Another week ticks by and I am sure you have all been waiting for Friday to fill your brain yet again. This year has flown by and we have 5 weeks before we welcome in 2021.Still gives us time to learn a few more things and I will try find thigs that are not so obvious.
The Full Monty.
Means to have everything or to have the works. I used to order a pizza called the Full Monty which basically had everything on it.
The saying is thought to have derived from a tailor's shop in Sheffield. When one buys a suit today it is normally two pieces, but back when it was fashionable you used to buy a waist coat as well. A 3 piece suit was known as the full monty so you have got the works. I used to hate the waistcoat and never wore one as a suit was bad enough.
Sir Montague Burton opened his first tailors shop in 1904 and his clientele used to ask for the full monty and the name has stuck ever since.
Don't teach your grandma to suck eggs.
Avoid giving advice to people that are older than you as they have more experience. More like respect your elders I suppose.
Never heard of this one before and thought to have been derived by the headmaster of Eton who translated and old saying from the works of Erasmus.
In 1707 John Stevens translated Quevedo's Comical Works where it states this saying word for word.
I do like this which is thought to come from the works of Mark Twain but hasn't been proven. Still quite funny though.
When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.
Mum's the word.
Say nothing or keep quiet.
The funny thing is i always thought it was dad's and kids keeping quiet not telling mum so you wouldn't get into trouble but it has nothing to do with mothers.
Mum in this instance is mmm or humming and not talking. In the 17th Century Morris dancing and humming was part of the public performances and no words were said. For those of you that have never heard of Morris dancing it is an old English folk dance with music.
Floozie in the jacuzzi.
Nickname of the bronze statue in Dublin near the River Liffey. Proper name of the statue is Anna Livia and just goes to show how the Irish describe things. Also known as the whore in the sewer was replaced by a tall column called the Spire of Dublin. Nicknames for this statue are ""stiletto in the ghetto" or "stiffy by the Liffy" and the other one is the "erection at the intersection." A tourist getting directions by a local would be quite funny I suppose as it would be full of riddles.
Other statues with impressive nicknames in Ireland is one of James Joyce with a walking stick "prick with a stick". Another of two women with shopping bags "hags with bags" lol.
Told you this is mostly useless information, but fun to see where these things came from. Some sayings obviously stick and some don't. Have a great weekend.
