that old chestnut and other sayings

[iaineasy]

my old dad used to say "never kiss your granny while she's shaving" meaning never judge a job till it's finished as things often look worse before they get better. If you have ever wondered about "That old chestnut" I found it down the back of the sofa and was very interested to know what other funny sayings people used and more particularly the derivatives of them as they say alot about different cultures anyways here's that old chestnut and I look forward to reading about a few more.

That Old Chestnut

That's 'an old chestnut' means, usually, that a joke is old and well known. The origin here goes back to a near forgotten melodrama by William Diamond. The play, first produced in 1816, has one of the characters forever repeating the same joke, albeit with minor changes. The joke concerns a cork tree. On one occasion another character, Pablo, fed up with the same joke says; " A Chestnut. I have heard you tell the joke 27 times and I'm sure it was a Chestnut!" The quotation was used in real life by the American actor William Warren who, at the time, was playing the part of Pablo. He was at a dinner party when one of the guests started off on a well worn joke. Warren interrupted with the quotation, much to the amusement of the other guests. As a result the expression entered into the wider language.

hugs as ever

easy.

Edited to say

dfinition Posted by James Briggs on December 22, 2003 on the phrase finder forum

[HAL9000]

Christmas tip:

Roasted Chestnuts - delicious. Whether grilled or oven-baked - don't forget to pierce the shells or they will explode!

[computedshorty]

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[iaineasy]

ere a chestnut seller on northcross market?? maybe there should be...........

[computedshorty]

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[iaineasy]

yeah but I wonder wheree it came from, who said it first?

[computedshorty]

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[iaineasy]

thats brilliant love the old english, I was watching the snooker and Hazel Irvine said " that was snooker at its most mesmeric best" Thats so irritating, at its most mesmeric best? whatever happened to BBC english! grrrrrrrrrrrr

[HonaloochieB]

iaineasy Wrote:

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> thats brilliant love the old english, I was

> watching the snooker and Hazel Irvine said " that

> was snooker at its most mesmeric best" Thats so

> irritating, at its most mesmeric best? whatever

> happened to BBC english! grrrrrrrrrrrr

You blather Ian, I reckon that Hazel has you hypnotised. For sure.

[HonaloochieB]

computedshorty Wrote:

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> Meaning

>

> Don't pay someone to do a task and then do it

> yourself.

>

> Origin

>

> The earliest citation of this proverb is Brian

> Melbancke's Philotimus: the warre betwixt nature

> and fortune, 1583:

>

> "It is smal reason you should kepe a dog, and

> barke your selfe."

I think there may be an earlier citation CS, Bryan Enoenoeno's Phlebitus: warre wat zit gud fwoar solutely no thing, 1582:

"Piss, it be took freely, and wy not?

[computedshorty]

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[computedshorty]

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[daizie]

Bobs your Uncle

Meaning

To reach a satisfactory conclusion through minimum effort

Origin

Came into use following the appointment in the 1890s of Arthur Balfour to Secretary of State for Ireland. Balfour was a suprise - few thought he was qualified. It became known he was the nephew of British Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil and people said with a wink that anything was possible if Robert was your uncle .

[computedshorty]

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[daizie]

Not A Sausage

Meaning

A way of describing either something as free of charge or ones own self as being penniless.

Origin

It is derived from another example of the cockney ryhming slang of London, where sausage and mash was a staple diet between the 17th and 18th centuries. To be without ' sausage and mash' is to be without cash .

[EDmummy]

daizie Wrote:

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> Bobs your Uncle

> Meaning

>

> To reach a satisfactory conclusion through minimum

> effort

>

> Origin

>

> Came into use following the appointment in the

> 1890s of Arthur Balfour to Secretary of State for

> Ireland. Balfour was a suprise - few thought he

> was qualified. It became known he was the nephew

> of British Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil

> and people said with a wink that anything was

> possible if Robert was your uncle .

My mum used to say "Bob's your uncle and not your father after all".

[daizie]

Haha! I like that :)

[daizie]

Gone Round The Bend

Meaning

Is to unkindly infer someone has gone mad

Origin

In the 1900s, the Victorians built hospitals in which to confine the mentally unsound. At the time stately homes were built with long, straight driveways in order that the building could be seen from the main road in all its splendour, albeit from a distance. The mental homes were placed at the end of long, curved driveways so that they would remain unseen, and therefore if a person had 'gone round the bend' it meant that they had been confined .

[iaineasy]

wow daizie thats very interesting!! more more more

[iaineasy]

are youn Taking the piss?

Derived from the build-up of urine in the bladder puts pressure on the man's prostate gland, resulting in an erection. In the 17th and 18th Centuries, a man who was thought to be unnecessarily arrogant would be described as 'piss-proud'. If you were to ridicule someone for being too 'full of themself', you would 'take the piss' out of them.

[computedshorty]

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[computedshorty]

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[daizie]

I like this one .

Saved By the Bell

Although the phrase is associated with boxing, the origin is supposed to lie at the Horse Guard Parade in London. One night, during the Victorian era, a guard was famously accused of being asleep on duty. He denied the charge and claimed he had heard the main bell of Big Ben chime 13 times at midnight, instead of the usual 12. Such was the seriousness of the charge the clock mechanism was checked and it was discovered a cog was out of line and Big Ben would indeed chime 13 times instead of 12. On that evidence, the guard was freed - well and truly saved by the bell .

[computedshorty]

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[daizie]

Blimey, never knew that ::o