Wouldn't it make more sense to read Indian authors who wrote/write in English ? I am thinking of people like R.K. Narayan, V.S. Naipaul, Jhumpa Lahiri, Rohinton Mistry, Vikram Chandra, G.V. Desani, Kiran Desai, Aravind Adiga, Arundhati Roy, Amit Chaudhuri and Vikram Seth. Or Salman Rushdie ("Midnight's Children" in particular).

Not seen that one, I'll stick on the "to buy" list. Incidentally, if you like Wodehouse and enjoy a decent parody/homage, What Ho! Automaton is a spanking good read. Though I should really put this in the "what are you reading" thread :)

No, never been too keen on Wodehouse. Or Jane Austen, but my sister is. As far as 19th Century literature is concerned, a few years ago I suddenly developed Dickensmania, reading almost all his novels one after another. OK except for the occasional OTT sentimentality.

What does that mean? What is a "sows ear"?

A sow is a pig. See: http://www.usingenglish.com/referenc...#39;s+ear.html

One may also say "you can't polish a turd" :)

Thanks for the explanation, though it wasn't pleasant :D

There's also a related expression, rendered here in a sort-of Lancashire accent:
"Eeee, lad (or lass), tha's med a reet pig's ear o' yon!"
Translation:
"I say, sir (or madam), you appear to have made an awful mess of that!"

No problem Ani :D

And good to see Brian spreading good old northern dialect to the masses!

When I'm king, it will be compulsory. No more posh talk, no more "estuary" accent, or whatever. Anybody caught pronouncing their aitches will be flogged through the streets.

More specifically, a sow is an adult female pig.

Next up, he will be bringing Ecky Thump to the world.

Aaprt from teh french, of course. They will get a free beer when heard pronouncing 'h'.

More more specifically, an adult female pig who has been mated, or farrowed once or twice (depending local usage). Or else its a gilt. I think that some places have another name for a female pig who has farrowed 'X' number of times, but I forget exactly what it is. Dam maybe?

I see my anal retention has been exceeded. Well done. ;)

This conversation got me to thinking about how many porcine idioms we have... "in a pig's eye," "when pigs fly," "pigging out," "porking," "makin' bacon," etc. What does this apparent pig fetish say about our culture?

For the non-native speakers among us, these idioms loosely translate to:

"in a pig's eye" - never
"when pigs fly" - also never
"pigging out" - grossly overeating... not to be confused with "eat like a pig," which can mean overeating, or making a giant mess while eating, or both.
"porking" and "makin' bacon" - having sex

I like my friends calling me Ani, really.
and this reminds me that I am yet to reply to your last mail, which I am going to do now.

Another one:
pig ignorant = stupid, with bad manners

Putting it all together - would the following sentence be correct?