Other Usage
In French-Canadian culture, particularly in and around Quebec, the use of the names of holy objects such as "câlice" (a variation of calice, which is the French word for chalice) can be an alternate form of cursing. Somewhat equivalent to the American word "goddam" or the phrase "God damn it", the use of "câlice" or "tabarnak" (a variation of tabernacle) as an interjection is not uncommon in Quebec. For example: "Câlice! I forgot to lock the front door" or muttering "tabarnak" under your breath after you get a flat tire. Presumably a derivation of "taking the Lord's name in vain".
In Serbo-Croatian, it has coined the word šalica, which means a glass cup.
In 1988, the term "poisoned chalice" became famous when Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran had to accept the UN ceasefire ending the Iran-Iraq War. In his radio announcement, he stated "Happy are those who have lost their lives in this convoy of light...unhappy am I that I still remain and have drunk the poisoned chalice," comparing the acceptance of peace to drinking a cup of poison.
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Famous quotes containing the word usage:
“Girls who put out are tramps. Girls who don’t are ladies. This is, however, a rather archaic usage of the word. Should one of you boys happen upon a girl who doesn’t put out, do not jump to the conclusion that you have found a lady. What you have probably found is a lesbian.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1951)
“I am using it [the word ‘perceive’] here in such a way that to say of an object that it is perceived does not entail saying that it exists in any sense at all. And this is a perfectly correct and familiar usage of the word.”
—A.J. (Alfred Jules)