hum a phone

curve its efforts

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:32:00 +0000

Maybe while you're at it, you can curve your enthusiasm too...

anagoat

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:41:00 +0000

You know...a little story that you tell that relates to the topic of conversation...an "anagote". This one made me wish I was making up these hum a phones myself. I suppose this is less horrifying than stumbling across somebody chronicling their neck-doting.

throws a monkey in the wrench

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:27:00 +0000

While not strictly a hum a phone, this one was pretty classic when I heard it. While not the greatest picture I've ever dug up, this kindly sock monkey claims to be flying, but I know better, he's been thrown...hopefully not in the direction of a wrench.

blind sighted

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:06:00 +0000

I once was lost but now am found.

a few bites on my hard drive

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:44:00 +0000

I'm probably more picky about this one than most, but it gave me a good laugh when I saw it written out. Watch out for the hard drive monster...nom nom nom nom.

should be aloud to keep it

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:42:00 +0000

This is in stark contrast to "keeping things quiet".

youth in asia will kill your grandmother

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:35:00 +0000

This one was on a protester's sign at a Senator's town hall meeting about healthcare reform. I'm not sure if it was intentional...but it sure is funny :)

Unless they meant news reports about the youth in asia, I don't think my grandmother is in harm's way. Though, I will be making a call later today.

at your beckon call

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:15:00 +0000

The intended phrase was "at your beck and call", meaning, available per a gesture (beck) and announcement (call). As I researched this one a bit, I've found that it's been misused for almost a century...which means that with a little more time, this will become common parlance.

Taken literally, a "beckon call" would be a special kind of call (like a margin call...hopefully with fewer tears). Going a step further, that would make the original phrase "at your beck call". The classic Beck Call is actually a call-and-response:

Call: Where it's at
Response: I got two turntables and a microphone

Credit goes to Mike for contributing this hum a phone.

hum a phone in action: Ice and Beans

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:34:00 +0000

It was the guy on the left with the newspaper who was almost making a healthy food choice.

Note: I don't know if Bush's Baked Beans would have counted anyway.

too many people stirring the pie

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:10:00 +0000

Here's a great mash-up of phrases...as far as I can tell, it consists of two or more of the following:

-too many cooks spoil the broth
-too many cooks in the kitchen
-finger in the pie
-their piece of the pie

If I missed any that may have contributed...feel free to leave a comment.

look through rose covered glasses

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:59:00 +0000

When you think about "Rose covered glasses" do you imagine:
a) 80's big-rimmed glasses with rose petals on the lenses
b) someone with roses over their eyes and the stems hanging back over their ears
c) dinnerware
d) other (please share)

Regardless, it's something I think I'd see in a great saturday morning cartoon (of any generation). Actually, I believe Ren and Stimpy rose to the occasion in one of their classic episodes.

Credit goes to hum-a-phoner Bratwursty who reported this gem.

copy out

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:43:00 +0000

I could definitely have allowed this one to go by if someone was excited to be using CB radio jargon and told the person on the other end Copy Out. Sadly, this was not the case. Instead, they were busy describing an excuse that someone made as a "copy out".

There's an idealistic hope inside of me that think this was supposed to work on two subtle levels:

1) Most people wouldn't hear the "copy" but would instead only hear the correct "cop"
2) Anyone who paid close attention would appreciate the irony that the lame, incorrect usage of the term would itself be a cop out.

Me: A boy can dream, over.
Voice: 10-4 good buddy.

a little blimp on the radar

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:55:00 +0000

...if only it were that easy, my friend. You see, sometimes a blip is a blimp, but other times, a blip is a far cry from a blimp.

What really makes this one fun is that the context was meant to imply that it was an insignificant action that would be soon forgotten (if noticed at all). Somehow, if a blimp had shown up, in this case, it would have been tough to forget.

at least he said his peace

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:35:00 +0000

I'm not sure if this makes me think that someone's either at church or on their death bed. Either way, I'm not sure it's exactly what the political commenter intended when describing President Obama's recent press conference to discuss, among other things, his vision for the future of healthcare in the US.

