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Discussion Groups / English Usage / May 2009Beat the book
Hello: 1. "To beat the book," is it to score un unexpected victory in betting/horse racing? 2. Is Peter ragging/ribbing Bob? That's my feeling. 3. 'Put your shirt on him,' does it mean bet everything you have on him, and not on your own opinion, which is wrong? 4. 'Pictures that had followed Stringham to his room,' it probably means they accompanied him in his removal/change of residence, right? ---- They accepted some of Stringham's sherry, and Brent, whose manners seemed on the whole better than Duport's, said:'What do they rush you for this poison?' The sum was not revealed, because almost at the same moment, Duport, who was examining The Pharisee's rider in one of the pictures that had followed Stringham to his room, remarked: 'I've never seen a jock on land, or sea, sit a horse like that.' 'Put your shirt on him when you do, Bob,' said Peter. 'You may recoup a it on some of those brilliant speculations of yours that are always going to beat the book.' A Dance to the Music of Time, Spring, by Anthony Powell, p. 132 ----  SignatureThanks. Marius Hancu > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > 4. 'Pictures that had followed Stringham to his room,' it probably means > they accompanied him in his removal/change of residence, right? yes on all counts > Hello: > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > seemed on the whole better than Duport's, said:'What do they rush you > for this poison?' You didn't ask about "what do they rush you", which is decidedly unusual, meaning "what does this cost" with an undertone of "it is too expensive". I can't remember the last time I encountered it. SignatureDavid >You didn't ask about "what do they rush you", which is decidedly >unusual, meaning "what does this cost" with an undertone of "it is too >expensive". I can't remember the last time I encountered it. That's another one which doesn't seem strange to me, simply (now) old-fashioned. You'd probably catch me using it if the occasion arose. SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ >> You didn't ask about "what do they rush you", which is decidedly >> unusual, meaning "what does this cost" with an undertone of "it is too [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > old-fashioned. You'd probably catch me using it if the occasion > arose. Yes, I regretted "unusual" as soon as I'd posted. I would prefer to describe it as "uncommon". SignatureDavid > >> You didn't ask about "what do they rush you", which is decidedly > >> unusual, meaning "what does this cost" with an undertone of "it is too > >> expensive". I can't remember the last time I encountered it. Didn't ask, as I had found it in Jonathon Greene's Slang Dictionary: "cheat, overcharge" > > That's another one which doesn't seem strange to me, simply (now) > > old-fashioned. You'd probably catch me using it if the occasion > > arose. > > Yes, I regretted "unusual" as soon as I'd posted. I would prefer to > describe it as "uncommon". Thank you both. Marius Hancu >>> You didn't ask about "what do they rush you", which is decidedly >>> unusual, meaning "what does this cost" with an undertone of "it is too [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >Yes, I regretted "unusual" as soon as I'd posted. I would prefer to >describe it as "uncommon". Dialect, and possibly generational, David. An everyday expression when and where I grew up. SignatureRobin (BrE) Herts, England >>> You didn't ask about "what do they rush you", which is decidedly >>> unusual, meaning "what does this cost" with an undertone of "it is [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Yes, I regretted "unusual" as soon as I'd posted. I would prefer to > describe it as "uncommon". More goshing from this quarter. I think "How much did they rush you..?" is my ordinary colloquial expression for it. But yes, it does suggest I expect an answer in the expensive, or consider the purchase a waste of money at any price. SignatureMike. >>>> You didn't ask about "what do they rush you", which is decidedly >>>> unusual, meaning "what does this cost" with an undertone of "it is [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >expect an answer in the expensive, or consider the purchase a waste of >money at any price. "Blimey, what did they rush you for that?" SignatureKaty Jennison spamtrap: remove the first two letters after the @ >>>>> You didn't ask about "what do they rush you", which is decidedly >>>>> unusual, meaning "what does this cost" with an undertone of "it >>>>> is too expensive". I can't remember the last time I >>>>> encountered it. >>>> That's another one which doesn't seem strange to me, simply (now) >>>> old-fashioned. You'd probably catch me using it if the occasion >>>> arose. >>> Yes, I regretted "unusual" as soon as I'd posted. I would prefer >>> to describe it as "uncommon". >> More goshing from this quarter. I think "How much did they rush >> you..?" is my ordinary colloquial expression for it. But yes, it >> does