Albatross around one's neck

Posted by ESC on November 03, 2005

In Reply to: What dose albatross around one's neck mean and ... posted by kiki on November 03, 2005

: what dose albatross around one's neck mean and what is its origin and also what dose fair weather friend mean and what is its origin and gesundheit what dose it mean and what is its origin
: thanks for all ur help

Albatross:
Meaning
A burden which some unfortunate person has to carry.
Origin
A reference to the poem 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in which the character who shot an albtross is obliged to carry the bird hung around his neck.

"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Summary:
Three young men are walking together to a wedding, when one of them is detained by a grizzled old sailor.The Mariner says that he sailed on a ship out of his native harbor.the sailors encountered an Albatross, a great sea bird.The Mariner confesses that he shot and killed the Albatross with his crossbow. At first, the other sailors were furious with the Mariner for having killed the bird that made the breezes blow. But when the fog lifted soon afterward, the sailors decided that the bird had actually brought not the breezes but the fog; they now congratulated the Mariner on his deed. The wind pushed the ship into a silent sea where the sailors were quickly stranded.The sailors blamed the Mariner for their plight and hung the corpse of the Albatross around his neck like a cross...
From SparksNotes.com

A fair weather friend is only your friend during good times (nice weather).

Gesundheit
Main Entry: ge.sund.heit
Pronunciation: g&-'zunt-"hIt
Function: interjection
Etymology: German, literally, health, from gesund healthy (from Old High German gisunt) + -heit -hood -- more at SOUND
Date: 1914
-- used to wish good health especially to one who has just sneezed.
(Merriam-Webster online)