As Deep as the Sea

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Dale. Dale Wright from San Diego.

Hi, Dale. Welcome.

Hi, what’s up? How can we help?

Well, I’m originally from New York City. I was born and raised there, but I also used to live with my grandmother and grandfather in Charleston, South Carolina, when I was very young, about 11, 12. So when I was there, I made my grandmother angry one day by staying out way too late, and she asked me what took me so long to get home, and I gave her a very detailed explanation on what took me so long to get home from the movies, and she looked at me, and she got very upset, and she said, boy, you’re as deep as the sea, and I had no idea what that meant, but I knew she wasn’t paying me a compliment, and I knew she was very upset, and that saying just stuck with me.

As deep as the sea, D-E-E-P?

Yes.

Deep? Okay, deep water.

You’re as deep as the sea.

Mm-Yeah. And did she use it more than once or just at one time?

Only when she was very upset. It only came out now and then.

In the two to three years I was with them, I believe I heard that saying once or twice, maybe three times, and she definitely wasn’t paying me a compliment.

Oh, so she says you’re as deep as the sea. Does that mean you’re in as deep trouble as the sea is deep?

Yes, that meant there was more trouble to follow because she was not happy with my behavior.

I got you. That’s a good one. And that sounds like probably that was the politest way she could say that you were in deep doo-doo.

Absolutely. Yes, there was more trouble to follow.

Well, I’ll tell you, I first heard a variation of it when I listened to ham radio operators as a boy. One, two hams were bickering on the air, and it was hilarious to me. One of them was in Florida and one of them was in Michigan. And one of them told the other one, you are lower than whale poop.

I guess that would be pretty low.

And so it’s a variation. So it’s just talking about being deep into trouble, but being low as in like not worthy of attention or not behaving at your best, being like common in the worst way or ordinary in the worst way.

Well, it sounds like you turned out all right, though.

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

After the discipline from New York City and especially Charleston, South Carolina. They taught you well, trust me. They taught you about respect for parents, teachers. You was going to go to church on Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, and Wednesdays. That goes without question.

But it was very helpful. It kept me out of trouble for the most part.

Dale, we want to thank you for calling.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Take care now.

Thanks for sharing that memory.

Bye now.

You’re as deep as the sea.

I was going to say that maybe he was prevaricating, you know, maybe he was kind of lying to her and he was like, you know, she was suggesting. She got to put on her waders. Piling it deep.

Well, he’s in deep anyway, in deep trouble.

Yeah.

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