Tripping on the Light Fantastic

Lighter discourse: tell jokes, discuss film, art, books, poetry, whatever makes you feel good.

Moderator:Metacrock

User avatar
Bettawoman
Posts:122
Joined:Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:46 pm
Tripping on the Light Fantastic

Post by Bettawoman » Sun Dec 06, 2015 12:25 am

Meaning

To dance, especially in an imaginative or 'fantastic' manner.

Origin:

trip the light fantastic. This apparently obscure expression originates from the works of John Milton. In the masque Comus, 1637, he used the lines:

Come, knit hands, and beat the ground,
In a light fantastic round.

By 'trip', Milton didn't mean 'catch one's feet and stumble'. The word had long been used to mean 'dance nimbly'. Chaucer used it that way as early as 1386, in The Miller's Tale:

In twenty manere koude he trippe and daunce. (In twenty ways could he trip and dance.)

Clearly, Milton was referring to dancing. He must have liked the imagery, as he used it again in the poem L'Allegro, 1645:

Sport that wrinkled Care derives,
And Laughter holding both his sides.
Come, and trip it as you go
On the light fantastic toe.

The 'light fantastic toe' was the form that was used when the phrase first circulated, as in this extract from The Times, November 1803:

"A splendid ball was also given; where the CONSUL himself tripped it on the light fantastic toe."
Time taken to breathe is time taken for peace.

User avatar
Bettawoman
Posts:122
Joined:Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:46 pm

Re: Tripping on the Light Fantastic

Post by Bettawoman » Sun Dec 06, 2015 12:35 am

Perhaps a place to trip forward with words, and, though stumbling, recover and fall forward again with panache and purpose. Bring it, one and all, a place where fingers nimble on the keyboard, capture and bring forth words and images, meaning nothing and meaning everything. A dance of words, prancing and preening, or downright funky and unseemly.

Poetry
or lack there of
Samhadhi is the goal
where it comes from
no one knows
inspiration
or gall
of a gull
in flight over
the dark ocean night

RELAX! RELAX! RELAX -- DAMMIT!
Time taken to breathe is time taken for peace.

User avatar
Metacrock
Posts:10046
Joined:Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:03 am
Location:Dallas
Contact:

Re: Tripping on the Light Fantastic

Post by Metacrock » Mon Dec 07, 2015 12:20 pm

Bettawoman wrote:Perhaps a place to trip forward with words, and, though stumbling, recover and fall forward again with panache and purpose. Bring it, one and all, a place where fingers nimble on the keyboard, capture and bring forth words and images, meaning nothing and meaning everything. A dance of words, prancing and preening, or downright funky and unseemly.

Poetry
or lack there of
Samhadhi is the goal
where it comes from
no one knows
inspiration
or gall
of a gull
in flight over
the dark ocean night

RELAX! RELAX! RELAX -- DAMMIT!
LOL great post :mrgreen:
Have Theology, Will argue: wire Metacrock
Buy My book: The Trace of God: Warrant for belief

Jim B.
Posts:1445
Joined:Fri Aug 23, 2013 2:36 am

Re: Tripping on the Light Fantastic

Post by Jim B. » Mon Dec 07, 2015 2:01 pm

Bettawoman wrote:Perhaps a place to trip forward with words, and, though stumbling, recover and fall forward again with panache and purpose. Bring it, one and all, a place where fingers nimble on the keyboard, capture and bring forth words and images, meaning nothing and meaning everything. A dance of words, prancing and preening, or downright funky and unseemly.

Poetry
or lack there of
Samhadhi is the goal
where it comes from
no one knows
inspiration
or gall
of a gull
in flight over
the dark ocean night

RELAX! RELAX! RELAX -- DAMMIT!
I remember coming across a book form the 1940's in a library once, the title was "YOU MUST RELAX!" :D

User avatar
Metacrock
Posts:10046
Joined:Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:03 am
Location:Dallas
Contact:

Re: Tripping on the Light Fantastic

Post by Metacrock » Wed Dec 09, 2015 10:33 am

Jim B. wrote:
Bettawoman wrote:Perhaps a place to trip forward with words, and, though stumbling, recover and fall forward again with panache and purpose. Bring it, one and all, a place where fingers nimble on the keyboard, capture and bring forth words and images, meaning nothing and meaning everything. A dance of words, prancing and preening, or downright funky and unseemly.

