Re: USAGE: idioms with variable objects (was: deeply embedded VSO nightmare)

Teoh wrote:
>Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2001 10:56:16 -0400
>
>On Fri, Oct 26, 2001 at 09:56:24AM -0400, John Cowan wrote:
> > Muke Tever scripsit:
> >
> > > "All your base are belong to X"?  (= X is in a position of superiority
>over
> > > you)
> >
> > But "base" is not truly part of this idiom, if it even counts as an
>idiom,
>[snip]
>
>One of the funnier variants of this one I saw somewhere online:
>
>         "Al your Qaeda are belong to us."
>
>This is a punny reference to "Al Qaeda", the terrorist organization.
>"Qaeda" is Arabic for "base". Just so happens that this name happens to
>fit so well into the structure of this idiom :-)
"Qaeda" means base? I've seen "al-Qaeda" translated as "the Net" in a
variety of places, giving rise to jokes about bin Ladin controlling the 'Net
etc. A newspaper article listed the name as evidence that al-Qaeda is a very
modern-day phenomenon, and in no sense mediaeval (networks and "networking"
being all the rage nowadays).

                                                     Andreas

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