[modeleng] Re: Steam to the rescue!

  • From: TEL <tel47@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: modeleng@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 08 Jul 2009 08:21:03 +1000

Spot on Tony - they have done so since I was in short pants (what am I 
talking about, I'm still in short pants). Been the euphemism for the 
sound of a steamer for as long as I can remember.
Seems like the commentator attempted a pun (play on words for you 
humourless types) - not a very good pun, but ....

Tony Wells wrote:
> Steam trains go "chuff chuff", especially uphill and especially in the land 
> where they were invented. Indeed, they are still often referred to as 
> "chuffers", sometimes sentimentally and sometimes less so .....  To explain 
> to a poor Colonial, if it was chuffed to bits, it was over worked and 
> chuffed too much in fact, yeah unto death, or at least until something fell 
> off, whilst being chuffed, that is pleased, at being allowed to serve whilst 
> doing so! Or are you pulling our chuffers ??? <VBG> All this before we even 
> get on to Harold Steptoe (a British fictional TV character, a ragamuffin in 
> fact) one of who's favourite expressions was "colder than a penguin's 
> chuff", thereby introducing yet another, third meaning .... and he didn't 
> mean their feet!
>
> TonyW.
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Harry Wade" <hww@xxxxxxxx>
> To: <modeleng@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 9:37 PM
> Subject: [modeleng] Re: Steam to the rescue!
>
>
>   
>> Ken,
>> That's my understanding of the word, so to use chuffed in association with 
>> a negative (ie, needing a rebuild) seemed rather odd.  The only thing I 
>> can think of is that he chuffed instead of chugged (as in chugging 
>> locomotive) and chugged to bits might make more sense, although probably 
>> misinformed.
>> Harry
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>>     
>>> From: Ken Strauss <ken.strauss@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>> "chuffed"? According to the online dictionary chuffed means "pleased or 
>>> satisfied". Is there another meaning?
>>>       
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