Dear Ed,

I know that when you �talk the hind leg off a donkey�, you are �rushed off your feet�, but I shall be surprised if you haven�t �trodden on someone�s toes� with your latest �clumsy feat�.

Someone will say that you �have feet of clay!�  �My foot!�

�Don�t be weak-kneed�.  You must �shake a leg� and �think on your feet�.  You have to �be on your toes�,  and be �quick on your feet� if you don�t want to be �nailed� and asked to �foot the bill� for damage to the ESLP site.  �Put your foot down�.  �Dig your heels in�.  Otherwise, you �won�t have a leg to stand on�.  I�m not �pulling your leg!�

If I were you, I would �put my best foot forward� and �leg it�, before someone �cuts you off at the ankles�.   You�ve certainly �put your foot in it�, this time!  In future, �toe the line� and �don�t put a foot wrong�.  This is your �sole� defence.

Les

Dear Ed,

SKEDADDLE.

If a Member lives in one of the �Scandinavian� countries, (�Scan-di-navi-an�), that Member will know that he or she is �an� inhabitant of an interesting land.

There, it becomes necessary to �scan� the horizon, for there are vast areas of wide open spaces, where a person can easily become lost.

Because of the many islands, the country is �di�-vided into two parts --- land and sea.

Consequently, the �navi� (�navy�) and water play an important role in the life of the citizen.

Thus, we have the origins of this ancient word, Scandinavian, a Norse word originating in the Nordic language, spoken by the North Germanic tribe of Norsemen.

For a while, the South Germanic tribes were called Horsemen, to distinguish the two.  They spoke Horse and, obviously, they travelled everywhere by horse.

But there were so many jokes --- �I have a sore throat, I�m a little hoarse�; �A Norse!  A Norse!  My kingdom for a Norse!� and �What�s the favourite TV show of a horse?�  �Neigh-bours!� --- that the Horsemen changed the word �horse� to �Pferd�, and called themselves �German�, (because �Pferdan� was too difficult for English people to pronounce).

But, you ask yourself, why take a breath between syllables? �Scan-di-navi-an�.

The glottal stop!

In Scandinavia, the air is so cold that it literally �takes your breath away!� and you must pause between syllables.

The word �skedaddle� is of Scandinavian origin.  Think of the names of the two most famous Scandinavian foods --- �Skagerrak� and �Kattegat� --- the resemblance is obvious.

The word �ski�, (pronounced �skee�), is the world-famous method of sliding over ice or snow.  But what does �daddle� mean?

If the Scandinavian is ski-ing over a glacier, and there is a sudden, flash, heat-wave, which instantly turns the ice to water, he must �daddle�! (to use the Nordic word).

He must use his skis and paddle over the water as fast as possible, to escape the flooding river.  He must �skedaddle�.

And so must I.

Les

Sounds like a Ska hootennay.