Dolorous Edd
Senior Member
I've always liked "neither use nor ornament".
And I am deeply grateful that I am no longer at much risk of a dawn raid from the CC puritan thought police for saying something like that.
Colloquialisms & Slang
- Thread starter kayakerles
- Start date
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I've always liked "neither use nor ornament".
And I am deeply grateful that I am no longer at much risk of a dawn raid from the CC puritan thought police for saying something like that.
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Dead As A Doornail
“This expression can be traced back to 1350, but could be even older. In the days before screws were commonly used in carpentry, nails secured one piece of wood to another. Unlike screws however, nails could often loosen over a period of time. To prevent this, it became common practice, particularly on large medieval doors, that when a nail was hammered through the wood it would be flattened or clinched on the inside. The process of flattening the nail would mean that the nail would be ‘dead’ as it couldn’t be used again.”
When you go in a pub with no atmosphere it’s said to be dead as a door nail.
“This expression can be traced back to 1350, but could be even older. In the days before screws were commonly used in carpentry, nails secured one piece of wood to another. Unlike screws however, nails could often loosen over a period of time. To prevent this, it became common practice, particularly on large medieval doors, that when a nail was hammered through the wood it would be flattened or clinched on the inside. The process of flattening the nail would mean that the nail would be ‘dead’ as it couldn’t be used again.”
When you go in a pub with no atmosphere it’s said to be dead as a door nail.
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Go off at half cock
To act prematurely.
To act prematurely.
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Sweet fanny adams
Fook all
Fook all
Accy cyclist
Legendary Member
- Location
- The hills of Accrington
I'm not really good at these kind of threads. They seem to go 'whooosh' over my head, so does 'I was stood there like cheese at fourpence' count? My mum used to say it and i've heard it often said around here. I think it means stood there feeling awkward and out of place.
Mr Celine
Discordian
- Location
- Waxing my moustache
Fit fit fits fit fit?
A question sometimes asked in Aberdeen shoe shops.
A question sometimes asked in Aberdeen shoe shops.
lazybloke
Today i follow the flying spaghetti monster
- Location
- Leafy Surrey
Think I remember 'No worries' from Australian soaps. Neighbours was mid-80s.
The Swahili version 'Hakuna Matata' was definitely doing the rounds (well before The Lion King), and the Germans had a similar phrase, "kein problem" IIRC.
Moon bunny
Judging your grammar
- Location
- Basking in my own brilliance.
Originally badly substandard. Fanny Adams was an eight year-old who was murdered and her body cut into pieces. Sailors started calling meat which had gone off Sweet Fanny Adams, S.F.A. later dysphemised into Sweet F*** All.
That one goes back to the days of flintlock muskets, as does "a flash in the pan".
swee'pea99
Legendary Member
Never heard that, but I love it! According to a bit of googling it comes 'from the mill towns of Lancashire, where fourpence was considered expensive for cheese hence cheese for sale at that price would not be bought.' So, say, a woman whose date failed to show up: "He left me standing there like cheese at fourpence".I'm not really good at these kind of threads. They seem to go 'whooosh' over my head, so does 'I was stood there like cheese at fourpence' count? My mum used to say it and i've heard it often said around here. I think it means stood there feeling awkward and out of place.
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Carrying Coals To Newcastle
Thought to date from the 1600s when Newcastle upon Tyne was the major UK port through which coal (from nearby seams) was exported.
Refers to an activity of giving or transportation of goods that is considered needlessly pointless as the recipient or location already has an abundance.
Thought to date from the 1600s when Newcastle upon Tyne was the major UK port through which coal (from nearby seams) was exported.
Refers to an activity of giving or transportation of goods that is considered needlessly pointless as the recipient or location already has an abundance.
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Hover Fly
Lazy so and so
- Location
- Besides the lake, beneath the trees
Beat the (flat/level) sands: Ga yam. (Go home)
The flat sands referred to are those of Morecambe Bay.
The flat sands referred to are those of Morecambe Bay.
