An annotational transliteration might look like this: ow (as in pain)s g(as in "great")e (short "e"). Thus: owsge... It would take awhile to identify the essence of the expression, but we'd be surely interrupted by John McC's critique of essentialism. So here are a few examples, and you can try to find the inter-weaving thread(s) amongst them: : "augenommen" - i.e., having taken all the stuffings from out of the turkey. : "ausgelaufen" - i.e., having completely empied a bottle of Oban, down to the very last drop. : "ausgekluegelt" - i.e., having examined something completely, thoroughly - to the point of being able to solve a problem or resolve a dilemma. To be "ausgehugged" is to be completely "hugged out." There are no more hugs left in you to give. Like the term "ersatz," (as in ersatz - fake, substitute, coffee) this German expression is becoming increasingly popular amongst young, leftist, unpwardly mobile, falafel-loving, palm-sized steak eating, Harvard and U of T educated graduate students and professionals living in Scottsdale, Arizona and San Diego, California. All ausge-emailed for today, Walter O. P.S. Julie: Terry seems like an interesting fellow. Is he your painfully-slow-to-learn betterhalf? If he is, ensure that he not come to feel ausgewifed. Quoting Julie Krueger <juliereneb@xxxxxxxxx>: > Ah, I am not alone. It is good to know one is not alone. > > I had a similar (perhaps the same? Symptoms were dehydration, no > appetite, lethargy) cat problem a few months ago. The (elderly male) > cat's urinary tract was "clogged". I can't recall the explanation of > why, but it involved a few days stay at the vets during which the cat > was at first catheterized then subject to manual urinary expression by > the vet, special cat food, and a very watchful eye afterwards -- an > ungodly vet bill and a few months later said cat had to be buried. > > I called the drain cleaner guy to snake out a pipe and it cost me $95 > for him to spend 15 minutes telling me there wasn't anything he could > do. > > I called my A/C guy who charged me $100 for an hour's service call > which, yes, lasted roughly 20 minutes -- the amount of time it took > him to tell me that my central air compressor was shot and a new one > would run $2,000 to $3,000. > > Here, at least, a typical service call runs a flat rate just for > whomever to come out (they call it an hourly rate, but it doesn't > matter if the service person spends 5 minutes or an hour). Anything > beyond an hour's time spent, then, costs according to whatever their > hourly rate is. This goes for exterminators, plumbers, appliance > repair, auto repair, you name it. Of course, as part of this service > call, you get a free estimate... > > Mike -- What's your hourly service call rate? It might be cheaper for > me to drag you from Mississippi than to call local servicemen. > > I have spent the better part of the last 3 months dealing with > postponed piles of paper, etc. "Etc." in this case means books, > chachkas, prints, photos, and you-name-its. I'm constantly trying to > determine which new pile to put items in -- the new piles are eBay, > local selling through Craigslist, Freecycle, Salvation Army, Trash, > and stuff I'm keeping. This is looking like a life-long unwilling > avocation (how's that for an oxymoron?) > > Re. "All ausge-hugged and -kissed (even by those students who hated > my course at the > time. What does it all mean???)" > > What does "ausge-hugged" mean? How is "ausge" pronounced? Re. "What > does it all mean???", please see Pratchett, > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Pratchett -- I love the photo of > Terry -- how cool! > > Julie Krueger > meandering > > On 5/30/08, wokshevs@xxxxxx <wokshevs@xxxxxx> wrote: > > Quoting Mike Geary <atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>: > > > > > DR: > > > "Seventy dollars to come and sixty dollars for an "hour's" labor, > > > which actually lasted fifteen minutes." > > > > > > > > > A $70 service charge! Where the hell was he coming from? Memphis? > Wow, > > > no wonder I'm struggling. > > > > > > Mike Geary > > > Memphis > > > > > > Look at the bright side: you don't have a Swedish maid. > > > > I could start on about vet bills for cats with urinary tract problems, and > the > > cost of the special catfood required, but I've just returned from 3 hours > of > > ushering at convocation and I need some down-time. Amazing: these > graduands > > have BAs and MAs and yet they act like moose caught in headlights when > > convocating. I even ran out of bobbie pins. > > > > Another prosperous line of work these days besides plumbing and automotive > > repair is hairstyling ... esp. around convocation time. I barely > recognized > > many of my past students, what with the curls and all ... and those are > just > > the guys! > > > > All ausge-hugged and -kissed (even by those students who hated my course at > the > > time. What does it all mean???) > > > > Walter O > > MUN > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: "David Ritchie" <ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > > > To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > > > Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2008 4:51 PM > > > Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: The Cat At Whom He Has Hissed > > > > > > > > > > "The Countdown Has Begun!" is how the Evergreen Air and Space museum, > of > > > > which I am a member, warns me to expect an appearance by "Titan II > expert > > > > > > > Chuck Rash." Isn't Chuck Rash an excellent name for an astronauty > sort > > > > of person? Straight out of a dime novel: like Buck Rush, Dirk Rich > or > > > > Cat Vim; quite unlike Bartelby Merely-Comfortable and nobs of that > ilk. > > > > Chuck Rash, or as he is known to intimates, Charles "Horse" Rash, is > an > > > > ideal name for such a Titan feller. > > > > > > > > If you're from Riddle, Oregon however, it's better to be a Cloid. I > > > > haven't run into many Cloids in my life. The newspaper says Rita > > > > Ferschweiler met this one somewhere, and married him in Gervais in > 1945. > > > > As Mr. and Mrs. Wigle, they then moved to Riddle, where they had five > > > > children, two of whom were Richard and Rod. > > > > > > > > How am I currently occupying myself? Still cleaning up and sorting > > > > through postponed piles of paper. I took four boxes of books to > Powells; > > > > > > > they bought ten vols, awarding me a massive twenty eight dollar > credit, > > > > rejected the rest. I'm considering what to do next. The library > > > > bookstore may be headed for a windfall. > > > > > > > > Two of our family are currently at the vet with Gilbert, one of our > two > > > > elderly cats. Having lived a full and healthy barn-cat existence, > > > > Gilbert started being friendly a couple of months ago and now is not > > > > eating. These are bad signs in a barn-cat. Worse, he now even > snuggles > > > > up to Sullivan, the cat at whom he has hissed for nearly all his > > > > existence. > > > > > > > > Daughter just called to say that the cat has a fever and a full > bladder > > > > and they're going to run tests. Old guy stuff, is my diagnosis, with > > > > bills to come. Yesterday, when I was leaving for a meeting, our door > > > > lock suddenly stuck. I disassembled the thing to the best of my > > > > knowledge, risking arriving late to the meeting, but eventually there > was > > > > > > > nothing for it but to call the lock person. Seventy dollars to come > and > > > > sixty dollars for an "hour's" labor, which actually lasted fifteen > > > > minutes. > > > > > > > > We academics are in the wrong line of business. We should be > > > > disassembling locks and fixing the bladders of elderly cats. Instead > > > > where are we? Standing in the rain watering nay-chah, metaphorically > > > > that is. See Bev Hogue's blog for details: http:// > > > > excelsiorbev.blogspot.com/ > > > > > > > > Tomorrow I chair the St. Andrew's Society meeting, my first as > President. > > > > > > > Note the capital "p." I have thought about calling my crabbing boat > the > > > > "Quite Vincible." These two facts are not related. > > > > > > > > Carry on. > > > > > > > > David Ritchie, > > > > Portland, Oregon > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > > To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, > > > > digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, > > > digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html > > > > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > > To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, > > digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, > digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html > ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html