Jobs & Education1 min ago
Phrase Used When I Was A Child: "nim Shy Room De Koff"
8 Answers
Unfortunately, my mother is no longer alive so I cannot ask her the origin of a little phrase she used when I was younger. I'm hoping someone here may be able to help...
The phrase was "nim shy room de koff". (spelling incorrect!)
As a young child myself and younger brother had to go to bed 'early'. However, my mother used the phrase as a code to me to say that it was o.k. to get back up once my younger brother had gone to sleep.
To my young mind this phrase had a certain mysticism, does anyone here know whether this was a more widely used phrase, or just a quirky individual phrase.
Thanks.
The phrase was "nim shy room de koff". (spelling incorrect!)
As a young child myself and younger brother had to go to bed 'early'. However, my mother used the phrase as a code to me to say that it was o.k. to get back up once my younger brother had gone to sleep.
To my young mind this phrase had a certain mysticism, does anyone here know whether this was a more widely used phrase, or just a quirky individual phrase.
Thanks.
Answers
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.The name of the Russian composer "Rimsky-Korsakov" is often considered amusing and this phrase could be a mangled version of it, with no meaning except what your mother gave it.
Distorting words and language for humorous effect was the speciality of comedian Stanley Unwin, often imitated in his heyday.
Distorting words and language for humorous effect was the speciality of comedian Stanley Unwin, often imitated in his heyday.
Lots of foreign words 'adopted' by our miliitary services got corrupted, so I wouldn't be in the least surprised at a version such as himshee. Indeed, the OED suggests that the word often finished up sounding like 'Hampshire'! Accordingly, I'm fairly convinced that 'imshi' or some variant thereof is the explanation for the first part of your mother's exhortation.
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