Meanings

Posted by Lewis on October 13, 2003

In Reply to: Meanings posted by James Briggs on October 13, 2003

: : Could I please have the meanings and usegae of the following

: : 1) "To cast sheep's eyes" (at someone)
also to make cow's eyes at somebody - is an expression for looking coy or docile yet clearly intending that the person looked at will find the looker attractive. It is a dismissive remark, used more often by girls/women about another female. [It appears that any non-asertive animal can be used in the expression.]
usage e.g Once Simon had left the room, Sally stood over Emily and said "You conniving bitch! How dare you sit there and make sheep's eyes at Simon all the time I've been here? You know he's mine, all mine!

: : 2) "To ring a peal over" (someone)
never heard it - context?

: : 3) "To upbraid"
to upbraid is to discipline somebody - to tell them off from a position of authority. perhaps it comes from the fact that military officers often wore braid (twisted decorative matrial).
usage e.g. The manager called Simon to his office and upbraided him about wasting time chatting to the secretaries.

: : 4) "To dance attandence on"
to be keenly attentive to the needs of somebody - to act in a servile manner - to make a fuss of somebody. It implies that the 'dancer' is under a burden of some kind and that the service may be somewhat reluctant. It is a power-imbalance expression.
usage e.g. Simon expected that following the tirade from his boss, he would need to dance attendance on him for a week or two, if he wanted to stand any chance of getting Emily assigned to work as his secretary.

: : 5) "To offer a spanish coin"
see other recent posts

: : Also what's the missing word--
: : "Beware of the ?????? who come bearing gifts."
: The missing word is 'Greeks'. This comes from the Trojan horse story.

There is also a point that "Greeks" may not be quite correct. I believe that the area that is now Greece was comprised of independent city states and so the expression might more properly be of some more specific area. The Trojan Horse story is where a large-scale trophy of war contained covert operations soldiers hidden inside.