Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2013 October 4

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October 4

Throw the curve (clothe the curve)

What does that really mean? When I say I don't want to throw the curve Miss Bono ^{[hello, hello!]} 18:32, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

Teachers sometimes assign grades on a curve, meaning that if the highest score on a test is an 80%, they will multiply everyone's grade by 1.25, so that the best score comes out to the equivalent of 100% (or something along those lines, like adding points, etc.). If a class has one really good student, he may get a 100% while everybody else scores poorly. If, on that basis, the teacher decides not to curve the test scores, then this student has "thrown the curve". A very bad approximation of the phrase in Spanish would be distorcionar el resultado. If I say, "I do not want to throw the curve," it means that I do not want to score so well that the grades of others suffer because of me. μηδείς (talk) 18:40, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

(ec) Unsurprisingly, we have an article, grade curve, but unfortunately it lacks any graphs as examples. μηδείς (talk) 18:51, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

I am trying to understand this song but that part is the only one I cannot find the exact meaning. Unless I am not understanding the lyrics and it doesn't say throw the curve. Miss Bono ^{[hello, hello!]} 18:50, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

He says "clothe the curve" which I have never heard before, it may be an Irish thing, or simply poetic license. Google gives no results for the phrase except as lyrics to this song. μηδείς (talk) 19:03, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

I don't think those lyrics sites are necessarily reliable, if that's where you got it from. They also seem to copy one another, so an error can propagate. --Trovatore (talk) 19:11, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

The various sites agree on "clothe the curve" and that is the very clear pronunciation you hear on youtube--there's no question of it. μηδείς (talk) 19:20, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

What about the official site of the band? I didn't get the lyrics form any site, just listening to the song, I couldn't understand that so I assumed he was saying throw the curve. But now I have no idea of what he is saying. Miss Bono ^{[hello, hello!]} 19:13, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

Does it say clothe the curve at the official website of the band? Wao, Irish things can be tricky sometimes. Miss Bono ^{[hello, hello!]} 19:08, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

Um, has anybody tried... Google? I immediately found http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/throw+a+curve, which confirmed my first association with baseball, and supplied an additional gloss "2. to confuse someone by doing something tricky and unexpected". No such user (talk) 19:26, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

No, "throw a curve" and "throw the curve" are two totally unrelated expressions, the one you mention is about baseball and the one MB mentioned at first is about grades assigned in school. μηδείς (talk) 19:51, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

As far as I see, the theory with school grades is entirely yours. No such user (talk) 21:09, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

To throw a curve ball and to throw the curve on a test are both phrases in American English. Perhaps Miss Bono will tell us where she got the quote tomorrow. But "I don't want to throw the curve" is much more likely to refer to a test than a pitch:

examples of the usage "throw the curve" on a test
The following discussion has been closed. Please do not modify it.
The Six People You Meet at the Bar Exam - Bitter Lawyer www.bitterlawyer.com/the-six-people-you-meet-at-the-bar-exam/‎ Jul 29, 2010 - This person has failed the bar exam five times in the last three years, but, ... it and accept that this one person isn't going to throw the curve. Tom Woodruff: Rate Professor: Mississippi State (MSU): Koofers www.koofers.com › Universities › Mississippi State University (MS..‎ Whatever we spend time on in class is what is on the test. He even tells us some things that will definately be on the test. Though he will throw the curve ball on ... Jeff, Do you think Reg will have some kind of curve or different ... www.another71.com › ... › CPA Exam Score Release › Score Release‎ Sep 30, 2011 - 44 posts - ‎14 authors I just hope those March candidates don't perform spectacularly and throw the curve. Paper Exam May 2002; AUD 62, LPR, 63, FAR 49, ARE 70 SAT subject test help? - Yahoo! Answers answers.yahoo.com › ... › Higher Education (University +)‎ Jul 19, 2013 - You should be cautious before taking a test in a language you are not fluent in ( native speakers tend to throw the curve off) 2. Don't take Math ... Does retaking an SAT Subject test look bad? - Yahoo! Answers answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20130604212442AA17LWG‎ Jun 4, 2013 - Even if you did receive an 800 on each test upon retaking, most ... be wary of language tests, because native speakers often throw the curve).

μηδείς (talk) 21:24, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

It is not listed at their website, presumably because it is credited to Passengers, not U2. There is absolutely no question that he is saying "clothe the curve". If forced, I would guess he might mean clothe a woman's nudity, since the fuller parts of women's bodies are often described as curves. μηδείς (talk) 19:31, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

(ec)If the song says clothe the curve, and my question was intended to understand the song. Should I change the title? Good shot, Medeis. Miss Bono ^{[hello, hello!]} 19:33, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

The purpose of headers is to identify the matter at hand, since both phrases are discussed I simply added the new one rather than delete the old one. μηδείς (talk) 19:51, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

I don't know about "clothe the curve", unless he means "close the curve". What is the context? What are the lines before and after it, in the song? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 20:54, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

Baseball Bugs these are the lines: I want to be with you/Don't want to lose my nerve/Don't want to _____/Don't want to make you swerve Miss Bono ^{[hello, hello!]} 18:06, 7 October 2013 (UTC)

If you google the phrase in quotes the only hit you will get will be the lyrics. There are a bunch of brief phrases all using the "ur" sound. Meaning seems secondary, almost irrelevant. μηδείς (talk) 21:01, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

I'm lazy to listen to the song, but both "close the curve" and "throw a curve" would make sense in the loose context of the song. For what it's worth, the adjacent verses are Don't want to lose my nerve/Don't want to ? ? curve/Don't want to make you swerve No such user (talk) 21:09, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

• Sounds to me like "Don't want to crawl the kerb" (cf. "kerb-crawler" [1], for those who don't know this apparently British expression). It most definitely is not "throw a curve". I certainly do not agree that "There is absolutely no question that he is saying 'clothe the curve'." 86.146.105.171 (talk) 20:17, 6 October 2013 (UTC)

Curb crawling has a far different connotation in the US. μηδείς (talk) 01:34, 7 October 2013 (UTC)

What does it mean in the US? 86.146.106.143 (talk) 17:30, 7 October 2013 (UTC)

It's not a set phrase, but I assumed it meant going drunk from pub to pub--pub crawling. I was shocked to find what it really meant when I heard it on Keeping up Appearances. Poor Hyacinth. μηδείς (talk) 17:59, 7 October 2013 (UTC)

What did it mean? Miss Bono ^{[hello, hello!]} 18:06, 7 October 2013 (UTC)

In England it means (driving along slowly) looking for a street prostitute. Hyacinth Bouquet looks like Margaret Thatcher, she's a very very very snobby character in a sitcom. μηδείς (talk) 00:11, 8 October 2013 (UTC)

Cartoon

What does this cartoon mean? And what is the joke? 1 Horatio Snickers (talk) 18:49, 4 October 2013 (UTC)

An anta is a piglike animal called a tapir in English. Gente means person. So the lady is calling the man a pig (tapir) and the one tapir is calling the other a human. μηδείς (talk) 18:58, 4 October 2013 (UTC)