Pull a chain

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by Natalie27

That's right Tdol, the lav chain theory works great here ... the end of someone's "crap" or BS, to be exact.

Given the word 'basher', wouldn't the following fit much more neatly? (a) more so than (b), depending on context.

(a) pull (or yank) someone's chain, To take unfair advantage of someone; deceive or manipulate someone.

EX: He is not a basher. He does like to take unfair advantage every once in a while, but don't we all...

(b) pull a chain, to pull out a weapon

EX: He is not a basher. He does like to pull out a weapon every once in a while, but don't we all...

[Francois]

a) was clearly not the intended meaning, given that the speaker stuck up for his mate who had been unfairly attacked out of proportion, following a mild but justified criticism.
As for b), I don't know.

FRC

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by Francois

a) was clearly not the intended meaning, given that the speaker stuck up for his mate who had been unfairly attacked out of proportion, following a mild but justified criticism.
FRC

I have to politely disagree with you there.
Your recent explanation nicely supports a): He doesn't throw physical punches (i.e., He isn't a basher), but on occasion he is known to use words as a weapon (i.e., He does like to pull a chain).

He is not a basher. He does like to pull a chain every once in a while, but don't we all...

When an animal; e.g., a dog, gets out of line, the owner forcefully brings it back in to submission by pulling its chain.

Originally Posted by Casiopea

I have to politely disagree with you there.
Your recent explanation nicely supports a): He doesn't throw physical punches (i.e., He isn't a basher), but on occasion he is known to use words as a weapon (i.e., He does like to pull a chain).


When an animal; e.g., a dog, gets out of line, the owner forcefully brings it back in to submission by pulling its chain.

I don't think, Cas, that's what Francois meant though. The third guy tells the first one to pull the chain which to me means to drop it!...cut it out! - enough is enough! By saying he is not a basher I get the feeling that he usually stays in the backround when people start bickering at each other but when the name calling started he decided to speak up for his buddy.
The dog on the leash idea is a good comparison to me because if the dog strays off and you want him back, you jerk his leash and pull his chain to get him back. That in mind, this would also suggest the same idea, wouldn't it, Cas? ..."get back, behave, cut off that nonsense".
If the guy said "Oh come on, pull the chain, man!"...I think I would probably go by the slang dictionary saying it simply means "to shut up".

What do you think, Cassy?

Originally Posted by Casiopea

I have to politely disagree with you there.
Your recent explanation nicely supports a): He doesn't throw physical punches (i.e., He isn't a basher), but on occasion he is known to use words as a weapon (i.e., He does like to pull a chain).


When an animal; e.g., a dog, gets out of line, the owner forcefully brings it back in to submission by pulling its chain.

Never mind, Cas, you are right . I forgot about the very first sentence that Francois sent to us:
He is not a basher. He does like to pull a chain every once in a while, but don't we all...

That of course wasn't an exclamation...no duuuuh...!

The doggy on a chain idea is good though. Time to tell the person to toe the line!

[Francois]

I have to politely disagree with you there.
Your recent explanation nicely supports a): He doesn't throw physical punches (i.e., He isn't a basher), but on occasion he is known to use words as a weapon (i.e., He does like to pull a chain).

I have a pb with the 'unfair' part in "to take unfair advantage". He doesn't make unfair comments, but he can sometimes put someone in his place when justified, and even then, he doesn't lash out. Besides, it was a forum discussion, so we can rule out physical punches.
To clear things up:
1st guy has a bloated ego (to simplify) and is pretty aggressive
2nd guy is tempered, calm, knowledgeable. He's anywhere near being a basher.
3rd guy (the person I quoted) defended the 2nd one.

My take is that the speaker wanted to say that the 2nd guy doesn't get involved in sterile flames, but he sometimes gives his opinion when someone blow his horn too much. He doesn't mean to hurt anybody's feeling, but well, you know how people react.

FRC

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by Francois

I have a pb with the 'unfair' part in "to take unfair advantage". He doesn't make unfair comments, but he can sometimes put someone in his place when justified, and even then, he doesn't lash out. Besides, it was a forum discussion, so we can rule out physical punches.
To clear things up:
1st guy has a bloated ego (to simplify) and is pretty aggressive
2nd guy is tempered, calm, knowledgeable. He's anywhere near being a basher.
3rd guy (the person I quoted) defended the 2nd one.

My take is that the speaker wanted to say that the 2nd guy doesn't get involved in sterile flames, but he sometimes gives his opinion when someone blow his horn too much. He doesn't mean to hurt anybody's feeling, but well, you know how people react.

FRC

OK. I understand the 'basher' part (i.e., to bash one with words) now that you've mentioned it came from an internet discussion. I feel really confused ... Natalie mentions a third guy, and now you mention it was an internet discussion. Listen, all I have to work from is what was quoted in the first post you made, which was

He is not a basher. He does like to pulll a chain every once in a while, but don't we all...

And I stand by my original post: pull a chain means, yank one's chain, or as you've said, but with much more clarity, put someone in his place.

[Francois]

OK, sorry for failing to give you the full context.

FRC

Originally Posted by Francois

OK, sorry for failing to give you the full context.

FRC

All's well that ends well. We got all tangled up in figuring out the meaning of the phrase rather than dealing with the original question - the etymology of that phrase.
Sooooo, for now we have a chain around dog's neck and possibly a lavatory chain. I think that's good enough. Let's just pull a chain on that one and call it a day!

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by Natalie27

All's well that ends well. We got all tangled up in figuring out the meaning of the phrase rather than dealing with the original question - the etymology of that phrase.
Sooooo, for now we have a chain around dog's neck and possibly a lavatory chain. I think that's good enough. Let's just pull a chain on that one and call it a day!