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Gamboler Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary
Polishing the soup
This sentence is taken from the dialogue of a movie (co-produced by two companies, one from Canada, the other one from New Zealand). The male star (supposedly from Virginia, USA, although the actor is really from London, England) uses this expression when he notices that Mrs. Pencroff hasn't come yet, although she said previously that she would be in the camp before 5 PM. By the way, they are castaways, they don't have neither soup nor spoons. So it must be used in a figured sense.
The complete dialogue is:
Captain (while eating a banana): It was a fine man your father.
Captain: Mrs. Pencroff has obviously forgotten about polishing the soup.
Nab: Come again, Captain.
Captain: I think we better go and give the lady an escort.
Afterwards they leave the camp to search the woman.
What is the meaning of "polishing the soup"?
Can it be Canadian or NZ slang?
The scriptwriter of the movie is Glenn Norman from Ontario (Canada).
So, any help from Canadian, New Zealanders or any other member of this forum that can guess the meaning of this strange expression in the context, please?
The complete dialogue is:
Captain (while eating a banana): It was a fine man your father.
Captain: Mrs. Pencroff has obviously forgotten about polishing the soup.
Nab: Come again, Captain.
Captain: I think we better go and give the lady an escort.
Afterwards they leave the camp to search the woman.
What is the meaning of "polishing the soup"?
Can it be Canadian or NZ slang?
The scriptwriter of the movie is Glenn Norman from Ontario (Canada).
So, any help from Canadian, New Zealanders or any other member of this forum that can guess the meaning of this strange expression in the context, please?
Top answer
gamboler The male star (supposedly from Virginia, USA, although the actor is really from London, England) That should London, UK . England is not a country on its own. org/wiki/United_Kingdom That is a common mistake that non-British people make.
- gamboler The male star (supposedly from Virginia, USA, although the actor is really from London, England) That should London, UK .
- England is not a country on its own.
- org/wiki/United_Kingdom That is a common mistake that non-British people make.
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6 Answers
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gambolerThe male star (supposedly from Virginia, USA, although the actor is really from London, England)That should London, UK. England is not a country on its own. It is one of multiple nations that comprise the United Kingdom (UK) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unite
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I know perfectly the difference between England and UK, Mr. Anonymous, Notice that I added to the word 'London' one of the three UK nations (and we have three of them too in Spain) just because, as you surely know, there are more than 10 Londons in the world, including one of them in Ontario (Canada) and 5 or 6 in the USA. I beg your pardon if my words offended someone. That was not not my intent
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The word http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/hypersensitive comes to mind.
The words of the previous answer contribute by revealing a very common mistake that many non-British people make, based on them assuming that England is a country on its own.
The words of the previous answer contribute by revealing a very common mistake that many non-British people make, based on them assuming that England is a country on its own.
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In AmE, "polish off" means to finish eating (drinking?) the soup. There may be another meaning in Canadian English.
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AnonymousThat should London, UK. England is not a country on its own. It is one of multiple nations that comprise the United Kingdom (UK) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom That is a common mistake that non-British people make.London, England is fine. E
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Thanks a lot, Vorpar, but he doesn't say polish off, just polishing the soup.
Could the verb be here in the sense of "to make perfect" or "to complete" (thefreedictionary.com)?
I don't know if it is commonly used with this meaning in the United States (the Captain supposedly comes from Virginia, USA) .
I don't see how the meaning can be "to finish off"
Could the verb be here in the sense of "to make perfect" or "to complete" (thefreedictionary.com)?
I don't know if it is commonly used with this meaning in the United States (the Captain supposedly comes from Virginia, USA) .
I don't see how the meaning can be "to finish off"
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