doesn’t know/can’t tell come here from sick ’em is an idiom used to indicate that someone is confused or just plain stupid.
come here/sick ’em (haydenphotos.com)
it’s applied to humans as an insult, but it brings to mind the image of a dog that cannot distinguish between two different commands: come here which is for calling a dog and sick ’em (or sic ’em) which instructs a dog to attack. ‘em is a reduction; sometimes for them, sometimes for him too. sick ’em is pronounced like one word, SICK-um.
this tiktok, which is a literal example of the idiom, stars scrote, a mexican street dog
@richyrocksenglish does scrote the street dog know the difference between come here &sick ‘em? visit richyrocks.com and search “sick ‘em”for much more #english #vocabulary related to the vid #fyp #yourpage #englishcoach #idioms #englishteacher #englishpractice #englishlesson #englishclass #vocabularioeningles #comeherefromsickem ♬ Bring It on Home to Me – Remastered – Sam Cooke
it starts…
alright then scrote. try this again, shall we?
shall we is used to make a suggestion.
shall we dance? is a common way to ask another person for a dance and also the name of this popular movie
at :08 in the tiktok, listen for the phrasal verb tune out which means not listen to.
after several attempts to get scrote to come, the first robot says
goddammit scrote, don’t u blow me off.
goddammit (also written god damn it) demonstrates frustration with scrote’s disinterest. blow off is another phrasal verb that means ignore. it appears as part of a tricky (confusing, complicated) metaphor in the first rapped line of this popular gym class heroes/adam levine track…
if i was just another dusty record on the shelf
would u blow me off and play me like everybody else?
this lyric is also an example of 2nd conditional–used to describe a hypothetical situation
at :16 in the scrote tiktok, a second robot attempts to engage (establish a connection)scrote. she says…
let me take a whack at it
take a whack at means try. she then encourages (tries to persuade) scrote to…
get that rabbit back there behind u. sick ’em
get means catch. back there means behind, so this is slightly redundant, but notice that behind doesn’t include another preposition. it’s common for spanish speakers, based on the spanish prepositions detrás de and atrás de, to include of or from with behind. DON’T do it. behind stands alone in english.
whack by itself means hit as in the name of this popular arcade game. the name of the game is actually whac a mole but whac and whack mean the same thing
at :30, the second robot observes
my bad. looks like that rabbit is actually a dog turd.
my bad is used to accept responsibility for a mistake, usually a small one. a turd is a piece of poop. actually is to clarify the mistake, that the robot thought the turd was a rabbit. after the two robots share a very mechanical laugh, the first robot explains…
dogs poop
poop is a verb in this instance. it can be a noun too as in the phrase dog poop.
a friendly, ubiquitous example of turd
scrote is given several opportunities to come or sic, but his lack of reaction gives the idea at :41 that he doesn’t get it. get it means means understand, comprehend.
he doesn’t get it
in the phrase, can’t tell come here from sick ’em ( :42), tell means distinguish between, NOT say. the second robot’s conclusion is not nice…
he must be just about the stupidest street dog in mexico
must in this context is a strong probability, NOT an obligation. the stupidest is a superlative. so the second robot thinks scrote could be the #1 stupid street dog in mexico or at least close to it. just about means almost, pretty much. here are five cool musical examples…
the final two lines of the chorus of this marvin gaye classic say…
I heard it through the grapevine
and I’m just about to lose my mindwhodini‘s freaks come out at night, a tribute to early 80s party people in new york city, describes what freaks look like in the second verse. listen at 1:40 …
all kinds of colors runnin’ through their hair
and u could just about spot a freak anywherespot means see, identify.
the spoken intro of motley crue‘s smoking in the boys room (:50 in the video) says..
ya ever seem to have one of those days
where it just seems like everybody’s gettin’ on your case?
from your teacher all the way down to your ol best girlfriend?
well, ya know, i used to have ’em just about all the time.
but i found a way to get out of ’em. let me tell ya about it!
get on [yourl case is an idiom that means criticize or bother. all they way down to emphasizes that it really is everyone getting on his case. ol demonstrates affection, it doesn’t really mean the girlfriend in the lyrics is old. . get out of means avoid, escape. this intro is spoken very fast. it’s not easy to understand, in particular the phrase just about 🙀
listen at 2:30 for the second rap in bobby brown‘s don’t be cruel…
from fancy cars to diamond rings
i’ve just about given you everythingfancy means luxurious
and in kurt vile‘s track baby’s arms u can hear this lyric twice
i get sick of just about everyone
finally, at the end of the scrote tiktok, the first robot rejects the notion that scrote doesn’t know come here from sick ’em, interpreting his unresponsiveness (lack of response) as disobedience. the video concludes with more laughter about scrote literally being a son of a bitch (the original definition of bitch is female dog) and the observation that…
[scrote] was born like a mammal
notice that born by itsef is NOT a verb. the verb is actually was (be). scrote born like a mammal would be a mistake.
does scrote know come here from sick ’em? (tatiana shepeleva – stock)
so do u think scrote really doesn’t get it? he really can’t tell come here from sick ’em? is he a disobedient son of a bitch? or do u think he just doesn’t care? share your opinion under leave a reply