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28 Nov 04 - 09:30 AM (#1341099) Subject: One trick pony From: greg stephens Two or three weeks back, this phrase was unfmailiar to me. Then in one week I heard Jo Grundy say it on the Archers, and also heard two BBC journalists use it on news programmes. Since then it has appeared unceasingly everywhere. What suddenly brought it to prominence? |
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28 Nov 04 - 09:44 AM (#1341108) Subject: Lyr Add: ONE TRICK PONY (Paul Simon) From: The Borchester Echo He's a one trick pony One trick is all that horse can do He does one trick only It's the principal source of his revenue And when he steps into the spotlight You can feel the heat of his heart Come rising through See how he dances See how he loops from side to side See how he prances The way his hooves just seem to glide He's just a one trick pony (that's all he is) But he turns that trick with pride He makes it look so easy He looks so clean He moves like god's Immaculate machine He makes me think about All of these extra movements I make And all of this herky-jerky motion And the bag of tricks it takes To get me through my working day One-trick pony He's a one trick pony He either fails or he succeeds He gives his testimony Then he relaxes in the weeds He's got one trick to last a lifetime But that's all a pony needs (Paul Simon) |
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28 Nov 04 - 09:54 AM (#1341114) Subject: RE: One trick pony From: Jeri Possibly one of those butterfly wing things. Somebody said it at a party, and a scriptwriter heard it. The scriptwriter wrote it into the show and a lot of other people heard it and repeat it. It's a fad phrase. The phrase 'hunker down' was all over the place during Gulf War I. People do this with songs, too. Have you ever gone to a festival and heard one song sung several times, by different performers? You go home, and the next time your around a group of people who are singing, somebody sings it. (And the guy sitting next to him exclaims, "Damn! I wuz gonna sing that!) It's oral transmission, alive and well in the 21st century. Can't help it - human beings are hard-wired to hear and (creatively) repeat. Have some fun - start saying it wrong and see how far the wrong version will get. Maybe "One track pony," or instead of "He's a one-trick pony," say, "He's won a trick pony." |
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28 Nov 04 - 09:57 AM (#1341117) Subject: RE: One trick pony From: Megan L Jeri your post reminded me of when my pal and i did just that we got called to the headmasters office because the entire school ended up collecting milk bottle tops for Blind dogs for the guides. |
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28 Nov 04 - 11:53 AM (#1341166) Subject: RE: One trick pony From: Limpit My mummy calls it the Stanley Stamp gibbon cataloge Limpit |
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28 Nov 04 - 06:29 PM (#1341447) Subject: RE: One trick pony From: Big Al Whittle love Paul Simon and the song and the film, cos Pauls in there, but he knows nothing about being an unsuccessful musician. lucky sod. which is incidentally the subject of the fim. |
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29 Nov 04 - 12:39 AM (#1341699) Subject: RE: One trick pony From: GUEST,leeneia Jeri is so right. For a while recently I kept seeing the phrase "fresh hell." I know it's from a famous quotation, but I couldn't track it down. |
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29 Nov 04 - 09:14 AM (#1341971) Subject: RE: One trick pony From: Snuffy Greg, the expression has been around for quite a while to my knowledge. It can be used at a festival when you hear a singer perform the same song for the fourth time that weekend (this is usually in singarounds, less frequently in concerts). |
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29 Nov 04 - 01:57 PM (#1342288) Subject: RE: One trick pony From: Auggie The origin of the phrase goes back to the days of traveling circuses. Small ones with no major acts and no menagerie of exotic animals were derided as being dog and pony shows, since those were the major performers. To further denigrate the show, detractors would say that it had a one trick pony...why it's useage would suddenly become more commonplace is beyond me. |
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29 Nov 04 - 03:06 PM (#1342335) Subject: RE: One trick pony From: Cool Beans "Fresh hell" comes from Dorothy Parker who, every time the phone rang is said to have grumbled, "What fresh hell is this?" The question was used as the title of a Parker biography. By the way, my wife and I say the same thing whenever the phone rings and we're usually right. (Off-thread, but you asked...) |
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30 Nov 04 - 09:05 AM (#1343141) Subject: RE: One trick pony From: JJ While it is indeed true that Dorothy Parker would mutter "What fresh hell is this?" whenever the phone rang, Mrs. Parker took the phrase from what we in the theatre call "The Scottish Play." |
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30 Nov 04 - 10:21 AM (#1343204) Subject: RE: One trick pony From: Cool Beans Thanks, JJ! I didn't know that. |
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30 Nov 04 - 09:07 PM (#1343847) Subject: RE: One trick pony From: GUEST,leeneia Thanks for the info. So often, it all goes back to the Bard. |