with the strength of a Dyson

[blueeye]

Please, help me with the following sentence:


On discovering there was absolutely no possibility for Lou to cancel or rearrange the conference call, a seemingly genuinely disappointed Alfred had given Lou his best puppy eyes and gone into damage-limitation mode, sucking up any hint of involvement in the cock-up with all the strength of a Dyson, and worked on the best methods to approach the deal.

Thank you very much.

 

[BobK]

A Dyson is a brand of vacuum cleaner, known for sucking very strongly (it has all sorts of patents for new technology). See http://www.knewlove.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/dyson ball.jpg

b

 

[blueeye]

A Dyson is a brand of vacuum cleaner, known for sucking very strongly (it has all sorts of patents for new technology). See http://www.knewlove.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/dyson%20ball.jpg

b

Well, I know what Dyson is, but I don't understand the highlighted sentence. Did Alfred suppress his wish to show triumph or something like that?

 

[Barb_D]

Sucking up any hint of his involvement = hiding the fact that he was part of it. He "cleaned up"."

 

[blueeye]

Sucking up any hint of his involvement = hiding the fact that he was part of it. He "cleaned up"."

O, yes, now it seems clear. But, what's cock-up?

 

[Barb_D]

It's a British expression, and as I understand it, it's a situation that has gone very wrong. Someone made big mistakes.

We'd say "screw up" on our side of the Atlantic.

 

[RonBee]

It's a British expression, and as I understand it, it's a situation that has gone very wrong. Someone made big mistakes.

We'd say "screw up" on our side of the Atlantic.

Or "mess up".

 

[mmasny]

Wouldn't 'cock-up' be obscene?

 

[bhaisahab]

Wouldn't 'cock-up' be obscene?

Not particularly no, a bit vulgar perhaps. There is also "balls-up" which is possibly even more vulgar. It all depends on perception.;-)

 

[Barb_D]

Does "balls-up" mean something that has gone wrong?


I think I've hear it mean "dead" -- as in, he was lying balls up.

In the Navy, we did refer to Tango Uniform, which was for the letters TU, or "tits up" -- but only for inanimate objects. Oh no! The photocopies is Tango Uniform. (dead). But then, we were vulgar in the Navy

 

[Linguist__]

Does "balls-up" mean something that has gone wrong?


I think I've hear it mean "dead" -- as in, he was lying balls up.

In the Navy, we did refer to Tango Uniform, which was for the letters TU, or "tits up" -- but only for inanimate objects. Oh no! The photocopies is Tango Uniform. (dead). But then, we were vulgar in the Navy

"Balls-up" is more like 'mess up' than 'go wrong' in British English - that is, someone usually 'balls' something up, rather than a situation is 'ballsed-up'.

'I've ballsed-up my computer again.' for example.

I'd say it's vulgar in that a child saying it wouldn't be very good. Similarly with 'cock-up'. They aren't profanity though.

 

[curmudgeon]

Wouldn't 'cock-up' be obscene?

Only if you think it is. In fact it has a different origin. A century or so ago, when beer was being brewed and the batch went bad they turned the 'cock' or tap up, in order to drain the beer. Thus when something went wrong it was regarded as a 'cock up'. Well I like that explanation. ;-)

 

[Barb_D]

Thanks. The "cock" one would be avoided in the US. We seem afraid of that word. It gets replaced with *** in some forums. I've never heard the "ballsed up" used but I like it. Thought I guess I won't use it. We're almost as afraid of that word.

Do you use "FUBAR"? (It's fouled up (nice version) beyond all recovery.)

Oh man. My computer is totally FUBAR'd.

 

[Barb_D]

Well I like that explanation. ;-)

Is that true? Or just the nicest one? I like it, anyway.

Recently, someone asked in another forum if "reneged" is politically incorrect, associating it with "the N word." So it's interesting how things become twisted, isn't it?

 

[curmudgeon]

Thanks. The "cock" one would be avoided in the US. We seem afraid of that word. It gets replaced with *** in some forums. I've never heard the "ballsed up" used but I like it. Thought I guess I won't use it. We're almost as afraid of that word.

Do you use "FUBAR"? (It's fouled up (nice version) beyond all recovery.)

Oh man. My computer is totally FUBAR'd.

Haha, yes, and SNAFU

situation normal, all fouled (nice version) up

 

[curmudgeon]

Is that true? Or just the nicest one? I like it, anyway.

Recently, someone asked in another forum if "reneged" is politically incorrect, associating it with "the N word." So it's interesting how things become twisted, isn't it?

Yes, the world has gone mad

 

[mmasny]

Thanks. The "cock" one would be avoided in the US.

Don't you use the other four-letter word (I'm not going to be banned here) instead of it more often? I mean I do sometimes watch these bad American movies, where bad men beat some other bad men and even use bad words, and they rarely say 'cock'.

 

[Linguist__]

I know 'FUBAR' only from the internet. I don't see it used regularly in British people's writing, even on the internet.

And yes, mmansy - the 'f' word is more commonly used in the '___ up' construction, meaning 'gone wrong' 'mess up'. But, it is more profane than the others.

A summary then, in order of vulgarity from least to worse:

Mess up
Cock up
Balls up
F*** up

'Tits up' is similar, but used in a specific way - something goes tits up.

But alas, Dysons are still over-priced.

 

[BobK]

There's also the expression 'SNAFU' - standing for Situation Normal - All Fouled Up; there's another possible word in place of 'Fouled'. This started life as a comment on an administrative mess, but it has turned into a noun. People say things like 'There has been a SNAFU' (pronounced /'snæfu:/).

b

 

[RonBee]

There's also the expression 'SNAFU' - standing for Situation Normal - All Fouled Up; there's another possible word in place of 'Fouled'. This started life as a comment on an administrative mess, but it has turned into a noun. People say things like 'There has been a SNAFU' (pronounced /'snæfu:/).

b

Having started life as an acronym (like RADAR), snafu has aquired the status of a lower-case word. (SCUBA is another example.)