Poetry
or lack there of
Samhadhi is the goal
where it comes from
no one knows
inspiration
or gall
of a gull
in flight over
the dark ocean night

RELAX! RELAX! RELAX -- DAMMIT!
I remember coming across a book form the 1940's in a library once, the title was "YOU MUST RELAX!" :D
lol :mrgreen:
Have Theology, Will argue: wire Metacrock
Buy My book: The Trace of God: Warrant for belief

User avatar
Bettawoman
Posts:122
Joined:Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:46 pm

Re: Tripping on the Light Fantastic

Post by Bettawoman » Thu Dec 10, 2015 3:45 am

Metacrock wrote:
Jim B. wrote:
Bettawoman wrote:Perhaps a place to trip forward with words, and, though stumbling, recover and fall forward again with panache and purpose. Bring it, one and all, a place where fingers nimble on the keyboard, capture and bring forth words and images, meaning nothing and meaning everything. A dance of words, prancing and preening, or downright funky and unseemly.

Poetry
or lack there of
Samhadhi is the goal
where it comes from
no one knows
inspiration
or gall
of a gull
in flight over
the dark ocean night

RELAX! RELAX! RELAX -- DAMMIT!
I remember coming across a book form the 1940's in a library once, the title was "YOU MUST RELAX!" :D
lol :mrgreen:
It's trooooooo! Thou must relax...try real real hard. It will feel really really good! You owe humanity that. SERIOUSLY!
Time taken to breathe is time taken for peace.

User avatar
Bettawoman
Posts:122
Joined:Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:46 pm

Re: Tripping on the Light Fantastic

Post by Bettawoman » Thu Dec 10, 2015 3:46 am

Metacrock wrote:
Jim B. wrote:
Bettawoman wrote:Perhaps a place to trip forward with words, and, though stumbling, recover and fall forward again with panache and purpose. Bring it, one and all, a place where fingers nimble on the keyboard, capture and bring forth words and images, meaning nothing and meaning everything. A dance of words, prancing and preening, or downright funky and unseemly.

Poetry
or lack there of
Samhadhi is the goal
where it comes from
no one knows
inspiration
or gall
of a gull
in flight over
the dark ocean night

RELAX! RELAX! RELAX -- DAMMIT!
I remember coming across a book form the 1940's in a library once, the title was "YOU MUST RELAX!" :D
lol :mrgreen:
It's trooooooo! Thou must relax...try real real hard. It will feel really really good! You owe humanity that. SERIOUSLY!
Time taken to breathe is time taken for peace.

User avatar
Bettawoman
Posts:122
Joined:Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:46 pm

Re: Tripping on the Light Fantastic

Post by Bettawoman » Thu Dec 10, 2015 3:51 am

I haven't posted any art for a while. This one I sold and still miss. Enjoy, trip out!
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Time taken to breathe is time taken for peace.

User avatar
Bettawoman
Posts:122
Joined:Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:46 pm

Re: Tripping on the Light Fantastic

Post by Bettawoman » Thu Dec 10, 2015 4:25 am

And this is a friend tripping out and kicking up some joy!
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Time taken to breathe is time taken for peace.

User avatar
Metacrock
Posts:10046
Joined:Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:03 am
Location:Dallas
Contact:

Re: Tripping on the Light Fantastic

Post by Metacrock » Sat Dec 12, 2015 1:54 am

Bettawoman wrote:I haven't posted any art for a while. This one I sold and still miss. Enjoy, trip out!
cool
Have Theology, Will argue: wire Metacrock
Buy My book: The Trace of God: Warrant for belief

Post Reply