Meaning of words and expressions

Question

Hi everybody,I have a list of words/expressions whose meaning I cannot clearly find. I put the list here (in brackets, the meaning I think it could have) in case you have some useful ideas:That's the kind of thinking I can get behind (I share the idea?) to bail on sb (to stand sb up?)Why are you wearing up?Top of the morning to you too! (have a good morning you too?) photo spread (a photo with a group of people?)to tag out / to tag inI work the office (I manage the office?)to cut a tune (to improve a tune?)to take a swing at sb (to have sex with sb?)to be fast-tracked (to live very quickly?)to play hot and coldto blow one's hair out (to get nervous?)to wuss outI have a sense about them (I find them suspicious?) do you like the shape of my idea? (do you like my idea?) let's bounce some ideas around (like brain-storming?) I'm oiled up and ready to go (oiled up = spruced up?) I stand correctedI have her wrapped around my finger (I can control her very easily?) No high-five for you (you did not do it well?)You're so full of it (you're not telling the truth?)Thanks in advance,S.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]I have a list of words/expressions whose meaning I cannot clearly find.. That's the kind of thinking I can get behind.[/nq]
To "get behind" here signifies give active support to; I imagine the metaphor is people getting behind some heavy thing (such as a laden cart) to help push it along.
[nq:1]to bail on sb[/nq]
"Bail on" here is short for "bail out on", which is a term signifying a rapid departure, typically from a potentially disastrous situation ( a test pilot bails out of a burning airplane); in modern slang, "bail on" has slightly weakened to mean simply to hastily abandon (a person or cause) the element of pending disaster from remaining has disappeared. The phrase has a connotation of infidelity, a suggestion that the departure or abandonment is at least to some extent (usually, but not necessarily, minor) a betrayal. ("When I said it was time to wash the dishes, he bailed on me.")
[nq:1]Why are you wearing up?[/nq]
Sorry, no least idea.
[nq:1]Top of the morning to you too![/nq]
"Top of the morning" is a cordial greeting (originally, I think, from Irish English) normally used when first meeting a person, presumably early in the day. It is like "good morning" but perhaps a shade more emphatic.
[nq:1]photo spread[/nq]
An integrated display of related photographs, as in a magazine article or newspaper. The implication is of a substantial amount of favorable publicity: one would not normally use the phrase of, for example, photographs in an article accusing someone of bad conduct.
[nq:1]to tag out / to tag in[/nq]
Sorry, no idea. To "tag out", a form of "tag X out", signifies in many games the putting of player X out of game action by "tagging" (touching) him, either with the hand (as in the simple game of "tag") or with an object of play in the game (such as a baseball). But "tag in" I have never heard.
[nq:1]I work the office[/nq]
A guess, not a certainty: I manage the office, with the implication that the speaker or writer is most or all of that office's staff.
[nq:1]to cut a tune[/nq]
"Cut" in this use signifies "record", presumably from the days of phonograph records when a recording was literally cut into the recording medium; individual tracks on popular recording media, from phonograph records through tapes to CDs, are commonly referred to as cuts ("It's the third cut on the album.")
[nq:1]to take a swing at sb.[/nq]
To try to punch the person (from the swinging of the arm involved); metaphoric extensions are possible.
[nq:1]to be fast-tracked[/nq]
To "fast-track" something is to designate it for special, highly expedited processing: to put it in the fast track (of a metaphorical race course). Nowadays a project, or even, in some circumstances, a person can be "fast-tracked".
[nq:1]to play hot and cold[/nq]
I can only assume that that is a mis-reading or unusual variant of "blow hot and cold"; if so, it signifies dramatic, rapid, and frequent vacillations of opinion. A person who expresses ardent support for a project on Tuesday, then rips it on Wednesday, then encourages it again on Thursday (and so on) is "blowing hot and cold" on the matter. The derivation is obvious.
[nq:1]to blow one's hair out[/nq]
Sorry, no idea.
[nq:1]to wuss out[/nq]
Analogous to the commoner "wimp out": to abandon some task or project (or possibly person) owing to cowardice. The implied cowardice is normally of a low level: one might wuss out of riding a roller coaster with one's friends, but it would be unusual to say a military deserter in combat conditions "wussed out".
[nq:1]I have a sense about them[/nq]
Not a familiar expression to me. At a guess, it would imply that the speaker has an indefinite set of impressions suggesting problems of some sort, analogous to "I have a bad feeling about them".
[nq:1]do you like the shape of my idea?[/nq]
Presumably, buzzspeak for simple "Do you like my idea?" It sounds like something an advertising executive would say.
[nq:1]let's bounce some ideas around[/nq]
Not exactly the same as brainstorming, which implies first coming up with some original (unorthdox) ideas, whereas bouncing ideas around suggests taking some unorthodox ideas already conceived and discussing their possibilities. But in practice, probably used with pretty much the same meaning as brainstorming.
[nq:1]I'm oiled up and ready to go[/nq]
One would lubricate ("oil") a machine preparatory to making heavy use of it; by metaphorical extension, I am fully prepared in all ways (including psychologically).
[nq:1]I stand corrected[/nq]
To "stand corrected" is to admit the validity of a correction offered by another. "John proposed an interesting idea last week." "No, that was Fred." "I stand corrected."
[nq:1]I have her wrapped around my finger[/nq]
Often more fully "I have X wrapped around my little finger". It means I have X's complete and this is vital unquestioning trust: X will believe anything I say.
[nq:1]No high-five for you[/nq]
A "high five" is a highly informal type of emphatic congratulations involving the congratulating person and the recipient each slapping the palm of an arm extended upward with the other's corresponding palm (the "five" signifies the five fingers). As with "handshake", the term has passed to signifying not only such physical expression but simple verbal congratulations ("High fives all around" for "You are all to be congratulated"). Thus, "no high-five for you" signifies some degree of failure, or at least lack of definite success, at some task.
[nq:1]You're so full of it[/nq]
One who by intention or through gross ignorance speaks utter nonsense (or what one wishes to characterize as utter nonsense) is vulgarly said to be "full of ***", which phrase is often toned down to "full of it". To say to someone "You're so full of it" means either "you are grossly in error" or you are deliberately telling gross lies. (The "it" one is full of may be wrong information or it may be contrived falsehoods.)
Such is one man's take on those.

