wpl@burdvax.UUCP (William Loftus) (01/03/85)
Hello
I few years ago I had a girl friend who learned Cantonese and
English as she was growing up; neither language was her first language.
She had two sayings that I never heard before:
1) That's the thing.
2) Close the lights (meaning -- turn off the lights).
Does anyone have a good explanation of where these sayings came from?
Are they used in any other part of the country or in other countries?
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/josh@topaz.ARPA (J Storrs Hall) (01/04/85)
> from Ronin: ... > She had two sayings that I never heard before: > > 1) That's the thing. > 2) Close the lights (meaning -- turn off the lights). "That's the thing" is pretty common-- it occurs in the first Star Wars movie, for example (in the bar scene). I've never heard "Close the lights" but "Shut the lights" was occasionally heard where I grew up (Mississippi). --JoSH
jpexg@mit-hermes.ARPA (John Purbrick) (01/04/85)
> I few years ago I had a girl friend who learned Cantonese and > English as she was growing up; neither language was her first language. > She had two sayings that I never heard before: > > 1) That's the thing. > 2) Close the lights (meaning -- turn off the lights). Was your girlfriend from Hong Kong? Because "That's the thing" is a British expression meaning "That's the right thing (to do, or to have)", though more commonly one might say "The thing is, to maintain our standards" or whatever. The comma represents a slight pause--"The thing is" is a partly freestanding expression. "Close the lights" is a direct translation from French (and other languages?) "Fermez la lampe" means "Turn off the lamp".
werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner) (01/05/85)
> I few years ago I had a girl friend who learned Cantonese and > English as she was growing up; neither language was her first language. > > 2) Close the lights (meaning -- turn off the lights). > Close the lights/Open the lights is a South Philadelphia-ism for illiminating/darkening a room. Therefore, it might not be a grammatical thing. It might just be a regionalism. Ditto with the other examples (More 'enry 'iggins in Am.) -- Craig Werner !philabs!aecom!werner What do you expect? Watermelons are out of season!
tosca@ihnp4.UUCP (lyn cole) (01/08/85)
I had an Israeli (Sabra - her native language was Hebrew)
roommate years ago who always said "close the lights" and
"close the radio".
from the asymp S of lyn cole (ihnp4!tosca)
tot T AT&T Bell Laboratories
ic A Naperville, IL
al B (312) 979-2729
l L
y E ylee@uiucdcs.UUCP (01/09/85)
In Chinese, the verbs used in "turn off the lights" and "close the door" are the same. You might say that "close the lights" is Chinese English. Didn't you hear she say "open the lights?"
grass@uiucdcsb.UUCP (01/10/85)
I am a native speaker of English that grew up in central Massachusetts
and Hartford, Conn. We sometimes said "close the lights".
We also said "please shut the lights" or even "please shut out the lights" as
well as the ever popular "please shut off the lights". The last was what
was used most of the time, but "close" was used too.
This isn't cantonese-english alone. I think it is pretty colloquial, though.
- Judy Grass, University of Illinois - Urbana
{ihnp4,pur-ee,convex}!uiucdcs!grass grass%uiuc@csnet-relay.arpakjm@ut-ngp.UUCP (Ken Montgomery) (01/12/85)
>From: wpl@burdvax.UUCP (William Loftus) > >Hello > > I few years ago I had a girl friend who learned Cantonese and >English as she was growing up; neither language was her first language. >She had two sayings that I never heard before: > > 1) That's the thing. > 2) Close the lights (meaning -- turn off the lights). > >Does anyone have a good explanation of where these sayings came from? >Are they used in any other part of the country or in other countries? "Close the light(s)" is also used in Spain. It is mainly a colloquialism from Madrid, although it is understood nationwide due to television. Curses can get very creative also: "Y tu padre en camison" (and your father in a nightgown) (or whichever item of underwear one would prefer) "Es usted un enano" (you are a dwarf) (this one is particularly useful in heavy traffic) There are, of course, numerous scatological words, and even more numerous references to sexual organs/practices/preferences. Are there any more native speakers of Spanish out there with whom to share sayings? South America must have some great ones!!! -- The above viewpoints are those of the author, and are unrelated to those of anyone else. Posting for: A. Albert Hernandez I remain, Ken Montgomery "Shredder-of-hapless-smurfs" ...!{ihnp4,allegra,seismo!ut-sally}!ut-ngp!kjm [Usenet, when working] kjm@ut-ngp.ARPA [for Arpanauts only]
bob@vaxwaller.UUCP (Bob Palin) (01/18/85)
The saying 'shut off/out the lights' is in common usage in England so it is almost certainly not derived from any Chinese concept. I'm often surprised to hear of colloquial English usage in New England which is the same as usage in old England, very little seems to have made it to California. Bob Palin, formerly of Luton, Beds., now Pittsburg, Ca.
kevin@sun.uucp (Kevin Sheehan) (01/26/85)
I would assume the phrase "shut off the lights" would be more common in england and the east than in california and such. It seems to me that it came from the time when killing lights involved shutting off the gas valve... who in california has turned off a gas light lately? (except in response to PGE bills :-) l & h, kev