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Tuesday, October 21. 2008

Playing for keeps, and other expressions from Marbles

Our News Junkie noted the other day that ACORN and the Dems are playing for keeps. That is opposed to "playing for clearsies," which is the gentlemanly, softball, McCain approach.

Games with acorns and other nuts or rounded stones go back to the beginning of human time but, when I was a lad, marbles weren't a popular game. Games with marbles remain very popular in the Third World.

Here are a few expressions from marbles:

Playing for keeps
Knuckle down
Lost his marbles
Pick up one's marbles
Over the line

I'm sure there are plenty of others. Help me out if you can, in Comments. I love the etymological and cultural derivations of expressions. Don't you?

Posted by The Barrister in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 11:35 | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0)

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Here's on inspired by Joe Biden, sharp as a marble.
#1 Santay on 2008-10-21 11:36 (Reply)
Bust Aggies. That is, to break an Agate. An Agate being one of the larger diameter marbles. This is a euphemism for 'busting balls'.
#2 lenf on 2008-10-21 12:10 (Reply)
Instead of "playing for keeps," please consider "Palin for keeps."
#3 Gringo on 2008-10-21 12:45 (Reply)
Lost your marbles.
Pee wee is a small marble, according to The Online Etymological Dictionary.

You might also enjoy The Phrase Finder.

As a writer, I keep both these sites bookmarked. And every time I visit one of them, or an online thesaurus, I feel pathetic because it triggers the recall of Bob Dylan's anecdote that he was presented a thesaurus some time later on in his life and he said something like "Man, I wish I had one of these a long time ago... would have made writing all those songs so much easier!"

Could be a Dylan urban legend, but I like it.
#4 Pajak on 2008-10-21 13:12 (Reply)
Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!
#4.1 Gwynne on 2008-10-21 13:44 (Reply)
No 'fudging' (hmmm) = shooting inside the Line.

No 'steelies' (ball bearings) = stealies?
#5 Robert on 2008-10-21 17:14 (Reply)

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