Monthly Archives: May 2011

Tie the knot

Tie the knot.

Helene was born and raised in France with her mother and her sister.  Her father currently lives in Toronto, Canada.  She came to America for the first time in 2008 when she was moving into her dorm room at USC in Los Angeles, California.  She is a Civil/ Environmental Engineering student and is diligently working towards her bachelor’s degree.  She is considering going to law school after she graduates in order to ultimately practice environmental law.

Helene says that she had never heard of this phrase before she came to USC.  She says that when she heard it, she was with a few of her friends where one of them stated that her sister was “tying the knot” in a couple of months.  When Helene stated that she did not understand, her friends explained that the phrase meant that her sister was getting married.  Helene doesn’t understand how this particular phrase can mean the act of getting married, and she thinks it doesn’t make any sense.

I have heard this phrase before.  I do not remember when I first heard this phrase, but I think it was probably when I was in junior high.  I think I may have heard it in a movie. I heard through other people that the reason the phrase “tie the knot” means getting married is because many wedding ceremonies require the bride and groom to have a string attached to each others wrists to bond them together in an “unbreakable bond.”

Martin, G. (1996). Tie the knot. Retrieved from http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/tie-the-knot.html

420 Tradition

Nationality: French American
Age: 24
Occupation: artist
Residence: LA, CA
Performance Date: 2001
Primary Language: English
Language: French

Theo recalls learning a tradition from his friends in high school regarding an unofficial holiday celebrated by people who smoke marijuana. He was about 14 at the time, attending school in Princeton, NJ.

Theo says he first learned this tradition on his first April 20 (4/20), a day when pot-smokers celebrate their favorite green, usually by smoking profusely for most of the day. It was the night before 4/20, and he and his friends all prepared by making sure they had adequate amount of marijuana to smoke the next day. Then, they waited up until it was 4:20 AM, and each of them smoked their own “persy” (personal) joint to celebrate the first of two 4:20’s they would experience that day.

When I asked him what he thought about this tradition, he replied,  “I still do it to this day. Why not make the most of a day where literally everyone who might ever smoke IS smoking?” Even though he (and many) is an avid, regular marijuana smoker, for some reason, this holiday enthuses even the most common smoker.

The interesting thing is, no one seems to know why it’s celebrated on 4/20. Even Theo wasn’t sure. He said, “Uh, I don’t really know why. I think I heard somewhere that it’s Bob Marley’s birthday, or … another reason but I can’t remember why. It’s just synonymous with smoking weed somehow.” It doesn’t really surprise me that the pot smokers wouldn’t feel like they needed to know exactly WHY they were smoking on that day, simply that they were ALL smoking together. It provides a sense of unity and identity to a folk group, and there is variation and multiplicity in events occurring on this day. Therefore, to celebrate 4/20 at all is to participate in performing folklore.

Rose water

Nationality: German-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles and Irvine CA
Performance Date: April 20, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Some spanish

“After I turned sixteen, every time that I came over to my grandma’s house she would always have like this vial of rose water with her and she would just be like, here you  need to put this on so you can find a boyfriend. That was like her thing, she believed rose water was a bringer of love because it was made with roses. And, now every time I smell it I think of her because it, it’s just kind of her, it was like her little obsession kind of thing about me finding a nice boy who would be attracted to this smell. So if she helped me then it would be faster. Well she’s from Georgia and she was a debutante, she was all of, like every stereotypical southern kind of girl and so I’m pretty sure she heard it from her mom, who it’s been kind of like a tradition they passed down sort of.”

Flowers symbolize new youth and fertility.  It makes sense that a debutante would pick up on this, and pass it on to her daughters and grand-daughters.  The scent of flowers are almost intoxicating.  Perfumes often have flowery and rosey scents because of this.  Wearing the scent from a bright red flower is like an advertisement to potential partners that one is young and beautiful.  There seems no better way to try to attract the attention of a young man by using a rose smelling perfume or rose infused water.

When it rains,

Nationality: Indian
Age: 20
Occupation: Biological Sciences Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 16, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi

When it rains, it pours.

Payal goes to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.  She is earning her bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences in three years and is beginning her application process for dentistry school.  She was born and raised in the city of Cypress, which lies in the city of Orange County south of Los Angeles.

When Payal told me this common phrase, she was talking about our multiple upcoming due dates for homework assignments, exams, and papers  for multiple classes.  She was saying how when there are no assignments due, there are also no exams or papers going on at the same time.  However, when there are homework assignments due, there are numerous exams and papers that will be due at the same time as well.  Once again, she sighed, “When it rains, it pours.”

Payal said that she does not remember when she first heard this saying, but she thinks that she was really young.  Similarly, she didn’t remember the context by which she learned the saying as well.  To her, the saying mean that whenever things start going bad or things start piling on, many things start going bad and piling on all at once.

I probably first learned this quote when I was a child.  I do not remember exactly what context I learned it either.  It may have been through a television show.  Similarly to Payal, I agree that the saying means that when bad things or a multitude of things start happening and piling on, many things either start going bad or continue to pile on top of each other.

Where the sun don’t shine.

Nationality: Indian
Age: 20
Occupation: Biological Sciences Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 4, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi

“He wants to kiss me where the sun don’t shine!”

Payal goes to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.  She is earning her bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences in three years and is beginning her application process for dentistry school.  She was born and raised in the city of Cypress, which lies in the city of Orange County south of Los Angeles.

She told me that a boy she was dating said this to her one day while hanging out.  At the time, she did not understand what this meant and laughed at the boy’s awkward joke.  Later, upon going home, she looked up the phrase and gasped when she found out that “where the sun don’t shine” refers to the anus.  She immediately deemed it both perverse and “creepy” and cut off communication with the boy.

Personally, I find this phrase to be hilarious. However, I already knew this phrase and understand its implications.  I think I learned this phrase from a television show when I was in high school, but I am not sure.  I also learned it to mean the same thing that Payal researched: the anus.  However, I am fairly certain that I heard the phrase in a different context.  Besides, if someone told me what he told Payal, I would probably be very surprised and tell the guy he is weird.  I would probably cut off communication with the guy as well.