Urination Street
A major curiosity of British idioms is the seeming obsession with pee-pee. I think one of these days I'm going to count how many times in a day I hear someone say the word 'piss'. Here is a quick list of uses for this apparently all-purpose word:
'Taking the piss'
This means to make fun of someone or to be kidding in a rather unkind way.
Sample uses:
'Hey, stop taking the piss.'
'Oh, ignore him, he's just taking the piss out of you.'
'Pissing it down'
This means it's raining hard. (Raining hard is a relative concept. Having grown up in tornado alley, I always expect to see sheets of rain out the window, but often what is called 'pissing it down' here would just be a thick mist or sprinkling back in Arkansas!)
Sample uses:
'Don't forget your brolly, it's pissing it down out there.'
'Oh, great, it's pissing it down and me without my mac.'
'Get pissed'
This means to get drunk.
Varations: 'on the piss', 'pissed up', 'having a piss up'
'We went down the pub and had a right piss up.'
'Pissed off'
Same as American usage, angry.
'Piss off!'
This means 'get lost', 'shut up', 'stop that', 'go to hell', etc.
Sample:
'Piss off! You do not know Bono!'
'Oy, mate, piss off out of my way!'
I should probably add that this is not generally acceptable slang--I mean, you wouldn't use these phrases during lunch with the Queen. That would just be taking the piss! But if you are talking to friends, you do hear it.
If I think of any more, I'll post them. I swear, the British are all frustrated urologists!
(By the way, the post title is a play on the famous soap opera here, 'Coronation Street'...)
_______________________________
Really Easy Stuffed Courgettes
I just made up this recipe tonight and hubby loved it. It's definitely not a new concept, but thought you might like it...
1-1.5 cups leftover short grain brown rice
1 jar Sacla tomato and olive pasta stir-through sauce (or any really rich, thick pasta sauce)
2 large courgettes (aka zucchini), sliced in half long ways
Place courgettes cut side down in skillet, pour water in to come half-way up the courgettes. Cover and bring to boil and cook for 5 minutes. Cool on a plate until cool enough to handle.
Meanwhile, combine leftover rice and jar of pasta sauce. Preheat oven to 180 C and pour a little olive oil in the bottom of a roasting pan or casserole dish. Set aside.
When the courgettes are cool, use a spoon to scrape out all the flesh. Drain the water away and chop the flesh. Mix this into the rice mixture. At this point, if you must, you could add some cheese, but it's really not needed at all.
Pack the rice mixture into the hollowed out courgettes, place in prepared roasting pan or casserole dish and bake in 180 C oven until courgettes are roasted and top of rice mixture is browned.
Serve with side vegetables of your choice (green beans, carrots and mushrooms would be good--maybe with pearl onions in!)
Quick and yummy.