Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Whatcha Fixin'?

I was pondering our wonderful English (really American) language the other day, as I do from time to time. I was saying something like, "What are you fixing me for dinner tonight, honey?" and I stopped short.

Hmmm...I thought. "Fix" is such a funny verb.

Usually we use it when something is broken: "Honey, the crapper's broken, can you fix it?"

But the exception is for food-related preparation: "Hey, fix me a sandwich, dammit!" or "Whatcha fixing for the tailgate party, Bubba?"

It's not really used for any other sort of preparation, unless you include our southern friends: "We was fixin' to go to the circus, but then them elephants got loose and stampeded Grampa."

Where is really gets fun is when your food is broken. "Damn, that hot dog I fixed for lunch fell and broke in two...I'm trying to fix it now."

Damn, our language is funny.

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