Qantas... Quite A Nice Trip, you say?

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/salt-of-the-earth.html

I'll kick off today with a Phrase (or Idiom) of the Day... "salt of the earth". I am aware  of its Biblical origin, but I was bemused that this idiom was used to describe a local politician in today's Straits Times (Page A44). Then again, if you do like the man, you will agree that he is "reliable and unpretentious". More about "salt of the earth" in the hyperlink above.

Also in today's ST was the headline "Mid-term results a shellacking: Obama". The copy itself used the word "shellacking" once, with no attempt to explain what the word means. Yet, as a reader of an online news service yesterday, I was already curious about this word and I benefited from the BBC's explanation, which I shared in this space yesterday. That's the way to serve readers!

But the news of the day was about the Qantas A380 super-jumbo jet liner that was forced to turn back to Singapore on Thursday while it was over Batam. An engine had caught fire following an explosion.

The plane landed safely. Still, it got me recalling the humorous variations given by creative wags to -- fairly or unfairly -- describe certain airlines, Qantas included. Before I go further, I must say that Qantas (original name: Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services) has never ever had a plane crash since it started using jet-powered aircraft in the 1950s.

Here are what the cheeky pundits coined up about some airlines:

Qantas
Quite a Nice Trip, All Survived
Quite a Nice Trip, Any Survivors?
Quick and Nasty, Typical Australian Service
Quick and Nasty, Try Another Service
Queers and Nuts Travel Aussie Style

MAS (Malaysia Airlines, previously Malaysian Airline System)
Mana Ada Sistem (system)

SIA (Singapore Airlines)
Sistem Ini Ada
Sex in the Air

BA (British Airways)
Bloody Awful

Delta
Doesn't Even Leave The Airport

Alitalia
Aircraft Landing in Tokyo, All Luggage in Amsterdam

Enjoy!