BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb

Subject: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: P05139
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 08:55 AM

I just felt like starting a thread with a silly title!! Anyway, when you're muttering under your breath, what do you say?? CAREFUL!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Mrrzy
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 08:59 AM

Rackin' frackin' is one of my favorites, when not actually using bad language. I love rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb though, I was taught once that if you have several people muttering that it sounds like a crowd of actual conversations, like a cocktail party... has it ever been used for that in reality?

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Snuffy
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 09:04 AM

I have "known" for ages that stage actors always say "Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb" when they are in the background in a crowd scene. It's one of those folk-legends which may or may not be true.

Wassail! V

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: alison
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 09:05 AM

yep... many times in stage productions along with "radishes" and "cabbages"

but if you want to look sexy.. stand besdie a mirror and mouth the words "prune juice" without actually saying them... *grin*

slainte

alison

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Allan C.
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 09:31 AM

A choir director of mine once said that if we should forget the lyrics, we should sing, "watermelon". It works well in that context.

A friend once taught me a phrase which can be used as an anathema, as "sweet nothings", or for a variety of purposes.

Rada-Frada-Forda-Seeda-Saw (all "a"s are "short")

One of my favorite things to do with it is to whisper it with a tone of urgency into someone's ear.

Have fun with it!

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Irish sergeant
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 10:08 AM

I'm going on a limb here but I seem to recall that the cry "Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb!" was used as an inflight alert by fighter pilots during the second world war to let their comrades know that there were enemy fighters in the area and a fight was imminent. I forget where I read it, so I may be mistaken but I don't think I am. Of course I look forward to any confirmation or refutation from Mudcatters in the know. Kindest reguards, Neil

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Allan C.
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 10:15 AM

I can easily believe that, Neil. "Rhubarb" is a term, used in baseball, which refers to a fight. Baseball terms were often used by Americans during that war for one reason or another. It makes sense that it would have been used to warn of an impending air battle.

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: wysiwyg
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 11:04 AM

So a country fight would be a rubebarb. Here it's rudebards.

I just say "What a crop of phlox."

Didn't the Coneheads say something like "Mepps! Mepps!" (Wasn't there a Mepps in Silence of the Lambs? No that was Miggs, and was he the one who killed himself swallowing his foul tongue?) MEPs is also Navy lingo for military enlistment processing, I think, where our boys went. I bet our boys muttered it a lot on basic training while the marched, asleep in formation.

Sheep and chickens have it down pat.

Sheep: "Co-o-o-o-rn.... co-o-o-o-o-o-o-rn..... co-o-o-o-o-o-o-rn...." rather forlornly until you come in WITH corn, then it sounds quite threatening. "Cornnn...! Cornnn...!"

Chickens are extremely doubtful, sliding accusatorily up through chromatic scales of diapproval: "Awwww? Awwww? Uh uhhhh...! Uh uhhhh...! Awww....?"

And cats.

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: annamill
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 11:27 AM

Drat and Phooey! Blast! My two favorites.

I thought "Rubarb, rubarb, rubarb" was used by carney people to warn of impending danger from the rubes (locals).

Funny how we all have different "facts".

Love, annamill

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Mrrzy
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 11:32 AM

What was that wonderful movie about baseball and a cat named Rhubarb?

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Mrrzy
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 11:35 AM

But back to what to mutter: I also have a trove of swear words in other languages which come in handy sometimes - one of my faves is Egye meg a fene, pr. kind of Edge-yeh meg aw fehneh, which literally means Eat(3rd person imperative)- completely/fully - the - devil (in the sense of Dickens, scared the devil/Dickens out of me sense, not Satan), which roughly equates to Let the devil eat (it or them or whatever you're swearing about) all up!

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Allan C.
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 11:37 AM

Carny slang for announcing a fight is: "Hey, Rube!" - I don't know why.

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: annamill
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 11:40 AM

Oh. Ok. Sorry. Thanks Allan. (I was close though)

L.A.

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Bert
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 11:47 AM

Metamorhosing pollywogs! I always thought that the rhubarb background noise started with The Goon Show

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Troll
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 12:04 PM

Magafratzin Raginfratz! has always been one of my favorites along with " Sweet Mother of Pearl" and "Godfrey Daniels!"
Both, of course from the mutterings of the great W.C.Fields. Fields never used profanity. But he could still swear like a sailor.

troll

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Bill D
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 12:24 PM

extras in crowd scenes also used to mutter "peas & carrots"....

and my father's muttered imprecation was..."goddandruffandsomeofititches"

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: mousethief
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 12:48 PM

"rissa frigga fogga mogga " or words to that effect.

My daughter (age 13) says "razzum frazzum."

Alex

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Seamus Kennedy
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 02:03 PM

I use the lines from Johnny Dangerously. Fargin Bastidge, Cork Soaker, Sominabatch. Ice hold! Try it you'll like it! All the best. Seamus

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: mousethief
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 02:05 PM

One of my favorite epithets is Sonobavich. Sounds like a Russian name, and yet it doesn't....

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Mrrzy
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 02:14 PM

One of somebody's favorite musicians is the famous Russian Ripshercorsetoff...

My dad used to exclaim What in the ever-lovin' blue-eyed world is... when appropriate; I was never sure why... and I also like (from a song! This is a musical thread!) "My old man's a cotton-picking finger-licking feather-flicking chicken-plucker, whaddya think about that?" - say THAT three times fast!

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Kim C
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 02:39 PM

Seamus! I remember that movie! Also in What About Bob, the neighbors couldn't pronounce English swear words very well.

I usually say, "son of a...." and stop there. Sometimes I'll add the word biscuit. If I'm really peeved, I'll add the other b-word. If I'm surprised, I'll use the ol' "sonofagun."

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: annamill
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 05:04 PM

I love Johnny Dangerously! Fargin bastig!

L.A.

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 07:17 PM

Two things:

In high school, back in the late Pleistocene, an angry parent came to Miss--what was her name?--the Latin teacher, and complained bitterly that her Johnny was repeating Latin swear words he'd learned in her class.

Seems he was going around and muttering in dark tones, "Mirabile dictu!!!"

Miss Whatzerface had to explain that it merely meant "Strange to say!"

In the late lamented comic strip Pogo, the eponymous Pogo was known to yell at the top of his lungs, "Gosh-a-mickle, dickle-pickle, GEE WILLIEWOBBLES!!!" Hard to improve on that!

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Rhubarb rhubarb rhubarb
From: Bill D
Date: 13 Dec 00 - 07:35 PM

and rowrbazzle was one of Albert's....