Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
making onions
English answer:
uncovering/adding layers of (hidden) meaning
Added to glossary by
Yvonne Gallagher
Jun 11, 2021 16:51
2 yrs ago
43 viewers *
English term
making onions
English
Art/Literary
Slang
"I don’t know, sometimes I think the Murphys . . . Well, you know, because it used to be the Ryans, didn’t
it? Maybe they’re afraid to move you up, you might have thoughts of restoring the old dynasty. And if you and Terri have a boy . . . a Murphy and a Ryan? I mean, come on.”
“I just want to make a living.”
“Don’t we all?” Peter laughed, and he let it drop.
Danny knew that Peter was making onions. He liked Peter, considered him a friend, but Peter was going to be Peter. And Danny had to admit there was some truth to what Peter said.
Irish mafia, Rhode Island, 1980s
Danny is a Ryan, married to a Murphy girl. The Ryans used to run the organization before, now it's the Murphys. Peter thinks that Danny's standing is too low.
it? Maybe they’re afraid to move you up, you might have thoughts of restoring the old dynasty. And if you and Terri have a boy . . . a Murphy and a Ryan? I mean, come on.”
“I just want to make a living.”
“Don’t we all?” Peter laughed, and he let it drop.
Danny knew that Peter was making onions. He liked Peter, considered him a friend, but Peter was going to be Peter. And Danny had to admit there was some truth to what Peter said.
Irish mafia, Rhode Island, 1980s
Danny is a Ryan, married to a Murphy girl. The Ryans used to run the organization before, now it's the Murphys. Peter thinks that Danny's standing is too low.
Responses
| 2 -1 | maybe layers of meaning... |
Yvonne Gallagher
|
| 2 | making onions |
Cilian O'Tuama
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Change log
Jun 15, 2021 15:03: Yvonne Gallagher Created KOG entry
Jun 15, 2021 15:03: Yvonne Gallagher changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/1300525">Yvonne Gallagher's</a> old entry - "making onions"" to ""uncovering/adding layers of (hidden) meaning""
Responses
-1
17 hrs
Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Ireland
Native in English
&
English
Ireland
right word, right place. everytime
Native in: English (Variants: US, Canadian, Irish, UK) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
24
Selected
maybe layers of meaning...
Like the others I have never seen this expression before but I don't believe it's about making anyone cry as you cry cutting onions NOT "making" them
I would imagine that the meaning is more linked to layers of the onion or layers of meaning or perspective.
Here it seems Peter is making some conjectures, possibly peeling off some layers of an onion to see what lies below.or adding some layers as to what may happen in the future
He tells Danny, a Ryan, that the Murphys might be afraid of giving him more status because they are afraid he "might have thoughts of restoring the old dynasty" (putting the Ryans back on top) and then he goes on to add another layer to the "onion" by asking what will happen when a child of the Ryan/Murphy union is born? Who will be on top then? The child would be a Ryan after all if it takes the father's name as is more usual
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Note added at 3 days 22 hrs (2021-06-15 15:01:49 GMT) Post-grading
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Glad to help and to see that you can ignore clueless "disagrees".
People often use the metaphor/expression "layers of an onion" to describe layers of hiden or underlying meaning so it's my best guess to the meaning here while taking the context into consideration.
here in psychotherapy
https://treehouserecoverypdx.com/addiction-blog/peeling-back...
or
e.g here in a different workplace context
https://workplaceinsight.net/the-benefits-of-peeling-back-th...
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Note added at 3 days 22 hrs (2021-06-15 15:39:26 GMT) Post-grading
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Exactly!
I would imagine that the meaning is more linked to layers of the onion or layers of meaning or perspective.
Here it seems Peter is making some conjectures, possibly peeling off some layers of an onion to see what lies below.or adding some layers as to what may happen in the future
He tells Danny, a Ryan, that the Murphys might be afraid of giving him more status because they are afraid he "might have thoughts of restoring the old dynasty" (putting the Ryans back on top) and then he goes on to add another layer to the "onion" by asking what will happen when a child of the Ryan/Murphy union is born? Who will be on top then? The child would be a Ryan after all if it takes the father's name as is more usual
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Note added at 3 days 22 hrs (2021-06-15 15:01:49 GMT) Post-grading
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Glad to help and to see that you can ignore clueless "disagrees".
People often use the metaphor/expression "layers of an onion" to describe layers of hiden or underlying meaning so it's my best guess to the meaning here while taking the context into consideration.
here in psychotherapy
https://treehouserecoverypdx.com/addiction-blog/peeling-back...
or
e.g here in a different workplace context
https://workplaceinsight.net/the-benefits-of-peeling-back-th...
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Note added at 3 days 22 hrs (2021-06-15 15:39:26 GMT) Post-grading
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Exactly!
Note from asker:
| Well, I've been considering it from every possible angle, from financial matters to rivalry and rocking the boat, and only one thing is certain: Peter is peeling off the layers of Danny's situation, so I'll stick to it. |
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Daryo
: that kind of "onion" would be more the symbol for the Tor network - these are gangsters, not hackers.// what have hackers got to do with layers of an onion? You could take a look at what is the Tor network, for example?
12 hrs
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what have hackers got to do with layers of an onions and layers of meaning?
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| disagree |
Serhan Elmacıoğlu
: It doesn’t make sense
2 days 4 hrs
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and you'd know what "makes sense" in English? LOL ?? What doesn't make sense is your clueless disagree. Why not propose an answer since you seem so sure?
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I think this is the best I can do with this guessing-game. Thank you"
7 hrs
Cilian O'Tuama
Germany
Germany
Native in English
&
English
Germany
Quality Translations since 1986
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, English, German, and 6 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
8
making onions
I’d never heard the expression before either, but the context suggests that here it means that poor Danny knows that rich Peter is resorting to (tear-inducing) onions to try to get Danny to feel better. For Danny’s sake, P is “pretending” to be no better off.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Daryo
: sounds to me like some Irish Mob specific slang - if you expect them to make it easy for outsiders to figure it out ...
22 hrs
|
Reference comments
3 hrs
David Hollywood
Native in English
&
English
worked for int. orgs (IMF, OAS, IDB)
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
8
Reference:
Who's cutting onions in here meaning? In simple words it is “putting the blame on someone for your tears”
"making onions" is not a common expression in English but maybe somebody knows exactly what it means
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Note added at 3 hrs (2021-06-11 20:09:28 GMT)
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I certainly don't...
"making onions" is not a common expression in English but maybe somebody knows exactly what it means
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Note added at 3 hrs (2021-06-11 20:09:28 GMT)
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I certainly don't...
Discussion
But that's ONLY a guess!
We even have no idea if it's an expression specific to Irish in general, to Irish living in New York, or if it's some kind of "internal jargon" specific to the New York Irish Mob.