Hi,
That phrase thus defined, left me stunned: looks like you can’t use it in the USA, while it’s OK in Britain.
blow me/ blow me down: 1.British spoken used when you are surprised about something Well, blow me! I never knew this was where you were born. used for expressing anger at someone. 2. American offensive used as an offensive way of emphasizing that you are annoyed or angry at someone. You may hear this expression but should not use it.
P.S. Sorry, Americans…
‘Blow me’ could be taken as offensive in the UK too, in certain contexts, though it would not indicate anger or annoyance at someone.
Blow me down / I’ll be blowed - are both okay.
In Britain it is a fairly mild and inoffensive expression of surprise that is quite widely known but starting to feel a bit dated I think. I don’t think many young people would use it. I don’t know the American version but I would guess it may be referring to the “other” meaning of “blow”.
I wasn’t aware that it could be offensive over here … do you mean someone might think of the “other” meaning of “blow”? (That’s not something I have ever thought of until reading this thread.)
Yes, that’s what I meant - and why I said ‘in certain contexts’.
Maybe I’ve got my mind stuck in the gutter, but the first idea that popped into my head when I read “blow me” was that it meant “to perform oral sex”.
Hehe.
Incidentally, is that the “other” meaning you had in mind?
Yes, Dean, that’s the meaning the expression ‘blow me’ carries on this side of the pond. And people willing to express this sort of gutter sentiment typically use only those two words – it’s a two-word imperative sentence.
However, if you add ‘down’ to the end, for example, the meaning is no longer the same, and no longer in the gutter.
[color=darkblue]____________________________________________________________________________________
[size=75]“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.” ~ James Dent[/size]
Hi Amy,
Glad to hear from you again :))
Thanks for the explanation!
[size=84]PS: I wonder whose lawn mower should be broken - mine or my neighbor’s. If it’s the latter, I can understand why it’s a perfect day (no noise coming from my neighbor’s yard). However if it’s my lawn mover that is broken then I’ll have to fix it (or take it to the shop).[/size]
Hehe.
[size=84]I suspect the author had ALL lawnmowers in mind…No mowing noise from the neighbors, and since it’s not possible for me to mow, I can just relax…[/size]
Blimey…
I didn’t know “blow me” could be otherwise but offensive!
I didn’t know “blow me” could be anything else but offensive!
Are the above two sentences good to express that I didn’t know “blow me” had any other meaning apart from the “other” meaning? (And I hope my double use of “other meaning” is not too confusing! :)) Thanks!
The first sounds a little off.
I would say:
I didn’t know “blow me” could be anything other than offensive!
Blue language isn’t covered in most texts, but it’s a colorful jargon that explains the nation’s values.
In the US, a blow job normally means fellatio, although it is sometimes used to mean cunnilingus. When one guy tells another “Blow me!”, it is an insult on a couple of levels. One is that the other guy is homosexual, and thus less than human, and that ordering someone to perform a sexual act is a subservient role. Gay guys often respond to this insult by making an exclamation of surprise and joy in a falsetto and making a limp-wristed motion with his hand. This often sets the first guy off; you can see steam escaping his nostrils and eats.
Eat me is an equivalent insult but it is more often referring to cunnilingus rather than fellatio. It doesn’t work ve4ry well when a woman says it to a man, though.
Women are more likely to say 'kiss my ass" (although in one sitcom, a southern girl would say “kiss my grits”) and although getting a piece of ass means coitus with a woman’s genitals, the kissing is expected to be on the butt. And, of course, although most guys would be willing (a guy will do anything if he thinks it’s foreplay, according to the Susan Sarandon character in Bull Durham), women angry enough to tell a guy to kiss her ass, she isn’t willing to ket him do that.
I’ve often wondered why the most popular blue word in the UK refers to buggery, while in the US, it’s fuck.
I disagree that the most popular blue word in the UK relates to buggery.
Also, in the UK, an “ass” is a donkey.