We have a poster of a Brueghel painting (It is Brueghel, right?) of visualizations of different superstitions or sayings, and one of them shows a fellow pissing at the moon. It's a comment on futility, I believe. (sorry to be so vague tonight). There seem to be quite a few, eh? For instance, does anybody know what "shoot the moon" really means? I've been wondering all weekend.
3 comments:
According to an online dictionary -
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=shoot+the+moon&searchmode=none
"To shoot the moon "leave without paying rent" is British slang from c.1823; card-playing sense perhaps infl. by gambler's shoot the works (1922) "go for broke" in shooting dice."
I don't think this helps very much!!
We never did that but when I was a kid there was a saying about skipping out on the rent and it was called 'Doing a Flit'.
I know in hearts, low score wins and as you play the hands you are punished a point for each of the hearts in the tricks you have won. If, however, you 'shoot the moon' and take all the hearts, you get to either deduct 26 (13 hearts plus the queen of spades counts as 13) from your score or add 26 to everyone else's. Game ends when someone accumulates 100 points, so if you shoot the moon (or go for it, as per Ali's explanation) and miss taking one or two, you'll amass a damaging 20+ points.
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