suggest I expect an answer in the expensive, or consider the >> purchase a waste of money at any price. > "Blimey, what did they rush you for that?" Is it stating the obvious to point out that "rush" is sometimes a synonym for "charge"? I ask because I don't think it's been mentioned, and because it has just occurred to me. >Wood Avens wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >synonym for "charge"? I ask because I don't think it's been >mentioned, and because it has just occurred to me. It wasn't obvious to me. I had been taking 'rush' to suggest hustling the purchaser into the deal. SignaturePaul On 12 May 2009, Paul Wolff wrote >> Wood Avens wrote: >> [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > It wasn't obvious to me. I had been taking 'rush' to suggest > hustling the purchaser into the deal. OED agrees with you, placing the meaning as a secondary sense of "rush" meaning "To force at an unusual or excessive pace or speed...Also, in weakened senses, to accomplish or produce rapidly; to expedite; to hurry or hustle." For what it's worth, here's the full entry for the "overcharging" meaning: (quote) b. colloq. To defraud or cheat, to ‘do’, out of. Also ellipt. 1887 J. PAYN Glow-Worm Tales II. 44 That a fraud had been committed on us was certain, and a fraud of a very clumsy kind... He had ‘rushed us’ as, the phrase goes. 1891 L'pool Mercury 26 May 5/4 With an added 2d it is equivalent in value to the dollar, and..much good sport is to be obtained in America in trying to rush the natives out of that 2d. 1930 BROPHY & PARTRIDGE Songs & Slang 1914-1918 158 How much did they rush you? meant ‘How much did you have to pay?’ 1931 T. R. G. LYELL Slang, Phrase & Idiom 655 Rush a person,..to overcharge a person; to make him pay an exorbitant price. A. ‘How much d'you say you paid for this car?’ B. ‘Two hundred and fifty pounds.’ A. ‘My word! they rushed you, all right! It's not worth a penny more than £120.’ 1973 N. W. SCHUR British Self-Taught 340 Rush,..soak. For instance: ‘How much did they rush you for that sherry?’ To rush is to charge, with the distinct implication that the price was too high. (/quote) SignatureCheers, Harvey CanEng and BrEng, indiscriminately mixed >> Wood Avens wrote: >>>>>>> You didn't ask about "what do they rush you", which is >>>>>>> decidedly unusual, meaning "what does this cost" with an >>>>>>> undertone of "it is too expensive". I can't remember the >>>>>>> last time I encountered it. >>>>>> That's another one which doesn't seem strange to me, simply >>>>>> (now) old-fashioned. You'd probably catch me using it if the >>>>>> occasion arose. >>>>> Yes, I regretted "unusual" as soon as I'd posted. I would >>>>> prefer to describe it as "uncommon". >>>> More goshing from this quarter. I think "How much did they rush >>>> you..?" is my ordinary colloquial expression for it. But yes, it >>>> does suggest I expect an answer in the expensive, or consider the >>>> purchase a waste of money at any price. >>> "Blimey, what did they rush you for that?" >> Is it stating the obvious to point out that "rush" is sometimes a >> synonym for "charge"? I ask because I don't think it's been >> mentioned, and because it has just occurred to me. > It wasn't obvious to me. I had been taking 'rush' to suggest > hustling the purchaser into the deal. Me too, until it occurred to me that you could replace the word with "charge" in all the examples given, and I began to suspect a punning origin: I think a lot of slang originates in performance art. Harvey's citations seem to say that the words fall together by accident, though. >>>> You didn't ask about "what do they rush you", which is decidedly >>>> unusual, meaning "what does this cost" with an undertone of "it is [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > expect an answer in the expensive, or consider the purchase a waste of > money at any price. I can't remember hearing it for 20 years or so. Which statement is - of course - a guarantee that I'll hear it tomorrow. SignatureOnline waterways route planner: http://canalplan.org.uk development version: http://canalplan.eu >Hello: > >1. "To beat the book," is it to score un unexpected victory in >betting/horse racing? Yes. The reference is to "A betting-book; a record of a number of bets made with different people, generally kept in a memorandum book" by a "book-maker or "bookie". SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) [...] > 4. 'Pictures that had followed Stringham to his room,' it probably > means they accompanied him in his removal/change of residence, > right? Any chance that the pictures hadn't originally belonged to Stringham? They followed him home, Mom, can he keep them? > ---- > The sum was not revealed, because almost at the same moment, > Duport, who was examining The Pharisee's rider in one of the > pictures that had followed Stringham to his room, remarked: 'I've > never seen a jock on land, or sea, sit a horse like that.' > A Dance to the Music of Time, Spring, by Anthony Powell, p. 132 > ---- |
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