Usenet · Answer

Very good explanations.
I would add only two things:
1. "oiled up" may have sexual connotations implying readiness for sexualactivity.
2. "to blow one's hair out" would need context to define. It could meanto blow-dry the hair so that it gained volume.

Stephen
Lennox Head, Australia

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi everybody, I have a list of words/expressions whose meaning I cannot clearly find. I put the list here (in ... in case you have some useful ideas: That's the kind of thinking I can get behind (I share the idea?)[/nq]
Ideas I can support.
[nq:1]to bail on sb (to stand sb up?)[/nq]
To abandon sb (whoever that is). Think of bailing out of an impaired airplane rather than trying to set it down.
[nq:1]Why are you wearing up?[/nq]
I have no idea on that one.
[nq:1]Top of the morning to you too! (have a good morning you too?)[/nq]
Good morning.
[nq:1]photo spread (a photo with a group of people?)[/nq]
A group of photos on the same subject, such as for a magazine article.
[nq:1]to tag out / to tag in[/nq]
I'm not sure, but it sounds like it is related to a tag-team match in wrestling. Each side has two wrestlers, but only one is actively in the match at one time. To activate the other member of the team, they have to tag - touch each other, so one member is tagged in and the other is tagged out.
[nq:1]I work the office (I manage the office?)[/nq]
I go around talking to the various people in the office trying to persuade them.
[nq:1]to cut a tune (to improve a tune?)[/nq]
To make a recording of a tune. When recordings were made on vinyl disks, the grooves were literally cut into the vinyl as the recording was made.
[nq:1]to take a swing at sb (to have *** with sb?)[/nq]
To try to punch him with a fist, literally. Perhaps it could be used figuratively to mean to try to get an advantage on him.
[nq:1]to be fast-tracked (to live very quickly?)[/nq]
To be given assistance which should allow him to move up the company's command chain rapidly.
[nq:1]to play hot and cold[/nq]
Usually "blow hot and cold". Sometimes he is actively in favor of an idea and sometimes he isn't.
[nq:1]to blow one's hair out (to get nervous?)[/nq]
To dry and style hair with a blow dryer, I think.
[nq:1]to wuss out[/nq]
To quit fighting for something.
[nq:1]I have a sense about them (I find them suspicious?)[/nq]
I have an impression that I understand them.
[nq:1]do you like the shape of my idea? (do you like my idea?)[/nq]
Yes.
[nq:1]let's bounce some ideas around (like brain-storming?)[/nq]
More like discuss some ideas.
[nq:1]I'm oiled up and ready to go (oiled up = spruced up?)[/nq]
It means little more than "I'm ready to go".
[nq:1]I stand corrected[/nq]
I have been corrected.
[nq:1]I have her wrapped around my finger (I can control her very easily?)[/nq]
Yes.
[nq:1]No high-five for you (you did not do it well?)[/nq]
Yes.
[nq:1]You're so full of it (you're not telling the truth?)[/nq]
I'd say it's "You're really impressed with yourself".

Bill
Reverse halves of the user name for my e-address

Usenet · Answer

Thanks a lot for all your answers and detailed explanations. They are very useful!!
Sergio

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