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Saturday, July 22, 2006

Out of pocket

Will probably be out of pocket a couple of days, and then will get to posting again (d.v.). In the meantime keep commenting on what's here already.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What does "out of pocket" mean in your country? Are you out of money with this site? Do we owe you some money for these benefits? I should gladly assist.

"out of pocket" has two meanings to me; (1) to lose in a transaction; (2) intimacy with a person. Now don't be shy, Robert..Let us know what is happening...God be with you, mate.

Cheers,

Jim

clinch64 said...

Jim,

"Out of pocket" generally means to be away for awhile, or cannot be reached. It's interesting how certain phrases are only common to a particular region. Are you familiar with phrases such as these? "Tighter than the lug nuts on a 56 Ford, "crackling like a hickory fire", or " thin as turnip soup" ?

Neil

Anonymous said...

Neil,,Thank you. No, I am not at all familiar with those, but prolly I could give you some dandies from England,,,,,,,,or even Canada.

When I first came over, I was at school in Chicago. A young girl arrived with no place to stay. Since I had a two bedroom residence, I offered "to bed her for the night." She gave me a slap and walked off. Another chap told her that was English for providing a place to stay for the night. She later apologized, but it was embarrasing to say the least. We also tell people to "keep their pecker up." That means to keep smiling,,,taken from same context as a peck on the cheek.

Oh, this language of ours.

Cheers,

Jim

R. L. Vaughn said...

Jim, I thought maybe I should just post and tell you where to send the check! Or is that cheque in Canada?

I am often "out of pocket" in the sense of "out of money", but that wasn't what I meant. Neil is local enough (old enough? young enough?)to understand it! I was out of town and so was unavailable to post or reply on the site.

There is another sense of "out of pocket" that is sometimes used around -- an expenditure from one's own resources, with the expectation of later reimbursement.

I did a little googling and found this from some guy called "The Word Doctor": "'Out of pocket' is indeed usually used as a sort of shorthand for 'paying out of one's own pocket that which should (and usually ultimately will) be paid by someone else.' Interestingly, the original sense of 'out of pocket' when it first appeared around 1693 was not so hopeful. It meant to be either 'broke' or 'the loser in a financial transaction.'...around 1974 'out of pocket' also started being used to mean 'out of touch' or 'unavailable.' No one seems to know exactly why this sense arose or what the 'pocket' in this case might be."

So, I'll continue to be "out of pocket" (broke), but hopefully for awhile I won't be "out of pocket" (unavailable)!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Robert. I don't kow how these computer thingies work. Do you have to pay to use the system?

I used to donate to the BaptistBoard, but after the cut me off from the Baptist Only sections, I quit giving.

I once sent $100.00 to a dog thread or forum, whatever they are called, and it shut down a week later.....Then, I sent a generous donation to help a retired Baptist minister in Kentucky in financial troubles because of illness,,,through a paper I receive monthly...I didn't get as much as a "thank you" from that one.....

I know you would be different, and if this is a financial burden, please do not hesitate to say so. I am quite serious about this. I enjoy reading this forum and should contribute if needed.

Cheers, and God bless,

Jim

R. L. Vaughn said...

Dear Bro. Jim, I appreciate your sincere offer of help. But as far as this blog goes, there is no cost involved to the bloggers. I don't understand how they do it, but intend to take advantage of the free blog site that has been made available. I am glad that there are a few who enjoy reading, and sometimes posting, to this site.

Thanks again.