""Are You Swedish?"" Topic

I'm told that "are you Swedish" is an old American expression that is synonymous with "has the cat got your tongue?"

I don't believe it, have never heard of it, can't Google it anywhere…

Nope, never heard it either.

Neotacha (who is part Swedish) says she has never heard it either. I think someone is scrubbing your kitchen floor (an old American expression that means roughly the same as "yanking your chain").

This was all that an extensive Web search revealed:

Once there came a customer into the store and asked, "Kan jag få två smørgåssar?" (May I have two sandwiches?).

The store-clerk then asked, "Are you Swedish?"

Whereupon the customer said, "Er det fordi jag sa 'smørgåssar' de skjønnte at jag var svensk?" (Is it because I said 'smørgåssar', i.e. the Swedish word for sandwich, that you knew I was a Swede?)

The clerk made a cunning smirk, "No, it is because you're in a hardware store."

Then there is the joke about a man with a Scandinavian accent who goes into a store. He asks for one item, the clerk gets it, then asks for another of the same item (repeat several times).

Eventually the clerk says "Are you finished?". "No." he replies, "I am Swedish".

Yes, the Finns and the Swedes love to tell jokes about the alleged lack of intelligence just across the border.

Noddy Holder heard that Glam Rock was in for a resurgence, so went to the local Theatrical Costumier and asked for a spangly Jacket with foot-wide lapels, a pair of purple drainpipe trousers and a sequined shirt with eough Lace to make a pair of curtains, and a ludicrous Hat.

'Yes Sir.Do you want a Kipper Tie?'

'Please. Two Sugars.'

Pat

link

Max, you are on a board where a majority of posters think Birmingham is in Alabama.

"The flim is okeedokee." See, I am Swedish.

I have something that could be connected to this.
Anyone read spanish?
There is spanish term, "hacerse el sueco" that means to pretend to be stupid. I have seen several explanations of this, the most interesting is that during the 30-years war Swedish POW were tortured by spanish troops. Since the Swedes spoke no spanish (or any other decent language), all the interrogators got was something like "nejslutaförhelvetedetgörontochjagförstårintevadnifrågar", which was of course of no use, so they would stop the torture. Other troops picked up on this strategy and hence "to play Swedish" was to pretend to be stupd and useless for interrogation purposes.