Friday, August 18, 2006

Balls & eggs

happy ballsBalls. Kids enjoy them, but adults like to have fun with them, too! Oh, yes. Many big people, both men and women, love to play with balls, no?

The use of the word balls as a figure of speech is interesting. If a man doesn't have the guts to do something, we say he doesn't have the balls for it. Interestingly, the term is being applied to women as well. What I find a bit puzzling is the use of the word balls to denote strength, derring-do, bravery, guts -- when we all know that they're probably the frailest part of the male anatomy. I mean, give a man's family jewels a hard, swift kick and watch him fall like a tree. Doesn't matter how how big his biceps or rock-hard his abs are. A well-placed karate chop will be more than enough to make him crumple and crumble.

In my language (Tagalog) one of the most effective ways to insult or ridicule a man is to tell him "Wala kang bayag" ("You don't have testicles," if we're translating literally). In Spanish, the term cojones is used (which is a vulgar term, they say). I don't know how balls is used as a figure of speech in other languages. In Argentina, however, where Spanish is also spoken, they call it huevos, which means "eggs" (I got this bit of trivia from somewhere in Robert's blog, Line of Sight).

huevosEggs have been called the perfect food. Think of all the possibilities: huevos rancheros, huevos fritos, even huevos verdes con jamón! :-D I'm starting to get hungry now. Personally, I like 'em either hard or soft-boiled. They're delicious; nice to nibble on sometimes. And they're an excellent source of protein, too. Perfecto? Oh, sí indeed.


16 comments:

Justin said...

What a coincidence: eggs are loaded with protein, whereas testicles are filled with ... well ... semen, which is rather proteinaceous.

Lady Apple said...

hah! that is funny! i always did wonder why in the world people said they don't have the balls to do it...kind of ironic.
huevos rancheros...now that i love!!!!

Sir Dirty Joke said...

My balls are hurting now...

Lizza said...

Justin,
Protein...good for the muscles. What matters the source? LOL

freecyprus,
Thank you very much! You're welcome to come again.

Jessica,
Language is silly sometimes. Huevos rancheros...yummy!

DJ sir,
They are? Who kicked 'em? LOL

Photo Cache said...

dont got no balls to react...just wanted to say...have a good weekend with or without balls/eggs.

Prometheus said...

Leapin Lizza-rds, as if I did not have enough problems with the Chicken and Egg conundrum, I now have to deal with Egg and Balls.

Linguistically, maybe its the very frailty of them that give rise to the figure of speech. Meaning, if your balls can take something, surely you are upto it. Kinda like the phrase 'gut feeling', which is never really used to describe an upset stomach.

Upset stomach, as in the one begat by equating eggs and balls for protein sources. There goes my breakfast. Eggs are perfect bachelor food. Fry 'em, boil 'em, poach 'em, scramble 'em. Same ingredient, multiple choices.

You've been naughty Liz. Santa ain't coming this year.

Prometheus said...

PS: Santa ain't coming may please be read as Santa Claus isn't VISITING.

Lizza said...

Hi Photo,
Balls or no balls, have a good weekend yourself!

Prometheus,
Whether or not Santa comes this year is really all up to Mrs. Claus, ain't it? Hahaha!

Mike said...

lol you're always yolking around aren't you? I'm not sure eggsactly how to respond to this post Lizza (oh and lol leapin' lizza-rds)...

Je parle un petit francais, jolie femme, but no mas Tagalog lol.

There was a kid my cousin went to high school with who only had one testicle for some reason, and his coach gave him the nickname 'Uno Huevos' lol and it stuck with him all thru high school...he was really left with egg on his face, you could say...

Ever had an egg and cheese sandwich with like 3 or 4 eggs sunny side up so the yolks run all down your arms while you're eating it? mmmmmmmm

Have a good weekend! :-)

Mike said...

After I left here I thought of this - we also use the word ball in expressions like "He was hurt so badly he starting to ball like a baby..."

And here's one I, coincidentally, just made up: "Most women prefer balled men..." :-)

Lizza said...

LOL Mike!

I've never seen so many ball and egg puns in one place before. Egg and cheese sandwich with warm, runny yolks...yum!

"Most women prefer balled men..."

Hahaha! Someone I know will love this one. Of course, I know you're referring to something other than the obvious fact that men ARE "balled." :-D

Prometheus said...

And some men are 'mothballed'. Kinda like your's truly, whose last relationship was when Newton was being hit upon by apples.

See? great men get hit upon by alike things. I used ta be hit upon by durians.

And mike, dontcha involve dat Jolie femme into this. ;-) She bwoke me heart when she got hitched to de Pitt.

Lizza said...

Prometheus,

Now "mothballed" conjures an image that makes me cringe. :-D "Ode to a century egg" kind of image.

Rose Ghost said...

Hi Lizza! Wow - you learn something new every day don't you? I'll definately be using that insult. :-)

Highly interesting article. ;-)

Mo and The Purries said...

As someone who loves both eggs & balls, this was an extremely fun post.
Super duper protein attack -- I think I need an egg-salad sandwich while I look at Wait Is That A?

Finally visited your site, Lizza. I've seen your comments on many sites I regularly visit, but it was Justin giving you a shout out that "made me look". Glad I did.
I'm adding you to my favorites!

Now, I've gotta dig into your past postings....

Lizza said...

Ghostrose,
Make sure you can defend yourself if you use that insult, LOL

Morgen,
Yes, I had a lot of fun writing this post. Justin's shout out was straight to the point, wasn't it? lol. I do a lot of blog lurking...I'm the resident blog stalker around these parts. Now I have a new blog to stalk -- yours! [evil laugh]