Now that I have opened the Chambers Dictionary it is hard to close it, but I promise this is the last post on words - for now at any rate!
We do seem to take animal's names in vain. On looking round the curtain in the front room (a common pastime in any village), if Mrs So-and-so went past unsuitably dressed (in my mother's eyes), Mother would pass on the information to my father at tea time, telling him .she looked like 'the dog's dinner'. If my mother went out in her best clothes and asked him 'How do I look Jack?', my Dad would often reply (usually without raising his eyes from the Lincolnshire Echo) ' The Cat's Whiskers!'
I looked these two up in my dictionary this morning and then thought I would look just how many other animals there were whose names we take in vain.
Most villages used to have their little quiet unmarried women ( usually spinsters as a result of the shortage of young unmarried men after world war 1). Many were quiet little 'mousy' women dressed in grey. And as such they were usually referred to.
And my Dad always got 'The Lion's Share' when it came to Mother dishing out the dinner when he came in from work.
There was usually somebody in the family who we didn't speak about - they had gone off with a married man, they had offended someone of 'importance', or worst of all they had landed up in prison for some minor offence. It could be they 'drank like a fish'; - whatever it was their predicament was best ignored - their lack of presence was like 'the elephant in the room'.
When as a teenager I got dressed up to go out I often felt I looked 'the bee's knees'.
But I did find when last evening I was meandering through Chambers that the poor old pig seemed to come off worst. :- pig-headed, piggy in the middle, pig-sick, making a 'pig's ear' of doing something, or going somewhere beneath one's dignity and 'pigging it'.
But, take it from me - 'straight from the horse's mouth' that my 'piggy bank' is very heavy and so full I can't get another coin in. The coins have been in so long I have a feeling that they are obsolete.,
.JPG)
23 comments:
I had. a job years ago working for a rather disagreeable man. The staff always felt relieved when he was out of the office. One nice thing about the job was the gigantic Merrimack Webster dictionary. Staff all enjoyed looking up obscure words. Snollygoster was the word I described to describe awful employer.
There are some expressions using animals that are quite accurate, while others make no sense at all. The lion's share makes perfect sense, because in a family group of lions, it's the females who do most of the hunting, but the only adult male usually gets most of the food.
In German, to describe a pair of parents who neglect their children, the expression "raven parents" is used. But really raven and all birds of the corvid family make excellent parents.
Mutton dressed as lamb is one one heard a lot. Your selection of 'quiet little mousy woman' reminds me of something out of a Barbara Pym.
Wolf in sheep's clothing.
Laughing like a hyena.
Fish out of water.
Snake in the grass.
Catch a tiger by the tail
Bird's eye view
I,for one, hope you DON'T stop the word posts. They are a pleasant way to occupy one's mind while doing housework.
The cat's meow
Dog day afternoon
Snake eyes (rolling a 1 on both dice)
Hope you're having a good day, Pat!
Hugs!
We are enjoying your visits with the dictionary, Pat!
I always liked "dog tired" for a phrase. Sometimes at the end of a long day, I'd be one tired puppy.
Don't give up the dictionary. Word are fun.
Love the dictionary visits and your posts triggered by those visits.
Your blog posts are wonderfully intriguing and always engaging.
Stay safe & well.
Whale of a time. GG
Lovely entertaining post Pat, and you could always use your piggy back as a door stop.
Blind as a bat, busy as a bee, wise as an owl, making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, crooked as a dog’s hind leg, scarce as hen’s teeth, mean as a snake, that person looks like the south end of a northbound mule, breeds like rabbits.
Enjoyable post Pat.
I wonder at the term looking 'sheepish' to describe an expression I haven't seen on a sheep.
They usually don't do anything to look sheepish about! - Pam.
The cat's meow, sharp as a whip, fast as lightening, foxy lady, straight from the horse's mouth, stubborn as a goat, the fox guarding the hen house, play your cards right... Your post introduced good fun with a play on words.
I hope we are not soo shamed out of our animal expressions.
A pig in a poke, a bull in a china shop, letting the cat out of the bag..
I love these picture painting words and expressions and appreciate there’s no “fowl” language .
A homonym that has crept in.
My father would have said, "The dog's bollocks'. (I made that up, but I like the idea...)
Tom-when I used to hear my mother say 'dinner' I didn't even know what bollocks were - we were innocent in Lincolnshire (ie the back of beyond) in those days.
Rachel - yes I agree - she wrote mousy women to perfection.
As usual thank you for joining in and adding a good few expressions ro my list.
That person in the family could have also been the 'black sheep' of the family... Oh how fun Pat! Much love ,Hugs debs
Happy Easter!
hugs
Donna
Happy Easter!
Love these posts!
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