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Idiom: different strokes for different folks



 
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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
Paragraph: 'A long time ago there lived a rich, good-looking king...' | meaning of "frankly revolting"
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Idiom: different strokes for different folks #1 (permalink) Fri Mar 09, 2007 2:32 am   Idiom: different strokes for different folks
 

Hi,

Could you please tell me what the 'stroke' in 'different strokes for different folks' originally applied to?

Many thanks in advance.

Haihao
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Idiom: different strokes for different folks #2 (permalink) Fri Mar 09, 2007 3:34 am   Idiom: different strokes for different folks
 

I've looked this up, and nobody seems to know how the phrase originated or what "strokes" originally applied to. It's some kind of southern US dialect slang from the 1950s.
Jamie (K)
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Idiom: different strokes for different folks #3 (permalink) Fri Mar 09, 2007 6:45 am   Idiom: different strokes for different folks
 

According to dictionary.com stroke can mean:

Informal To behave attentively or flatteringly toward, especially in order to restore to confidence or win over

Maybe stroke here means the 'manner/way' of approaching a person. Quoting you Haihao: just my two cents :wink:
NinaZara
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Idiom: different strokes for different folks #4 (permalink) Fri Mar 09, 2007 6:53 am   Idiom: different strokes for different folks
 

Oh your two cents mean a million to me, Nina, :) thank you for the tip.

Haihao
Haihao
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Idiom: different strokes for different folks #5 (permalink) Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:02 am   Idiom: different strokes for different folks
 

You're too kind. Anyway, I've been wondering since you told me your real name, were you called 'Shinchan' when you were a child? 'Crayon Shinchan' is one of my favorite cartoon.Thou he's unbearably annoying (*_*) .
NinaZara
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Idiom: different strokes for different folks #6 (permalink) Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:20 am   Idiom: different strokes for different folks
 

Actually there are people still calling me that way even now, but nothing to do with 'Crayon Shinchan' :D (kiddin'). He's really a brat, I was not. :)
Haihao
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Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 2471
Location: Japan

Idiom: different strokes for different folks #7 (permalink) Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:27 am   Idiom: different strokes for different folks
 

Haihao wrote:
He's really a brat, I was not. :)


I know baby, I know :wink:
NinaZara
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Joined: 04 Jan 2007
Posts: 1168
Location: Malaysia (Cat city)

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Paragraph: 'A long time ago there lived a rich, good-looking king...' | meaning of "frankly revolting"
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