At which point, a high, clear voice perked up from the small child in the passenger seat whose head barely peeked above the windowsill (No, Auntie didn't believe in car seats, either.) "New word, auntie?"
...such trouble, such danger, such a bright and precocious little pitcher, ready to parrot anything her favorite Auntie may say!
"COW!"
"Cow, Auntie?" Somebody was puzzled.
"Yes, cow. It's a very British insult." Auntie nodded firmly, with a grave dignity.
"Cow!"
... so now, I have learned another New Word. Well, it was actually a phrase, muttered with all the force of a swear.
"Damnyankee weather!"
As in, "When's this damnyankee weather going back north where it belongs?"
It boggles my mind that I live in a place where one expects to simply be able to wait out winter by staying home for a day or two, instead of learning to cope, or dress for it, or drive in it... and it's true, they don't need to. Snow is gone within four days for a historic cold! Culture shock all over again, I tell you. And New Word.
We've been having some of that damnyankee weather up here. Even we Yankees aren't in love with it!
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, in Fairbanks, a recently-interviewed fella (standing outside in a T-shirt at -15°) said, "What a bunch of wimps: it'll be gone in two days. They should try it here, where anything above -20 is a bonus."
ReplyDeleteCertainly puts things in perspective. But yeah, the really cold snaps down there don't usually last that long. Comes as a shock to long-time Alaskans, I guess. :)
Meanwhile, in Fairbanks, a recently-interviewed fella (standing outside in a T-shirt at -15°) said, "What a bunch of wimps: it'll be gone in two days. They should try it here, where anything above -20 is a bonus."
ReplyDeleteCertainly puts things in perspective. But yeah, the really cold snaps down there don't usually last that long. Comes as a shock to long-time Alaskans, I guess. :)
I've been looked at as odd because I wear a sweatshirt until December and go to tee shirts in March. The white death was upon us over the weekend, and we were in full french toast alert for what we would have called back home "Thursday".
ReplyDeleteI've heard damyankee a few times before, including being directed at me on a few occasions.
LOL, Wing I was TEN before I ever saw snow... No, Southerners don't DO cold weather... :-)
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I would call it damnyankee weather. Yankee weather, I think. After all, it went away.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I would call it damnyankee weather. Yankee weather, I think. After all, it went away.
Reminds me of a joke I heard: Yankees are like hemorrhoids. If they come down and then go back up, they're OK. If they come down and stay, they're a pain in the ###.
And Dad's from south Georgia. He used to joke that he was 12 years old before he realized "damnyankee" was two words.