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Sweet nothings

Posted by Bob on October 25, 2007

In Reply to: Sweet nothings posted by Smokey Stover on October 25, 2007

: : : Where does the phrase "sweet nothings" come from?

: : Why, they come from your lover's lips. They're the whispered little endearments that mean, well, nothing, and at the same time, mean so much. From the Italian "dolce far niente."

: Are you sure of the "dolce far niente"? What it means literally is "sweet to do nothing," and is used, elliptically, to characterize the pleasure of loafing. I think it may be somewhat out of date nowadays, but perhaps I'm wrong. (We've just got to get some real Italian phrase-heads interested.)
: SS

Hmmm. I thought it was related, but you have me doubting ...

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