Comments on: Kit and Caboodle http://www.word-detective.com/2011/08/kit-and-caboodle/ Semper Ubi Sub Ubi Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:32:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jim Thuston http://www.word-detective.com/2011/08/kit-and-caboodle/comment-page-1/#comment-43481 Jim Thuston Sat, 15 Sep 2012 10:16:54 +0000 http://www.word-detective.com/?p=5495#comment-43481 When Iwas a young lad , What we called bum's in the old days, Would come around to the back of my grand mother restrant, for food she would feed them, they put most of the food in a pice of cloth tied it up and stuck it on a stick they caried over their shoulder. they they called their kit and caboutal JR When Iwas a young lad , What we called bum’s in the old days, Would come around to the back of my grand mother restrant, for food she would feed them, they put most of the food in a pice of cloth tied it up and stuck it on a stick they caried over their shoulder. they they called their kit and caboutal JR

]]> By: All that and more! « Tidbits & Treasures http://www.word-detective.com/2011/08/kit-and-caboodle/comment-page-1/#comment-42391 All that and more! « Tidbits & Treasures Thu, 02 Aug 2012 06:09:12 +0000 http://www.word-detective.com/?p=5495#comment-42391 [...] - – - – - - Sources for this post include: Wikipedia ~ Kaboodle The Word Detective ~ kit and caboodle World Wide Words ~ kit and caboodle Like this:LikeBe the first to like [...] [...] – – – – – - Sources for this post include: Wikipedia ~ Kaboodle The Word Detective ~ kit and caboodle World Wide Words ~ kit and caboodle Like this:LikeBe the first to like [...]

]]> By: Dewayne Erdman http://www.word-detective.com/2011/08/kit-and-caboodle/comment-page-1/#comment-22030 Dewayne Erdman Sat, 27 Aug 2011 06:49:50 +0000 http://www.word-detective.com/?p=5495#comment-22030 My friend referred me to your site, so I thought I’d come have a read. Very interesting material, will be back for more! My friend referred me to your site, so I thought I’d come have a read. Very interesting material, will be back for more!

]]> By: admin http://www.word-detective.com/2011/08/kit-and-caboodle/comment-page-1/#comment-15396 admin Wed, 23 Mar 2011 02:29:19 +0000 http://www.word-detective.com/?p=5495#comment-15396 "Kitbag question" is great, and your explanation is fascinating -- thanks. I don't know of any other expression that so perfectly sums up that "I can't believe that fool asked that..." “Kitbag question” is great, and your explanation is fascinating — thanks. I don’t know of any other expression that so perfectly sums up that “I can’t believe that fool asked that…”

]]> By: Yael http://www.word-detective.com/2011/08/kit-and-caboodle/comment-page-1/#comment-15380 Yael Tue, 22 Mar 2011 12:04:03 +0000 http://www.word-detective.com/?p=5495#comment-15380 This is rather tangential, but you having mentioned a soldier's 'kit bag' reminds me of a fun little Hebrew idiom, which I thought to share: 'kitbag question'. Some background: in Israel, there's a whole bunch of military jargon terms that have been borrowed from English (which makes sense, seeing as a lot of the Israeli military was based on the British army) - 'kit bag', or 'kitbag', is one, as is 'pass' (that piece of paper signed by an officer that says it's okay for you to be out of your base), 'after' (a short leave, from 'after-duty'), and a bit more archaically, 'mesting' (from 'mess tin', which the internet tells me is also called a 'mess kit', which brings us back to 'kit bag'). Anyway, the IDF 'kitbag' is a standard-issue large bag or sack that soldiers receive upon enlisting to stow all their stuff; and while most soldiers prefer to use normal bags or backpacks, in the strange little world of basic training you are supposed to actually be using that POS as part of your standard gear. And since it is a large, heavy and unwieldy object, the drill sergeants obviously rejoice in having soldiers carry it whether they need to or not. Thus comes the (perhaps apocryphal, perhaps based on a grain of truth) story of a troop of soldiers in basic training being told they need to be in spot X within Y minutes, and the one schlemiel who decides to ask 'should we take our kitbags?' - the sergeant's answer being 'yes', of course, giving the whole troop extra work. So, a 'kitbag question' is a question that shouldn't have been asked, since it causes everyone involved more grief than was previously necessary, e.g. 'Are we supposed to finish this project before the weekend?' or 'Will we have a quiz next week?' (assuming that the answer will be 'yes', and that it might not have been so if the question hasn't been asked). There is some interpretation that a 'kitbag question' is any question with a painfully obvious answer, but I think usage leans more toward what I previously described. I hope that wasn't too long and rambling; I just happen to like this expression, which in some environments can be pretty useful. This is rather tangential, but you having mentioned a soldier’s ‘kit bag’ reminds me of a fun little Hebrew idiom, which I thought to share: ‘kitbag question’.
Some background: in Israel, there’s a whole bunch of military jargon terms that have been borrowed from English (which makes sense, seeing as a lot of the Israeli military was based on the British army) – ‘kit bag’, or ‘kitbag’, is one, as is ‘pass’ (that piece of paper signed by an officer that says it’s okay for you to be out of your base), ‘after’ (a short leave, from ‘after-duty’), and a bit more archaically, ‘mesting’ (from ‘mess tin’, which the internet tells me is also called a ‘mess kit’, which brings us back to ‘kit bag’).
Anyway, the IDF ‘kitbag’ is a standard-issue large bag or sack that soldiers receive upon enlisting to stow all their stuff; and while most soldiers prefer to use normal bags or backpacks, in the strange little world of basic training you are supposed to actually be using that POS as part of your standard gear. And since it is a large, heavy and unwieldy object, the drill sergeants obviously rejoice in having soldiers carry it whether they need to or not.
Thus comes the (perhaps apocryphal, perhaps based on a grain of truth) story of a troop of soldiers in basic training being told they need to be in spot X within Y minutes, and the one schlemiel who decides to ask ‘should we take our kitbags?’ – the sergeant’s answer being ‘yes’, of course, giving the whole troop extra work.
So, a ‘kitbag question’ is a question that shouldn’t have been asked, since it causes everyone involved more grief than was previously necessary, e.g. ‘Are we supposed to finish this project before the weekend?’ or ‘Will we have a quiz next week?’ (assuming that the answer will be ‘yes’, and that it might not have been so if the question hasn’t been asked). There is some interpretation that a ‘kitbag question’ is any question with a painfully obvious answer, but I think usage leans more toward what I previously described.

I hope that wasn’t too long and rambling; I just happen to like this expression, which in some environments can be pretty useful.

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