[Tango-L] (fwd) He played her like a violin

[Ed Loomis]

Hi folks,
     While I am sure that everyone posting to this thread means well I am amazed
that it is continuing the way that it is. In American slang to "play someone
like a violin" is an established figure of speech which dates back to the
prohibition era during which "violin" was also often synonymous with the
Thompson sub-machinegun, which was frequently concealed in a violin case. To say
that I "played someone like a violin" means that I manipulated them to my
advantage so cleverly and so completely that I made an utter fool out of them.
Why is anyone even surprised that the ladies on the list are annoyed at the
suggestion? 
     Can we please put this flea bitten old dog to bed and just let it go?!?
Ed

On Fri, 21 Dec 2007 17:50:28 +0000, Jay Rabe <jayrabe at hotmail.com> wrote:

Men are from Mars. They speak a different language. 

When a man says, "He played her like a violin...," what he means is, "He
expresses his musicality by leading her steps to accompany the music so
harmoniously that her feet could be a part of the orchestra. He pauses to give
her space to embellish at exactly those points in the musical score where such
embellishments fit perfectly with the music, as if she were part of the
orchestra." 

I dare say, it's highly likely that the woman who was dancing with the man so
described would have reported a sublime experience of exquisite musicality.