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09 November, 2013

What's It Doing Outside?

Since we're all getting more than a little tired of the seemingly endless rain and mud, and more rain and more mud, I thought maybe we could all use a few more terms to describe our weather instead of sounding like a broken record (whatever that is, I'm sure.)

There's more than just a couple of ways to say it, as these colloquialisms from around the world show. Some make sense (some, I think you have to live there). I wasn't too choosy. I just plucked 'em and put 'em, you might say. I did take the liberty of alphabetizing the list. Not that it matters a whole lot.

Now, we'll all be able to sound a whole lot more worldly when we complain about the wet stuff.
cat-and-dog weather star
Charge it to the dust and let the rain settle it
cloudburst star
come rain or come shine
condensation star
deluge star
Doesn't have sense enough to come in out of the rain
Dog poo is falling
drencher star
drizzle star
fall star
flood star
flurry star
hail star
heavy dew star
I'm drenched
I'm soaked to the skin
Is that rain?
It poured with rain
It's been raining all day
It's bucketing down
It's chucking it down
It's lashing
It's like a monsoon out there
It's only a shower
It's pelting
It's pouring
It's raining as from Esteri's ass
It's raining cats and dogs
It's raining chair legs
It's raining cobbler boys
It's raining dung head-first
It's raining frogs
It's raining frogs' beards
It's raining like a pissing cow
It's raining old women
It's raining old women with clubs
It's raining pilot whales
It's raining pipestems
It's raining pitchforks and hammer handles
It's raining pocketknives
It's raining puppies
It's raining troll women
It's raining witches
It's throwing cobblers' knives
It's throwing it down
liquid sunshine star
Looks like rain
mist star
monsoon star
More that I hear on occasion:
no matter whether it rains or the sun shines
pour star
pouring rain
pouring star
precipitation star
rain check
rain is bouncing off the ground
rain on someone's parade
rain or shine
rain something down on someone or something
raindrops star
rained in on someone or something
rained out
rainfall star
raining shoemakers' apprentices
rainstorm star
right as rain
risk of rain
risk of showers
sheets star
shower star
sleet star
spate star
spit star
sprinkle star
sprinkling star
stream star
sun shower star
The heavens opened
The rain kills the mice
The rain's not taking its time
to be as right as rain
torrent star
Tractors are falling
volley star
We could do with some rain
We'd better run for it
wet stuff star
window washer star
Speaking of 'worldly', the Philippines, and most likely, Vietnam will be next, probably come to mind, thanks to Super Typhoon Haiyan. Of course, when you look at video or photos or read of Haiyan, or Yolanda as it's called in the Philippines (they keep their own naming scheme)... By comparison, our pittance of rain and inconvenience is a 'drop in the bucket.' Sorry. I couldn't resist the pun.

If you've got some spare money, and feel like doing some good with it, Global Giving (http://www.globalgiving.org/) is ready to help. That little reddish band across the top of this page contains a link to Global Giving where you can painlessly send some monetary love and assistance to those folks. With probably over a thousand dead, and potentially many more thousands homeless and without power, recovery is going to be a long and slow process.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

An interesting list. But to add a couple to flesh it out:

Raining cats and dogs is for lighter rains. When it gets really hard, it's raining cats and hogs.

I heard this in Georgia a few years back when they had a rainy summer, that a particularly hard rain was a "frog choker".

Enjoyed reading this. We are down in the Monkey River area and also getting a little tired of the rain and muck.

Dennis

Dave Rider said...

Hi Dennis,

I love both of them. We must not be having a 'frog choker' since they're outside our window by the thousands singing - er, 'croaking' their hearts out each night.

I've heard the Monkey River area has been hard hit. Best of luck.

Cheers,
Dave

Larry O'G said...

How about 'Mexican mist'?

(Missed Mexico and hit Belize...)


- Larry O -
Punta Gorda (FL)

Anonymous said...

Hi Dave,
My wife Wilma (who told me of the cats and hogs rainstorms) has a few pics on her blog (southenglishtown.blogspot.com) of the Village Chair boating across a submerged farm to get to the water pumping station to turn it on so the village could have drinking water! The road was under 7 feet of water at one point. The road is dry now.

Best wishes for you,

Dennis

Dave Rider said...

Hi Dennis,

Now I can connect you with a commenter. Wilma has made several comments here. I'm adding her blog to my list to follow. Her photos are really nice.
you guys have really gotten smacked with the wet stuff. It makes our problems seem absolutely trivial by comparison.
Hopefully we can direct a few more folks to her blog. it's worth it.
Our thoughts are with you.

Cheers,
Dave

Hi Larry,

Ha! Mexican Mist. That's Great. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Dave