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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2009Toddle off
Hello: How about: "putting him under the sod": kill him? "you're a goner": you're going to die? "to toddle off": ? What would this mean? sleep like a toddler/baby? ------ [The pleasure of smoking Havanas, told by Hofrat Behrens to another vitiate, Hans Castorp. ] He told Hans Castorp about two little Henry Clays he had once taken to his heart, in an evening company, which had come within an ace of putting him under the sod. "I smoked them with my cofee," he said, "and thought no more of it. But after a while it struck me to wonder how I felt -- and I discovered it was like nothing on earth. I don't know how I got home -- and once there, well, this time, my son, I said to myself, you're a goner. Feet and legs like ice, you know, reeking with cold sweat, white as a tablecloth, heart going all ways for Sunday -- sometimes just a thread of a pulse, sometimes pounding like a trip-hammer. Cerebration phenomenal. I made sure I was going to toddle off — that is the very expression that occurred to me, because at the time I was feeling as jolly as a sand-boy. The Magic Mountain, p. 256 by Thomas Mann, Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter -------- Thanks. Marius Hancu > How about: > > "putting him under the sod": kill him? Yes, or to be precise bury him (under grass.) > "you're a goner": you're going to die? Yes. > "to toddle off": ? > What would this mean? > sleep like a toddler/baby? No: this is to walk (waddle) like a year-old baby = toddler. All three phrases are chosen (at least by the translator: I don't know about Mann) to characterize Behrens as a genial joky chap. (NB we do not use the noun vitiate to identify a cigar smoker. We might say he is an addict.) > ------ > [The pleasure of smoking Havanas, told by Hofrat Behrens to another [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > The Magic Mountain, p. 256 > by Thomas Mann, Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter >> "to toddle off": ? >> What would this mean? >> sleep like a toddler/baby? > > No: this is to walk (waddle) like a year-old baby = toddler. In BrE 'toddle off' means no more than 'go away' in a jokey, informal sense. I'll toddle off and get one, shall I? It has a slight feeling of a put-down if used by a superior to an inferior. Toddle off and get me a cup of teas, will you? >>> "to toddle off": ? >>> What would this mean? [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Toddle off and get me a cup of teas, will you? Although surely in this case it means to go away from life. "I was certain I was going to die."  SignatureDavid >> Toddle off and get me a cup of teas, will you? > > Although surely in this case it means to go away from life. "I was > certain I was going to die." Yes, in this case you are quite right. I was pointing out the wider usage of the expression in BrE. Is it used similarly in AmE? ANZE? SAE? > >> Toddle off and get me a cup of teas, will you? > > . . . I was pointing out the wider usage > of the expression in BrE. Is it used similarly in AmE? ANZE? SAE? Usage may depend on the local popularity of P.G. Wodehouse. SignatureDon Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) >>>> Toddle off and get me a cup of teas, will you? >> >> . . . I was pointing out the wider usage >> of the expression in BrE. Is it used similarly in AmE? ANZE? SAE? > > Usage may depend on the local popularity of P.G. Wodehouse. Well, Ol' Blue Eyes didn't think it was a put down. Or whoever wrote the song he sang so well seemed to think it had the makings of "cool". Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin' town. Pat Durkin filted: >Well, Ol' Blue Eyes didn't think it was a put down. Or whoever wrote >the song he sang so well seemed to think it had the makings of "cool". >Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin' town. Is that a thinly-veiled request for a lookup in Lissauer's?...so be it: Chicago. w/m Fred Fisher, 1922. A million seller in sheet music due to its many vaudeville performances and the recording by Paul Whiteman (Victor). Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced to it in a medley in (MM) _The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle_, 1939. It was also in the Fisher film bio (MM) _Oh, You Beautiful Doll_, 1949; sung by Jane Froman, dubbing for Susan Hayward in the Froman story (MM) _With a Song in My Heart_, 1952; sung by Frank Sinatra in (MM) _The Joker Is Wild_, 1957. It was played under the titles and in the closing scene of (MP) _Roxie Hart_, 1957, starring Ginger Rogers, which was based on the stage play _Chicago_. A Broadway musical version was produced in 1975 that reverted to the original title. The song, however, was not included as a new score was written for the production. The preceding entry simply reads: Chicago. w/m Graham Nash, 1971. Top 40 record by Graham Nash (Atlantic). ....r Signature"You got Schadenfreude on my Weltanschauung!" "You got Weltanschauung in my Schadenfreude!" > Pat Durkin filted: >> [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > ....r Thanks. You are so good at researching! So here is another one that popped into my head while reading the thread about CB lingo. (I loved the Highway Patrol series, and could not, no, never hear Brod Crawford say "good buddy". He might have said "10-4, or 10-20", though.) He is credited in Wiki with 4 seasons (or 156 shows*), It just seems to me that the series might have been revived briefly and starred another heavyweight sheriff with a handsome young man as sidekick. Was the main character of that revival "Joe Cannon" William Conrad or somesuch? That actor, whose name I cannot quite recall did go on to a very respectable series about "somebody, P I". *Oh, those weekly half-hour series! There were men of iron in those days. I saw Willie Stark (All the King's Men) over the holidays**. Great film. ** I have yet to see the very beginning of Fargo, which was played at least 6 times over the holidays. My Cousin Vinnie came in a close 2nd. > >. . . Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin' town. > > Is that a thinly-veiled request for a lookup in Lissauer's?...so be it: > > Chicago. w/m Fred Fisher, 1922. -- I.e. just the date when P.G. Wodehouse was quite probably the highest-paid lyricist on Broadway. . . SignatureDon Phillipson Carlsbad Springs (Ottawa, Canada) >>>>> Toddle off and get me a cup of teas, will you? >>> . . . I was pointing out the wider usage >>> of the expression in BrE. Is it used similarly in AmE? ANZE? SAE? >> Usage may depend on the local popularity of P.G. Wodehouse. > Well, Ol' Blue Eyes didn't think it was a put down. Or whoever > wrote the song he sang so well seemed to think it had the makings > of "cool". Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin' town. It, like, moves briskly? >>>>>> Toddle off and get me a cup of teas, will you? > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >It, like, moves briskly? More likely the opposite. The Thefreedictionary says: 1. To walk with short, unsteady steps. 2. To walk leisurely; stroll. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/toddle I agree with both. When applied to Chicago, it's more likely to be the latter, sort of "laid-back". Yet again.... SignatureIan >>>>>>> Toddle off and get me a cup of teas, will you? >> [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > When applied to Chicago, it's more likely to be the latter, sort of > "laid-back". Yet again.... I disagree on that point. Chicago is the town Billy Sunday could not shut down, where they do things they don't do on Broadway; you'll have the time of your life, you'll dance with your wife! A link between speed of movement and the child may be that toddlers, being unsteady on their feet, move at a kind of unsteadily controlled run to keep from falling over. The link with strolling could be understatement, or a later development. The use in "Tail Toddle" that I quoted elsewhere doesn't seem to me to be interpretable as "stroll". Checking the Dictionary of the Scots Language (which largely agrees with you on the general meaning of the word) I find "[O.Sc. todle, = I. 1., c.1500. Orig. prob. imit. of short, jerky movements. Cf. DODDLE, v., DOD, v.1]", which is as good a link as I can come up with. In the case of Chicago, perhaps "frenetic". http://www.dsl.ac.uk/ >>>>>>>> Toddle off and get me a cup of teas, will you? >>> [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > "frenetic". > http://www.dsl.ac.uk/ Yes. And what Ian said. I picture a movie/vaudeville walk that is like the grapevine, with a forward angle, then switching to a skip step, then a slide. Dancing along the street, say, humming, twirling ones cane or boater or both, or with a pretty girl (or two) on one's arm(s), progressing along a boardwalk, while bowing at the