To the young woman confused by supper and dinner:
Life on the farm is NOT kinda laid back, especially when it's time to make hay while the sun shines.
Dinner is the MAIN meal of the day. For city people this is most likely the evening meal; "abendessen" in German. For farm people, in the day of labor intensive farming, Dinner was the noon meal. Dinner preparation began at the same time as breakfast, if not before. The yeast had to be proofed so the bread could be made. Dinner usually featured several kinds of pies and cake as well as several meats, vegetables (fresh from the garden), lots o carbs – potatoes, noodles, breads – and was a long break from the morning's hard labor.
Lunch was served around 4, similar to what we think of as British tea. Lunch was freqently sandwiches from the meats left from Dinner, more sweets, and lots of liquids. This was the break and sustenance to carry the workers through until the end of the work day.
After the evening chores are finished and it's time to sit down for the day comes supper. Supper is a light meal. More than leftovers, it is not as heavy or involved as Dinner. Thus the references to Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper. I had to make the adjustment from the city meal schedule to the farm schedule, and the easiest way to explain the difference between supper and Dinner is that Dinner is the main meal of the day, and supper is a light meal. The distinction may be lost these days.

Yes, in my grandmother's day, the noon meal was carried to the workers in the fields. She told a story about hay season when, as a young girl (born in the early 1890's) her duty was to watch the horses, attached to a tripod arrangement which lifted the hay, while the workers ate. Of course, a young girl's attention will wander, as will unattended horses, and over the tripod went.
As someone who has helped prepare the meals during hay season late mid-20th century, breakfast was hearty, but certainly not the spread that was served at noon.
Martha, is it regional usage?

Hi, I was on my way to the library this afternoon and I heard your discussion about the longest word and Grant mentioned psuedopsuedohypoparathyroidism. Well, I wanted to offer some help in what it means real quick, psuedohypoparathydroidism is a disease that is a dysregulation of feedback mechanisms on the function of the parathyroid that would give symptoms as if the parathyroid were enlarged. But it's not, hence the "psuedo." Psuedohypoparathyroidism is actually more common than hypoparathyroidism and it's easily recognized by doctors and treated. I wouldn't put it past the medical profession to name ACTUAL hypoparathyroidism "psuedopsuedohypoparathyroidism," but it probably is a disease characterized by the same symptoms but different cause.

At any rate, I had an inner chuckle when you mentioned biochemistry and biochemical names because it brought me back to biochemistry classes learning about proteins and metabolic regulation and gene transcription.

One of the funniest examples, and you see lots of research published on this protein, and it's importance for regulating cell functions is this protein: CREB-BP (we just say "creb-b-p.". It literally stands for CREB-Binding Protein. CREB is CRE-Binding Protein. CRE (and we sometimes pronounce is "cree") is Cyclic AMP Responsive Element, and Cyclic AMP is cyclic adenine monophosphate.

So CREB-BP is cyclic adenine monophosphate responsive element binding protein binding protein. A protein that binds a protein that binds an element of dna in response to cyclicAMP.

Another funny example is on a biochemistry exam in undergrad, I got an answer wrong because I wrote, "Adenyl cyclase." The professor was looking for "Adenylate cyclase." I looked it up in the book, and the protein referred to in the question is listed as "adenyl," and in his class notes, the professor wrote "adynlate." They really are the same physical thing, but different way of calling it. Since I had already gotten into grad school at that point, I let esteemed professor think that he really showed me and I didn't question it to get my two-points back on the exam.

Finally, there's a protein that synthesizes glycogen. It's called glycogen synthase (makes sense, right?). It's function is modified by an enzyme that adds phosphate to it called glycogen synthase kinase. THAT protein in turn is regulated by another enzyme called Glycogen Synthase Kinase Kinase. I think they teach us about this on the first day of biochemistry scare us.

Examples like these are all over biochemistry and medicine, and we to name things descriptively and it is sometimes creative … or not. For example, a professor calling an element of DNA that responds to guanine, "Let's call it the G-Spot," and the class snickers.

I just wanted to share some of these examples with you … biochemists can sometimes have a way with words.

Thanks,
Erick
(San Diego)

Having served in the navy years ago, I love the bawdy euphemisms. Never heard the "pump and dump" version, but it brings to mind clear images of boot camp and what a Company Commander might say.

I am disappointed to see so few comments on the "man about a horse" euphemism as there are many like it which are much more colorful. Specifically for urination for instance, there are male and female versions, like "draining (or wringing out) the lizard" for men, and "shaking the dew off the lily" for women – although I've heard the latter used by men.

The school district in which I teach uses 'certificated' to refer to teachers and other professionals who must have a current certificate from the State of Illinois. The district also uses 'certified' to refer to people such as custodians and food service employees, who have passed their probationary period but who do not have certificates.

In this case it is not elegant but is useful.

In the same vein of "see a man about a horse," I have really liked the euphemism I have heard mostly from men: "I need to go check my stocks."