[or-roots] Snap Your Sprocket

Fri Jun 11 09:32:25 PDT 2004

This was not one of my dad's sayings as he would have considered speaking like that around his children "too vulgar." But an older man who was about 65 when I first heard him say this, gave me my favorite: 

"Stronger than stud horse piss with the foam farted off."

Another of my dad's was his "deep seated (seeded) sense of humor." He was always referring to it. 

My mother also had one that irritates my husband when I use it on him. When we were children and asked our mom "What for?" (In response to a request from her.) She'd say "Cat For (fur?) to sew a pair of kitten britches." That'll stop 'em from asking that question. 

-Laura
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Connie Guardino<mailto:census at wi.net> 
  To: or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us<mailto:or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us> 
  Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2004 4:55 PM
  Subject: Re: [or-roots] Snap Your Sprocket

  Interesting discussion. My late husband's father, George A. "Dell" Hodges (1887-1969 born Cougar Mountain)
  was 54 years old when Del was born. There was a "skipped" generation because of the age factor. Dell Hodges
  was an old-fasioned farmer and fur trapper. I adopted some of his sayings, some of which were quite colorful
  and descriptive: "crazier than a crap house rat" is one of my favorites, followed by "worthless as tits on a
  bull." Then there's "I don't know whether to shit or go blind." "Let's make like a hoop and roll out of here"
  was a blander one. I agree that "snap your sprocket" is akin to "knock your block off."

  Kith-n-Kin wrote:

  > And, don't forget a sprocket wrench, which as I recall had to do with bicycles.  Oh, here, I looked it up.
  >
  > "Sprocket - a toothed wheel that engages a chain. Freewheels consist of one or more sprockets. A 15-speed
  > bike will have three sprockets on the chainwheel, and six sprockets on the freewheel. Synonym: cog.  Some
  > people will also call sprockets "gears."
  >
  > "Sprocket wrench - a tool to remove sprockets from a freewheel.  There are several forms of sprocket
  > wrenches.  Some are a bar with a length of bicycle chain attached.  Others are hooks that engage one or
  > more sprocket teeth."
  >
  > So, my take was that "snap your sprocket" had to do with what happens when you use a sprocket wrench
  > without care <G>.  Don't know about the thump on the head, though.
  >
  > Otherwise, to me sprockets are the projections on little guide wheels on a movie projector -- what goes in
  > the "sprocket holes".  Again -- where is the thump on the head.
  >
  > So, I agree with Les - knock your block off one way or t'other.
  >
  > Pat (in Tucson)
  >
  > -----Original Message-----
  > From: or-roots-admin at sosinet.sos.state.or.us<mailto:or-roots-admin at sosinet.sos.state.or.us>
  > [mailto:or-roots-admin at sosinet.sos.state.or.us] On Behalf Of
  > Leslie Chapman
  > Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2004 18:05
  > To: or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us<mailto:or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us>
  > Subject: [or-roots] snap your Sprocket
  >
  > Laura;
  >
  > That expression is a new to me, and my father was 46 when i was
  > born and I know the meaning of most of the slang he used as
  > well as a good portion of the slang from the last fifty years.
  > I tried the expression online and came up void. Sprocked itself
  > so far has turned up an Aussie expression directly related to
  > bicycling, thousands of hits associated with bike/motorcycle
  > parts, one phallic reference; pocket sprocket which "might" be
  > associated with what you father was trying to say as I can
  > think of any number of expressions that could be implied with
  > the words "snap your sprocket", there is also a slang term
  > "popped a sprocket" but it is related to computer hardware,
  > specifically lanport problems, so unless you are about minus
  > twenty years old it probably isn't relevant to your question.
  >
  > Here is a defintion of sprocket that might be meaningful;
  >
  > sprocket - 1536, originally a carpenters' word for a piece of
  > timber used in framing, of unknown origin. The meaning
  > "projection from the rim of a wheel that engages the links of a
  > chain" is first recorded 1750.
  >
  > Now since they don't go into any detail in defining; "piece of
  > timber used in framing" let us just suppose it is specifically
  > a short piece such as a fire break which is the cross piece you
  > see nailed between two studs in a wall, or  the even shorter
  > pieces that are nailed in between window and door headers; in
  > another words "a block" hence "snap your sprocket" would be
  > another way of saying "knock your block off" which from what
  > you have described, which I believe I have heard elsewhere
  > referred to as a "brain duster," sounds very much like the same thing.
  >
  > Sprocket Opera is apparently a slang term for a film festival,
  > given the other definitions I have found for sprocket I don't
  > even want to think about that one.
  >
  > I am of course not an etymologyst, but I really think knock
  > your block off is what he was implying.
  >
  > Les Chapman
  >
  > -----Original Message-----
  > From: or-roots-admin at sosinet.sos.state.or.us<mailto:or-roots-admin at sosinet.sos.state.or.us>
  > [mailto:or-roots-admin at sosinet.sos.state.or.us]On Behalf Of LMA
  > Project_Managers
  > Sent: Wednesday, June 09, 2004 9:12 AM
  > To: or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us<mailto:or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us>
  > Subject: Re: [or-roots] Humour in the 1840-50's
  >
  > Have any of you out there ever heard the term "Snap your
  > Sprocket?" My dad, who was 47 when I was born, had a lot of
  > these sayings and because he was an older father I didn't hear
  > the sayings from any other fathers. So I never knew if he made
  > them up or if it was an old timey slang.
  >
  > Anyway, if we were misbehaving as children or bothering my dad
  > in some way- he'd say "I'm going to Snap your Sprocket." Then
  > he'd thump us on the head by flicking his middle finger away
  > from his thumb. It HURT too. You had to learn to get moving if
  > he said that before he could actually make good on his threat.  Thanks.
  >
  > I can't ask him this now because he passed away two years ago at 90.
  >
  > Thanks,
  > Laura
  > ---
  > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
  > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com<http://www.grisoft.com/>).
  > Version: 6.0.688 / Virus Database: 449 - Release Date: 5/18/04
  >
  > _______________________________________________
  > or-roots mailing list
  > or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us<mailto:or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us>
  > http://sosinet.sos.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/or-roots<http://sosinet.sos.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/or-roots>
  >
  > _______________________________________________
  > or-roots mailing list
  > or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us<mailto:or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us>
  > http://sosinet.sos.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/or-roots<http://sosinet.sos.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/or-roots>

  _______________________________________________
  or-roots mailing list
  or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us<mailto:or-roots at sosinet.sos.state.or.us>
  http://sosinet.sos.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/or-roots<http://sosinet.sos.state.or.us/mailman/listinfo/or-roots>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/or-roots/attachments/20040611/75dad8c6/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Emoticon18.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 243 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/or-roots/attachments/20040611/75dad8c6/attachment.gif>