Posted by thuso on February 4, 2006, at 14:40:33
In reply to Re: big enough and ugly enough, posted by Dr. Bob on February 4, 2006, at 12:54:40
> > Its an English expression Dr Bob and is used as playful banter and not meant in the literal sense.....the terms big enough and ugly enough are used together to suggest he can handle a bit of "rough and tumble".
>
> Sorry, I wasn't familiar with that expression. I guess that's "ugly" in the sense of:
>
> > 4 b : SURLY, QUARRELSOME <an ugly disposition> <the crowd got ugly>
>
> as opposed to:
>
> > 2 a : offensive to the sight : HIDEOUS
>
> http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/uglyWhat might be a good thing for all of us to start doing is if we use an expression that is not universal, we should state what it means. There are too many words and phrases that in one country (or even part of a country) mean one thing and somewhere else it is taken in a completely different way. We have that problem even within different parts of the US.
FYI...I also thought when "ugly" was used, it mean "not good looking". I'm glad it was cleared up and I learned a new phrase. I just have to be careful where I use it out here. hahaha! :-)
poster:thuso
thread:603925
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20060111/msgs/606332.html