Monthly Archives: March 2024

I Hardly Know Her!

Text

 “(Blank subject)? I hardly know her!”

Context

My informant first heard this joke sometime in High School from friends, and typically uses it within friend groups.

According to my informant, a common way of using this joke would be “to playfully poke at certain things like “healthy relationships? Hardly heard of her” or like “homework” or something.” They tend to make “a playful jab at something that mildly annoys [them] or something [they] wanna make fun of.” However, it’s not always used in a negative light.

When asked if it was a joke done to lighten the mood, even if not a negative context, they replied that said that they do tend to drop it into regular conversations and they said, “I think I do it just because I want to make my friends laugh a little.” An example provided goes as the following: “Say like my friend is talking about like having a crappy relationship and their partner is being a total piece of shit and I’m like “haha, having proper boundaries with your partner? Never heard of her!” there are a few layers to the joke cuz like it’s supposed to be like a sarcastic interpretation of the opposite side of my view. Say like I condone proper established boundaries but the joke itself is poking at people who don’t understand them to the point that they mistake the phrase of the name of a person or something.” 

Analysis

In essence, this joke appears to be used to cope typically with negative situations and to turn them around into a lighter form. In the example provided, it appears to be a reassuring gesture. A way to connect and to exaggerate the offending person’s ignorance for a situation to the point that they would not even know that “proper boundaries” is not a name, and further justify the friend’s issues with that person. 

This interpretation of the joke is much different from the way that I have seen it be used. Instead of being a slightly sexual joke playing on the way a person would either end a request with something that ends in “er,” sounding similar to “her” (“Poker? I hardly know her!”), this joke is repurposed to support and uplift friends with a familiar format with an underlying amusing tone. 

Friendship Bracelets

Context

My informant was introduced to friendship bracelets in elementary school by friends. These bracelets remind them of past relationships, usually in a fond and positive light. They are special in the way that their power fluctuates with the way that the relationship they are connected to goes. If you are able to maintain a good relationship with them, they will retain their significance, but otherwise they lose their meaning.

My informant would wear these bracelets all the time, and could wear more than one. Sometimes they took the form of a necklace as well.

An example of a friendship bracelet my informant had was a handmade one made with tiny green beads and text beads that spells out the name of a group, signifying unity. Handmade bracelets tend to have more of a significant meaning behind them while purchasable bracelets tend to be more disposable. The bracelet they had was made years back in a middle school club meeting where everyone was making friendship bracelets. Even after a few years the meaning still holds true and they still remember how it was made. It’s spot has changed from being worn on their wrist to being attached to their phone as a phone charm, and continues to keep it’s fond memory and meaning.

Analysis

Handmade objects tend to hold more memories and meaning as their creation could be a part of that story, or the labor and love that went into making it could amplify its meaning, rather than simply finding a bracelet online and purchasing a bulk made one. The uniqueness of a single hand made bracelet holds more touching meaning as it is the only one out there made in that way. It is interesting how such small objects can retain memories throughout years of life, and still be held with fondness.

Proverb: A Gift Horse

Text: “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”

Context: G is a 20 years old Animation and Digital Arts major from Birmingham, UK. He is a junior at USC and has been living in the area for 3 years.

This text is one of a few proverbs G could remember, but he believes he first heard this proverb when he was given a hand-me-down article of clothing and was “being ungrateful” about it. He remembers an older family member, likely a grandparent, telling him this.

Interpretation: After being provided with this text by my informant, I asked my roommate (a self-proclaimed ex-equestrian), if they knew anything about the proverb, as it’s quite popular. They confirmed that looking a horse in its mouth isn’t just a silly part of the saying. You can tell a horse’s age and other facts about its health quality by its teeth. The proverb is saying that, if you receive a horse as a gift, you shouldn’t check its mouth for its age or how its cared for – if you are given something as a gift, you shouldn’t try to find fault in it. I find it particularly interested that this is something my informant initially heard when he was younger, in childhood. He specifically remembered it being a hand-me-down, which is worth discussing because he found fault with something used. As a child, he wasn’t initially grateful for something because it was technically a gift, but he also didn’t know that society would expect him to see the used clothing as a gift. An older family member being the one to tell him this proverb is fitting with what we know about proverbs; it’s a piece of advice coming from someone with more life experience. It also speaks to the fact that society teaches humility and gratitude as a kind of obligation to children – as something not instinctual that dictates how we all should behave.

Proverb: Blood and Water

Text: “Blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.”

Context: G is a 20 years old Animation and Digital Arts major from Birmingham, UK. He is a junior at USC and has been living in the area for 3 years.

G said he initially heard the more popular version of this saying – “Blood is thicker than water” – at some point when he was younger. He says that he believes it was one of his teachers that later told him the actual proverb, the one listed above in text.

Interpretation: What’s interesting is that G chose to tell me the longer version of this proverb, but acknowledged the shorter version. This more popular version is used as an argument for familial bonds being stronger than others, while the version in text argues that relationships we form are stronger. While this may or may not be actually true, G believes the version he told me is the original, and that people are misquoting it in the shorter, ‘newer’ version. The key words “covenant” and “womb” are left out. This proverb which I’ve quoted from G is pretty straightforward, although metaphorical, saying that the bonds we choose to form and strengthen (covenant meaning agreement or trust) are stronger than those we cannot chose (those created solely by the womb). It’s definitely a type of advice, seemingly coming from someone experienced in life. What’s more, familial bonds being questioned is taboo in a number of cultures and societies, which seems to be why there are two different versions of this proverb circulating. It also speaks to the fact that my informant, who is a student at a college on an entirely different continent from his hometown (and his family), knows and references the version of the proverb that values formed relationships over inherited ones.

Proverb about Wasting Time

Text: “Don’t watch the mule go blind, load the wagon.”

Context: K is a 21 year old junior at USC. He is from Palmdale, CA and is majoring in Computer Science.

He says he’s never really used this proverb, but that it came to mind when asked if he knew any. He also noted that he remembered it because he found it funny.

This is one his grandpa used to say, and he warned me before telling me that it “wasn’t very cultural” – he seemed to expect that it should be because it came from his grandpa.

Interpretation: When asked what he thought the proverb meant, K simply said “stop wasting time doing stupid things,” to “just do the work.” The implication of the proverb is that you would rather sit and watch a mule go blind rather than do necessary work. Upon further thought, the proverb seems to also mean that you shouldn’t worry about things you cannot control when preparing for something, to just do what you can. It’s also relevant that this proverb was told to him by his grandfather, as it falls into the apparent trend that proverbs are for older people. This one in particular seems like a kind of warning from someone further in life to someone who still has a lot of time – to not waste that time on things that are either meaningless or out of our control and to instead focus on the task at hand.