Where were you when the lights went out.

Posted by Lewis on August 15, 2003

In Reply to: Where were you when the lights went out. posted by GPP on August 15, 2003

: : : : : : I am wandering what the "where were you when the lights went out down in the cellar eating sour crout" would refer to. This is not a phrase I think it's an old saying.
: : : : : : What is the difference between phrase's and old sayings?
: : : : : : Hugs.
: : : : : : Kim Whitworth

: : : : : The only version of this I've ever heard is "Where was Moses when the lights went out?" ("In the dark.")

: : : : There's a song and then there was a movie (Mary Tyler Moore?) after the blackout in the 60s.

: : : Speaking of the lights being out, right at this moment there seems to be a problem in much of eastern North America, and about half the websites I've been trying to access are out of commission. BTW, that's "sauerkraut", not "sour crout".

: : CNN.com/ US: Where were you when the lights went out? Thursday, August 14, 2003 Posted: 11:12 PM EDT (0312 GMT)

: : That's a good question about the difference between a "phrase" and an old saying. In the sense that the word "phrase" is used at this website, it is a "saying", but need not at all be an old one. For instance, a current business cliche "thinking outside the box" appears to be only a few years old. And nearly everything that George W Bush says is either de novo, by accident (e.g., "Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream"), or a tired cliche (like "tired cliche", except that I don't think he knows that word).

: Okay, here's a Bush cliche: "He can't have it both ways. He can't take the high horse and then claim the low road." (Both quotations from "George W Bushisms: The Slate Book of the Accidental Wit and Wisdom of Our 43rd President," Jacob Weisberg, ed, Fireside 2001.)

We had a power cut for a few hours down in Surrey today - did a couple of hours of bill preparation/reviews/filing - my desk hasn't looked this neat in months. The lights going out was not much of an issue.