IM or IMing

２年半程前に　emikoさんと言う方から "lol" または "LOL"の意味を教えてもらったことがあります。（その時のemikoさんの説明「it means 超おかしい！！！ n laughin'　ummmm Lord Of Laughing...or Laughing Of Lord......hehehe　when you wanna laugh a lot you can use LOL」）

最近読んだＲＤに記事に "LOL" のような略語を "online shorthand" として幾つか紹介しておりました。

The fast-paced nature of IMing helped spread an online shorthand, which AOL has complied in a 77-term "dictionary":
IMO: in my opinion
YT: you there?
AFIK: as far as I know
DQMOT: Don't quote me on this.

３文字、４文字略語はＩＴ業界でも業界用語として頻繁に使われるのですがを憶えられるのは若い人ですね。　私はもうついていけません。

CU

"chew his tail"

Reader's Digest November, 2005の記事中に次のような個所がありました。

Indeed, like several of the boy's teachers, Hallman says Moore had plenty of friends, was bright and well-mannered. "I could chew his tail," Hallman recalls, "and he'd say, 'Yes, sir.'"

この "I could chew his tail," の意味が分かりません。　"chew his tail"  が慣用句ではないかと辞書やインターネットで色々調べたがどこにもそれを慣用句として説明しているものはありませんでした。　そこで "Ask the English Teacher" というWeb Siteを見つけたので質問して見ました。　そしたら次のような丁寧な説明をしてくれました。

We have a lot of slang expressions in English about the backside, buttocks, tail, or (most often) ass. These are usually very undignified. When someone says, "I'll kick his ass," it means "I will beat him until he turns to run, and then I will kick him when he can't even defend himself." In other words, my victory will be complete.

So when the teacher says "I could chew his tail," he means, "I could treat him insultingly." But the boy is so polite that he would not resist such treatment.

と言うことで "chew his tail"  は慣用句というより、スラングだったのです。

上記の便利なサイトは次の場所にあります。

http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/english/