Needful Things

[Miner49'er]

The title of one of Stephen King's mystery-novells is "Needful things"

I have read the book and seen the movie but the items for sale in the little shop were, in my eyes, more antiques than they were needful.

Is there another enterpretation for "needful things" than the obvious one?

[BobK]

No. It's possible - though I haven't read the novels - that the shop-keeper or the clientele may regard the knick-knacks as essential. Or they [the novels] might be about what is really essential - as opposed to the stuff available in the shop.

b

[Miner49'er]

might be about what is really essential - as opposed to the stuff available in the shop

.

I'll quickly browse through the movie again this afternoon, keeping in mind what you wrote. (It has been a while since I watched it)
I'll keep you informed

[Miner49'er]

Well, it's not so simple to explain.

I now know what the meaning is but it is difficult for me to explain it in English, I'll do the best I can.

The "Needful things" in the movie are not the necessary, required or indispensable things that one need to do a job, but things the people in that town tought they couldn't do without.

In Flemish "Hebbedingen" in English "Thingummies". I found that English word in an old dictionary, never heard it before. Do you ?

[BobK]

"Thingummies" - yes, I've heard it; but more often I've heard an extended version: thingummyjig (various spellings, as you'd expect of such an informal word - I've also seen thingamajig.

b

[RonBee]

Thingamajigs are pretty handy. It's always good to have one around.

[Miner49'er]

thing-a-ma-jigalso thing-um-a-jig (thing-m-jig)n. Informal. Something difficult to classify or whose name has been forgotten or is not known.[Alteration of obsolete thingum ( from THING) + JIG.]

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Excerpted from American Heritage Talking Dictionary
Copyright © 1997 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
__________________________________________________ ______

How for Christ's sake can one have something like that around???

Now I'm totaly lost

[Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim]

Originally Posted by Miner49'er

Well, it's not so simple to explain.

I now know what the meaning is but it is difficult for me to explain it in English, I'll do the best I can.

The "Needful things" in the movie are not the necessary, required or indispensable things that one need to do a job, but things the people in that town tought they couldn't do without.

In Flemish "Hebbedingen" in English "Thingummies". I found that English word in an old dictionary, never heard it before. Do you ?

This is playing on words: Perhaps in addition to those things which people thought they couldn't do without it means what people need to do in order to pay the full price for what they wanted to have since they couldn't afford them. What is needful or still due. BTW one of masterpieces. People become possessive the moment the shop owner turns up in the little town. He always offers people exactly what they have always longed for and what is otherwise not attainable or affordable. What is Steven King's message?

[Miner49'er]

Whenever someone offers you a deal that is too good to be true there's certainly a catch to it.

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by Miner49'er

thing-a-ma-jigalso thing-um-a-jig (thing-m-jig)n. Informal. Something difficult to classify or whose name has been forgotten or is not known.[Alteration of obsolete thingum ( from THING) + JIG.]

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from American Heritage Talking Dictionary
Copyright © 1997 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
__________________________________________________ ______

How for Christ's sake can one have something like that around???

Now I'm totaly lost

How can one not have one? In fact, I always have two.

BTW, here's something you dropped---> l

~R