Chiefnj2
07-24-2008, 01:11 PM
An interview with Redskins OL Casey Rabach.
Casey Rabach Speaks a Strange Language
(Getty)With all my postings about Fred Smoot saying stuff and me not understanding, there was some lingering acrid scent suggesting that the only reason this was funny was because a black dude was talking to a white dude, and the white dude didn't know what the hell the black dude was talking about.
But any racial uneasiness can be put to rest, after this conversation I had with the extremely white Casey Rabach concerning the offensive line's adaptation into Jim Zorn's offense. Apparently, I just don't speak Modern American English. I must not be watching the right shows.
"You know, obviously there are idiosyncrasies that kind of [screw] with it, but most of that just comes out with discussions in the o-line and then it's all set," Rabach said of the line's progress. "You know, the running game is a carry-over from last year, so that's cod lock. We've been doing that for three years here."
"What?" I asked, cluelessly. "Cod lock?"
"It's ingrained," he translated. "We've got it. Cod lock. You've never heard that?"
I hadn't. I still don't know if that's how it's spelled. Any upper Midwesterners want to help? He insisted this wasn't profane, but the closest I could find on Google was this definition: "Wool from the scrotum; usually heavily stained with yolk." Surely that's not what he meant. Surely heavily stained scrotum wool does not signify an offensive lineman who knows a blocking scheme. (Although it would be oddly appropriate.)
"Like the fish?" I asked Rabach.
"Never mind," he said. "No, not like the fish. 'Hey, Elfman, what does cod lock mean?' " Rabach shouted over to the Washington Times's David Elfin. "If I tell you everything's cod lock, everything's straight, what does that mean?"
Elfin, thankfully, gave him a blank and confused stare.
"Ah, you [bleeping] East Coasters," Rabach said.
"A fishing thing?" Elfin guessed.
"No," Rabach said, sadly. "Anyways, that's carry over, so everything's copasteady on there. You know that one? Copasetic? Meaning everything's right?"
"Right right," I said.
"We're gonna have a little English [lesson]," Rabach said. "You know what everyone calls a water fountain out here?" I nodded.
And do you know what the Wisconsinese version is? Well, Rabach's gonna tell you.
"A bubbler," he said. "Ok? You know what, we'll reconvene another day, give you some more."
I had no idea that Wisconsinites spoke some sort of pidgin dialect. As a native Western New Yorker, all I could think of for WNY-centric words were "pop" for soda, "Loganberry" for the ubiquitous uncarbonated fruity beverage, and "crik" for creek, but that's no cod lock. Is that the right spelling? Does it really have to do with stained scrotums? Are there bizarre terms like this in other regions? And what does Smoot make of this all?
Casey Rabach Speaks a Strange Language
(Getty)With all my postings about Fred Smoot saying stuff and me not understanding, there was some lingering acrid scent suggesting that the only reason this was funny was because a black dude was talking to a white dude, and the white dude didn't know what the hell the black dude was talking about.
But any racial uneasiness can be put to rest, after this conversation I had with the extremely white Casey Rabach concerning the offensive line's adaptation into Jim Zorn's offense. Apparently, I just don't speak Modern American English. I must not be watching the right shows.
"You know, obviously there are idiosyncrasies that kind of [screw] with it, but most of that just comes out with discussions in the o-line and then it's all set," Rabach said of the line's progress. "You know, the running game is a carry-over from last year, so that's cod lock. We've been doing that for three years here."
"What?" I asked, cluelessly. "Cod lock?"
"It's ingrained," he translated. "We've got it. Cod lock. You've never heard that?"
I hadn't. I still don't know if that's how it's spelled. Any upper Midwesterners want to help? He insisted this wasn't profane, but the closest I could find on Google was this definition: "Wool from the scrotum; usually heavily stained with yolk." Surely that's not what he meant. Surely heavily stained scrotum wool does not signify an offensive lineman who knows a blocking scheme. (Although it would be oddly appropriate.)
"Like the fish?" I asked Rabach.
"Never mind," he said. "No, not like the fish. 'Hey, Elfman, what does cod lock mean?' " Rabach shouted over to the Washington Times's David Elfin. "If I tell you everything's cod lock, everything's straight, what does that mean?"
Elfin, thankfully, gave him a blank and confused stare.
"Ah, you [bleeping] East Coasters," Rabach said.
"A fishing thing?" Elfin guessed.
"No," Rabach said, sadly. "Anyways, that's carry over, so everything's copasteady on there. You know that one? Copasetic? Meaning everything's right?"
"Right right," I said.
"We're gonna have a little English [lesson]," Rabach said. "You know what everyone calls a water fountain out here?" I nodded.
And do you know what the Wisconsinese version is? Well, Rabach's gonna tell you.
"A bubbler," he said. "Ok? You know what, we'll reconvene another day, give you some more."
I had no idea that Wisconsinites spoke some sort of pidgin dialect. As a native Western New Yorker, all I could think of for WNY-centric words were "pop" for soda, "Loganberry" for the ubiquitous uncarbonated fruity beverage, and "crik" for creek, but that's no cod lock. Is that the right spelling? Does it really have to do with stained scrotums? Are there bizarre terms like this in other regions? And what does Smoot make of this all?