green cheese

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

The following is a dialogue;

He turned to me.
" You don't think Eugene could win," she said. "Do you?"
Everyone stared at me. Did I? " Does rain fall up?" I said. "Is the moon made of green cheese?"

I have never seen cheese of green colour. I have a feeling it might have a special meaning. My question is: Does 'green cheese' here have a special meaning?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[Casiopea]

"green" meaning, new. Check out these "fun" sites:

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990723a.html

http://www.planetfusion.co.uk/~pignut/cheese.html

[jiang]

Dear Cas,

Sorry our questions keep you busy.

I posted the question but it didn't appear in my profile. So I went to Forum and found your reply.

I have surffed the websites and know the origin of the expression. So 'green' means new or fresh in this expression? Then if I translate the expression from English the translated version should mean " Is the moon made of fresh cheese" instead of " Is the moon made of cheese of green colour'?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Originally Posted by Casiopea

"green" meaning, new. Check out these "fun" sites:

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990723a.html

http://www.planetfusion.co.uk/~pignut/cheese.html

[Casiopea]

"green" works. That's the color of new immature cheese.

Note, that "Eugene could win" is as absurd a notion as "rain fall[ing] up" and "the moon [being] made of green cheese."

The phrase "the moon is made of green cheese" was coined in the sixteenth century, attributed to John Heywood in his Proverbes (1546), in which "green" refers to "new" immature rounded cheeses with a mottled surface and color similar to that of the moon.

Here's a photo (scroll down to where it says "A piece of the moon?"):

http://www.cheesemonthclub.com/pastn...rs/vol6no4.htm

Note, the "green" in that photo is mighty vibrant; there are other green cheeses that are greyish-green in color.

[jiang]

Dear Cas,

Thank you so much for your explanation. Now I see. I didn't expect the question would get interesting answers.

Best wishes,

Jiang

Originally Posted by Casiopea

"green" works. That's the color of new immature cheese.

Note, that "Eugene could win" is as absurd a notion as "rain fall[ing] up" and "the moon [being] made of green cheese."

The phrase "the moon is made of green cheese" was coined in the sixteenth century, attributed to John Heywood in his Proverbes (1546), in which "green" refers to "new" immature rounded cheeses with a mottled surface and color similar to that of the moon.

Here's a photo (scroll down to where it says "A piece of the moon?"):

http://www.cheesemonthclub.com/pastn...rs/vol6no4.htm

Note, the "green" in that photo is mighty vibrant; there are other green cheeses that are greyish-green in color.