Posted by Robert Hill on 10/15/99 from ucs-pc2035.leeds.ac.uk:
In Reply to: Looking for nuance... posted by Anne LeVeque on October 15, 1999 at 18:27:49:
Don't blame Jeremy for what I said!
I think we're straying a little from AR here, but I'll answer anyway.
I would be unlikely to say to anyone "Don't get your knickers in a
twist", partly because I fear they might be (at least a little) insulted,
and at any rate not calmed down. And I suppose my feelings about it
include elements of your first and third suggested reasons.
Certainly your second reason doesn't apply. I think the expression is
relatively new. Maybe even invented by people who write TV comedies.
As for the effects of saying it to the Queen or a nun,
I can't predict them. I can only suggest that you try the experiments
and tell us what happens. ;-)
Do you often meet nuns who need to be calmed down?
What do you do that excites or enrages them?
Inquiring minds want to know!
I would speak neither of an icebox nor (unless I was writing a technical
manual) of a refrigerator. Perhaps that's why you chose the example?
To me it's a fridge!