had never seen a hamster playing with little puppies ! and the name "Dot" suited it very well !
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have seen a hamster playing with puppies, safe in its little ball.
DeleteDot is a common nickname for someone called Dorothy. My mother-in-law's name was Dorothy.
"I'm only pulling your leg". Meaning: " I am joking". Great post. I love the etymology of our sayings.
ReplyDeleteWhen they're translated into other languages they can become very amusing, as well as incomprehensible.
DeleteMy United States is such a big country that regional slang can puzzle someone from another area. Someone from a state about 1000 mil (sorry, not decimal) from here once told me to "Hang a Ralph" meaning "make a right turn". But speaking of feeling old, my son was trying to explain cash apps to me today. I don't think I've recovered yet.
ReplyDeleteI wonder where 'hang a Ralph' came from - how funny .
DeleteIt’s fascinating how language evolves, yet some phrases stay with us through generations. I can totally relate to using expressions that puzzle others!
ReplyDeleteI wonder which popular modern expressions will survive.
DeleteI was 'dot and carrying' the other week!
ReplyDeleteI'd somehow managed to catch my knee and it was definitely happier when using stairs I walked that way. Thankfully all is well now.
I'd not come across the saying ’steady the buffs’ ... I'll have to keep it in mind when I next get in a 'tis-was'
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
All the best Jan
I'm glad your knee recovered - it's such a bind when they wrench or twist.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of dot and carry but I'm familiar with steady the buffs.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. Kentish antecedents in your family tree, maybe?
ReplyDeleteI'm quite partial to an archaic expression although obviously the ones I am using on a daily basis are Flemish ones! Still, I'm going to adopt "dot and carry" as lately I've been musing the same method of going upstairs! xxx
ReplyDeleteOh, dear, I'm sorry to hear that Ann. Hope it improves soon.
DeleteThese are fun with their origins. This is one I occasionally come out with but don’t know how it came about, an expression from my parents that I picked up apparently. Coming across someone or talking about someone you haven’t seen in a long time - “I haven’t seen them in a donkey’s age.”
ReplyDeleteThese sayings make perfect sense to us, and it's only when someone looks puzzled that we realise that we don't all have the same background experiences.
Delete'Dot and carry' is a new phrase for me but perfectly describes my movement on some mornings.
ReplyDeleteLittle children dot and carry up and down stairs.
DeleteIt's so much fun to learn phrases from other English speaking countries. Alexa just asked what people in Edinburgh say when throwing waste out the window. I sure didn't know.
ReplyDeleteApparently they would yell "Gardyloo" to warn passersby:
That's right! Apparently, it's from the French 'Prenez garde a l'eau!' which literally means 'Beware of the water.'
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