Curious Expressions, Cont.
If someone called you a “pistachio” or a “pecan” . . . you’d have absolutely no idea what they were talking about.
But if they called you a “nut” — as in, “you’re such a nut!” — you’d know exactly what they meant. 🙂
Why’s that??
Credit a Kaplan kid for that (George) Carlin-esque insight . . .
See also, “What’s the Past Tense of Sight See?”; “Landmark ” or Watermark?”; “Dried vs. MORE Dried Apricots“;“Wild and Crazy” (vs. Conventional) Fruit; and “What’s the Opposite of “Untold Riches?
“Good” Nuts and “Bad” Nuts; The Nut/Goofball
Comedian Rob Schneider had a bit years ago parsing the various definitions of “dude” (he came up with seven total).
Examples included: 1) greeting a buddy (“Dude!”); 2) expressing admiration or approval (“Dude . . “); and 3) warily to the stranger knocking on your door late at night (“D-u-d-e?? . . .“).
In the same vein, I come up with two definitions of “nut” — one benign, one not.
So, there’s the endearingly playful or eccentric kind: “you’re such a nut!” (also known as a “goofball”).
And then there’s the seriously crazy kind (“that guy talking to himself on the bus bench looks like a real nut”).
