I’m going to take a creative shot at this. My guess is that this very colorful expression is a watered down version of the original. The original probably went something like "Old Nate never knows when to stop. He could talk the ass off a donkey!"
This, of course, was clearly intended to illustrate how the verbal onslaught from said Nate would drive the donkey to oblivion, since ass and donkey are the same thing.
However, in this ever increasing Politically Correct world, the expression has been modified so as to minimize objectionable material, with ‘hind leg[s]’ replacing ‘ass’ in the original equation.
ass[sup]1[/sup] n. pl. ass·es[list][*]Any of several hoofed mammals of the genus Equus, resembling and closely related to the horses but having a smaller build and longer ears, and including the domesticated donkey.
[*]A vain, self-important, silly, or aggressively stupid person.[/list]Middle English asse, from Old English assa, perhaps of Celtic origin, ultimately from Latin asinus.
Talking the ass of a donkey is surely therefore a reference to persuading a diminutive equine to refrain from marital acts with a fellow of its, or a similar species. Are you searching for arse perchance?
The origins of the Blarney Stone’s magical properties aren’t clear, but one legend says that an old woman cast a spell on the stone to reward a king who had saved her from drowning. Kissing the stone while under the spell gave the king the ability to speak sweetly and convincingly.
The Blarney Stone is very difficult to reach: it lies between the main castle wall and the parapet. If you want to kiss the Blarney Stone - and thousands of tourists do - you have to lie on your back and bend backwards (and downwards), holding onto iron bars for support. Whether all the germs have anything to do with it is not known, but it’s said of anyone who can "talk the hind leg off a donkey" that they must have kissed the Blarney Stone!
ass1 n. pl. ass·es
Any of several hoofed mammals of the genus Equus, resembling and closely related to the horses but having a smaller build and longer ears, and including the domesticated donkey.
A vain, self-important, silly, or aggressively stupid person.
Middle English asse, from Old English assa, perhaps of Celtic origin, ultimately from Latin asinus.
Or is the poor orator (much maligned as a BS’er - short for Blarney Stoner) merely trying to convince the aggressively stupid person to get off of the poor donkey?
[quote author=Perry link=board=idiom;num=1083659465;start=0#4 date=05/04/04 at 17:23:01]
ass1 n. pl. ass·es
Any of several hoofed mammals of the genus Equus, resembling and closely related to the horses but having a smaller build and longer ears, and including the domesticated donkey.
A vain, self-important, silly, or aggressively stupid person.
Middle English asse, from Old English assa, perhaps of Celtic origin, ultimately from Latin asinus.
Or is the poor orator (much maligned as a BS’er - short for Blarney Stoner) merely trying to convince the aggressively stupid person to get off of the poor donkey?
[quote author=Tim Ward link=board=idiom;num=1083659465;start=0#5 date=05/04/04 at 17:49:01]
Or is the poor orator (much maligned as a BS’er - short for Blarney Stoner) merely trying to convince the aggressively stupid person to get off of the poor donkey?
PerrySo English asinine is derived from Latin asinus!
-Tim
Yes it is. But if I were a donkey, I would protest the connection. One man’s stupid stubborn jackass might be another man’s sapien being of unshakable convictions.
asinine - c.1610, from L. asininus "stupid," lir. "like an ass," from asinus "ass," also "dolt, blockhead" (see ass).
As someone who has - I admit, dorsally - become a BS-er, let me become historical.
If Tim misled us about hindleg being a euphemism for the buttocks, it was then compounded by his use of the word ass.
Then we were further misled by me, recognising that ass is an americanisation (how I love spelling that with an s) of arse, and that ass is yet another donkey!
Then Perry joined us in feeling asinine. We had a daytrip to County Cork, but were still pretty asinine.
Going back to where we began, I ask myself what are donkeys’ hindlegs renowned for. Persistant and unwarranted kicking with a great deal of force, that’s what. Then, surely, someone who can talk the proverbial does so more persistantly and unwarrantedly, and with greater force than said donkey.
If the word democrat means ‘crowd power’, and republican means ‘pertaining to the things of the people’ then the American public should sue the political parties, shouldn’t they?
The Democrats are asinine then. So much can be inferred from the thread so far.
As I thought about the elephant may mind wandered into another idiom: white elephant. Although I hear the phrase used most often to describe an unwanted object, I believe it really should mean a high-maintenance, unwanted object. This comes from the King of Siam’s cunning ploy of giving unfavoured courtiers a gift of a white elephant which would ruin them financially. Is that what the Republicans mean?
[quote author=Garzo link=board=idiom;num=1083659465;start=0#11 date=05/05/04 at 12:32:54] . . . The Democrats are asinine then. So much can be inferred from the thread so far.
As I thought about the elephant may mind wandered into another idiom: white elephant. . . . a gift of a white elephant which would ruin them financially. Is that what the Republicans mean?
The man may be on to something! Well, actually, the Republican rarely financially ruin themselves.
Actually, Garzo, I forget which comedian it was, but I think it was Gallagher or George Carlin who said:
"If Con is the opposite of Pro, then is Congress the opposite of Progress?"
