"Sling your hook" is a nautical expression and derives from a ship raising its anchor or hook before sailing.
The other explanation is that in the days of the music halls etc the proprietor would keep a hook on a pole handy and would drag artists off the stage who were performing badly.
Doesn't quite fall into this category, but a quote from an Aussie Dad in the sun today (story about the Air Quantos hostess joining the mile high club with Harry Potter)
[quote][cite]Posted By: MCS[/cite]Cheap, at half the price!
always has me baffled! although that aint hard![/quote]
It's just sarcasm. Saying if it was half as expensive it would be cheap. Slinging your hook is to do with fishermen or dockers last task before they head off to the pub.
I like different gravy, but no idea where it came from.
I thought the expression was 'twice as cheap at half the price'. Usually used in moments of deep irony re the cheapness or expensiveness (?) of something.
Anyone ever heard of ' Bugger that for a game of toy soldiers'. I think means something like I'm not doing that etc. but not sure on the derivation.
The Aussie expression for a vom is a good one - Chunder. This comes from the period when we originally shipped the criminals over to Australia (perhaps we should start this again??). They would feel seasick and go to throw up over the side of the ship. So the people below didn't get a coating of puke, somebody would should 'Watch Under!' to alert them - shortened to chunder... here the lesson ends...
[cite]Posted By: stonemuse[/cite]Something to do with the position of the medieaval guilds in the lord mayor's parade?
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Yep, that's about right. It refers to two livery companies (the Merchant Taylors and the Skinners I think, both of which are still going today) and the fact that there were ructions about who was the sixth biggest - even to the point where the apprentices used to have pitched battles in the street. In the end, to keep the peace, they settled on rotating the honor of being sixth biggest each year, with the other obviously being seventh. Hence "all at sixes and sevens"!
[cite]Posted By: CharltonDan[/cite]"Barking Mad" - Comes from the days when the mentally unstable of Ye Olde London town were shipped off to all live together in Barking.
Nice one - Peter Ackroyd mentioned that it one of his books on London - will suit big Mervyn well!
[cite]Posted By: stonemuse[/cite]Something to do with the position of the medieaval guilds in the lord mayor's parade?
Check out the man with Google access!
Yep, that's about right. It refers to two livery companies (the Merchant Taylors and the Skinners I think, both of which are still going today) and the fact that there were ructions about who was the sixth biggest - even to the point where the apprentices used to have pitched battles in the street. In the end, to keep the peace, they settled on rotating the honor of being sixth biggest each year, with the other obviously being seventh. Hence "all at sixes and sevens"!
Here endeth your history lesson for the day!
Google it was although it was something I vaguely knew about. Interesting looking at google, there's quite a few I've never hear of, including 'Eighty Six'.
[cite]Posted By: CharltonDan[/cite]"Barking Mad" - Comes from the days when the mentally unstable of Ye Olde London town were shipped off to all live together in Barking.
[quote][cite]Posted By: CharltonDan[/cite]"Barking Mad" - Comes from the days when the mentally unstable of Ye Olde London town were shipped off to all live together in Barking.[/quote]
The other version suggests that because dogs/foxes/wolves etc bark at the moon or bark at shadows for no apparent reason that they were a bit mad and therefore people who acted irrationally and showed signs of madness were "barking".
The expression "Bedlam" comes from a mental asylum in this case the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem.
And "lunatics" derives from those people who act a bit strangely at full moons.
Comments
Anyone know the origin of that?
fro(f*ck right off)
BARRY WHITE! lol
be interested to know if anyone knows the origins of these....
The other explanation is that in the days of the music halls etc the proprietor would keep a hook on a pole handy and would drag artists off the stage who were performing badly.
Of the two the first seems more likely.
always has me baffled! although that aint hard!
Isn't it cheap at twice the price?
I.e. if it was twice as expensive it would still be cheap?
Thats what i thought the saying always was.
Peter Kay is good at these.
Happy as Larry?
On the lines of:
"I bet they are all as ugly as a bucket of arses"
Made me laugh and so typically Australian.
always has me baffled! although that aint hard![/quote]
It's just sarcasm. Saying if it was half as expensive it would be cheap. Slinging your hook is to do with fishermen or dockers last task before they head off to the pub.
I like different gravy, but no idea where it came from.
Anyone ever heard of ' Bugger that for a game of toy soldiers'. I think means something like I'm not doing that etc. but not sure on the derivation.
The Aussie expression for a vom is a good one - Chunder. This comes from the period when we originally shipped the criminals over to Australia (perhaps we should start this again??). They would feel seasick and go to throw up over the side of the ship. So the people below didn't get a coating of puke, somebody would should 'Watch Under!' to alert them - shortened to chunder... here the lesson ends...
I know the reason behind this - or at least one version. Anyone else got an idea?
Check out the man with Google access!
Yep, that's about right. It refers to two livery companies (the Merchant Taylors and the Skinners I think, both of which are still going today) and the fact that there were ructions about who was the sixth biggest - even to the point where the apprentices used to have pitched battles in the street. In the end, to keep the peace, they settled on rotating the honor of being sixth biggest each year, with the other obviously being seventh. Hence "all at sixes and sevens"!
Here endeth your history lesson for the day!
a personal favourite I use a lot........
Nice one - Peter Ackroyd mentioned that it one of his books on London - will suit big Mervyn well!
Google it was although it was something I vaguely knew about. Interesting looking at google, there's quite a few I've never hear of, including 'Eighty Six'.
Seriously?
The other version suggests that because dogs/foxes/wolves etc bark at the moon or bark at shadows for no apparent reason that they were a bit mad and therefore people who acted irrationally and showed signs of madness were "barking".
The expression "Bedlam" comes from a mental asylum in this case the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem.
And "lunatics" derives from those people who act a bit strangely at full moons.
anyone else?
"Every holes a goal!"