other promenaders. Toddle. It means good spirits, and a carefree life. > >> No: this is to walk (waddle) like a year-old baby = toddler. > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Although surely in this case it means to go away from life. "I was > certain I was going to die." That was one of my readings. Going back to it:-) Thank you all. Marius Hancu > Although surely in this case it means to go away from life. "I was > certain I was going to die." My reading in the context was "I was going to dizzily go away from life." Dizzy under the effect of the strong cigar. Marius Hancu >> Although surely in this case it means to go away from life. "I was >> certain I was going to die." > > My reading in the context was "I was going to dizzily go away from > life." Dizzy under the effect of the strong cigar. There's nothing about "dizzy" in "toddle off". It's just a little childish or dismissive. SignatureDavid On 06 Jan 2009, the Omrud wrote >> On Jan 6, 4:54 am, the Omrud <usenet.om...@gEXPUNGEmail.com> >> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > There's nothing about "dizzy" in "toddle off". It's just a > little childish or dismissive. Or even jusst familiar/family-speak, as in "I think I'll toddle off to bed now; see you in the morning". SignatureCheers, Harvey CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed > On 06 Jan 2009, the Omrud wrote >>> On Jan 6, 4:54 am, the Omrud <usenet.om...@gEXPUNGEmail.com> >>> wrote: >>>> Although surely in this case it means to go away from life. >>>> "I was certain I was going to die." >>> My reading in the context was "I was going to dizzily go away >>> from life." Dizzy under the effect of the strong cigar. >> There's nothing about "dizzy" in "toddle off". It's just a >> little childish or dismissive. > Or even jusst familiar/family-speak, as in "I think I'll toddle off > to bed now; see you in the morning". There may be a Scottish connection. At least, now I have a wee bandie in my head playing "Tail Toddle", where the word seems to mean "move briskly". Tail Toddle cho: Tail toddle, tail toddle Tammie gars my tail toddle But an' ben wi' diddle doddle, Tammie gars my tail toddle. When I'm deid I'm oot o' date When I'm seik I'm fu' o' trouble When I'm weel I stap aboot An' Tammie gars my tail toddle. http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiTAILTODL;ttTAILTODL.html Ah, this is better. And the Budapest Scottish Dance Club step to it briskly enough. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1vONMatwk8 > > Although surely in this case it means to go away from life. "I was > > certain I was going to die." > > My reading in the context was "I was going to dizzily go away from > life." Dizzy under the effect of the strong cigar. Perhaps you were thinking of "totter." SignatureBest -- Donna Richoux >> > Although surely in this case it means to go away from life. "I was >> > certain I was going to die." [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >> > Perhaps you were thinking of "totter." Isn't toddling what toddlers do? They aren't known for being steady on their feet. SignatureRoland Hutchinson Will play viola da gamba for food. NB mail to my.spamtrap [at] verizon.net is heavily filtered to remove spam. If your message looks like spam I may not see it. >>>> Although surely in this case it means to go away from life. "I was >>>> certain I was going to die." [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Isn't toddling what toddlers do? They aren't known for being steady on > their feet. It is, but "toddle off" carries no implication of unsteadiness. It purely means "leave". I might toddle off in my car, or we could toddle off to France. SignatureDavid >>>>> Although surely in this case it means to go away from life. "I was >>>>> certain I was going to die." [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > purely means "leave". I might toddle off in my car, or we could toddle > off to France. I thought you'd never ask! SignatureRoland Hutchinson Will play viola da gamba for food. NB mail to my.spamtrap [at] verizon.net is heavily filtered to remove spam. If your message looks like spam I may not see it. >>>>>> Although surely in this case it means to go away from life. "I was >>>>>> certain I was going to die." [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > I thought you'd never ask! As indeed I might. SignatureDavid |
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