Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[stevenukd]

Dear Teachers,

1. So much for the idea that camp for children this young is something out of *beep*.
- What does �out of *beep*� mean here?

2.� What on earth are you doing, man?
- What the hell are you doing, man?
- Are these the same meaning?

3.- Are you often homesick when you�re away from home?
- Do you often feel homesick when you�re on vacation / on holiday?
- Are these natural?

Thanks a million to Teachers,

Stevenukd

[asterix]

I suppose that the beeped out word is d i c ken s.
Charles D i c k e n s was a famous English author who, in his novels, described the grim life of children in England during the 19th century.
So, "Something out of D i c k e n s" refers to that,and means that many people think that sending young children to camp at that age, is cruel, or, at best, unkind and ill-advised.
However, because the sentence starts: "So much for the idea that"...etc., it is apparent that the writer is not of that opinion.

[asterix]

Come on Dave, Lorikeet, and the usual suspects- you're proscribing D I C K E N S.?
It's not his fault that some twentieth century blue-stocking thinks his kid's ears will be damaged by the slang word for the male reproductive organ.
Most of the little bastards already know much worse words, believe me.

[CP]

Number 2:

Both mean pretty much the same thing. You can express an emphasized "what" several ways:

"What on earth"
"What in the world"
"What the h e l l" or "What in h e l l"
"What the blazes" or "What in blazes" (fire blazes in h e l l)
"What the heck" (softer version of h e l l)
"What the Sam Hill" (even softer version)
"What the D i c k e n s"
"What in heaven's name"
"What in the name of all that is holy"
_________________
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