Arvend, the commenter, must have had piece of mind while he was formulating his comment.

open mike

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:41:00 +0000

This is one thing that's best left to a professional...since they have the schooling to do little (if any) damage in the process.

This, of course, is contrary to an open mic, where a professional is rarely within earshot.

doing the line share of the work

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:30:00 +0000

Being a math person, I immediately break this line down into its components: the two points that define it. Not to be confused with a ray (a point and a direction) or a plane (three non collinear points is my personal favorite, though there other definitions).

So...if someone does the line share of the work, they must have been responsible for two points. However, most people I know who put together outlines and powerpoint slides, two points is just a drop in the bucket by comparison. Meanwhile, somebody else in the group is going to have to do the lion's share of the work.

ultra ego

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:21:00 +0000

When I imagine someone's ultra ego I think they're doing a google image search for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and fully expecting to see pictures of themselves show up as the top 200 results.

Then again, that Superman had an ultra ego...flying all around metropolis, acting all better than the rest of us. Honestly, I was a much bigger fan of that Clark Kent fella.

For those interested in taking on a second persona, here are a couple of resources.

take it for granite

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:33:00 +0000

The picture to the right is the perfect illustration of either:

1) The clear gap between the intent and the reality of the above statement
2) The way hundreds of parents' hearts broke when they heard this abomination of language

***we also would have accepted "take it for Grant, Ed!" and "take it for granted"

in the cue

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 12:14:00 +0000

I know that Fast Eddie's talent was "in the cue", but I'm less confident that we should put anything else in the cue...certainly not the project you're working on. Talk about awkward.

For now, let's toss it into the queue. Very nice. While we're waiting, take a moment to catch up on your queue theory.

waiting with baited breath

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:17:00 +0000

So what exactly were you baiting?! A Mouse?! A fish?! Maybe something I've never heard of before?!

Hum a phone-er Mike didn't take the "bate" on that one. For the record, though, he does bait his own hook.

a rush of peer elation

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 15:11:00 +0000

I find that there's nothing quite like the euphoria I experience when I'm around a group of my cohorts. That being said, I do believe the author of the offending article meant to call out a feeling of pure elation.

Thanks andrea for tipping me off to this hum a phone. :)

please bare in mind

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 01:10:00 +0000

Now, I like to fantasize as much as the next person, but don't you dare try to plant any ideas in my head as to what I should be thinking about.

I'm sure somebody wanted to be clear that they weren't thinking about a Gizzly, but perhaps if there were bears around all the time, it would make sense to bear (v.) arms. Anyone agree?

palm it off

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:09:00 +0000

A friend of mine was telling me how her mother told her to "palm off" some work on someone else. She laughed suggested I should hum a phone "pawn off".

Now, I was a magician in college, so I can think of many ways to use the phrase "palm it off" and have it be right on the money.

Well...palm off is a legitimate phrase.
palm off (1822): to dispose of usually by trickery or guile
pawn off (1832): to get rid of or pass off usually by deception

I'll be honest, I didn't know this one until I did my own "doo diligents" before posting.

...the customer is getting ancy

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Thu, 28 May 2009 01:04:00 +0000

perhaps they meant...
ancy (def 4): Direct translation for the Spanish saying, "Anne Si" or "Yes Anne?" It dates back to Mexican workers answering the 3rd queen of Mexico, a Mrs Annamaria Vasquez, who was known for her temper, which often caused the workers to feel nervous when answering her. Hence the saying, I feel ancy.

Oddly enough I have been to Ancy, France, however, it seems a bit of a stretch that someone was trying to fit in an obscure European geographical reference in their business email. I'll stick with antsy...which is, oddly enough, what google seems to think I mean.

oh know!

noreply@blogger.com (MCAnderson) — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:50:00 +0000

I may be giving too little credit here...and perhaps this post risks a departure from the true mission of hum a phone...but how could I pass up a gem like this?

I hope "oh no" is what director McG said when he heard "Night at the Museum 2" raked in more in head-to-head opening-weekend box office revenues than his "Terminator: Salvation". Eep.