Idioms and Sayings - a community thread to share to bring joy and laughter

I love these insects - they look like exo skeletons/

I didn't realize what a rich source of history these sayings had. Thank you.

one of the ones I love too, as someone taller than average.

http://www.allaboutstuff.com/Critters/Knee_High_to_a_Grasshopper.asp this phrase is at least 200 years old, since we find a form of it in print that long ago. My guess is forms of this phrase existed long before then, and that is just the first time it was in print. “Knee high to a grasshopper” is the latest form of a Southern colloquialism using animal height as a measure of height or growth. The earliest such descriptor in print is found in 1814: “ knee-high to a toad” Later on we see references to other forms of this phrase in print, such as “knee-high to a mosquito” and even briefly “knee-high to a duck”. There are around 120, 000 varieties of grasshoppers according to this source, and to be knee-high to one would involve being between one millimeter to one inch high depending on the variety of the grasshopper.

Website http://makingheadsortailsofidioms.com/2012/02/07/knee-high-to-a-grasshopper/ adds the phrases “knee high to a splinter”, “knee high to a bumblebee”, and “knee high to a jack rabbit” to the list of ancestors to our modern southernism “knee high to a grasshopper”. The first reference directly to “knee high to a grasshopper” in print was in the Democratic Review in 1851 where we read, “You pretend to be my daddies; some of you who are not knee-high to a grasshopper!”

What about: "Knee-high to a grasshopper.?"

I love some of these linguistic idiosyncrasies. Wikipedia has a few linked pages on things like eggcorns, mondegreens and minced oaths. My favourite bit of trivia from the Wikipedia article on minced oaths is that calling someone a 'berk' comes from rhyming slang, it's an abbreviated version of 'Berkeley Hunt'.

I'm trying to get a small subversive movement going to reclaim using berk in that hidden meaning!

Me too - I also like the cake itself .

A dialect idiom favourite if mine, in reference to someone with bandy legs, is, "Couldn't stop a pig in a ginnel," A ginnel is a narrow passageway between buildings.

Captain Jack Aubrey in Patrick O'Brian's novels set in the Nelsonic Royal Navy is always mangling his idiomatic phrases to comic effect. His friend, Dr Maturin, often purposefully muddies the water by suggesting even more confused versions. As examples: "As proud as Pompous Pilate", "Gabardine swine" for Gadarene swine (Biblical allusion) and a confusion about how many birds in a bush saves nine.

Wish I'd known these derivations at the time. Needless to say, I wasn't offered the permanent post!

IIB - At World of Books and Awesome Books it's under £4.

WWWW - there's one at Amazon Uk for £2.19

I buy 99% of my books secondhand. I make a wishlist at Amazon, then buy them at odd times, when I've something left after food shopping. You could put them on a Christmas wish list as a hint to family and friends. I find people seem to sell books these days rather than donate to charities.

Wow, thanks for all that. I like the dolloped icing theory. Actually I like the graveyard one too!

Ill be looking out for those two in charity shops (as budget is tight). 

oh fantastic an idiom I didn't know, trusty book has it Page 420 (to sit) like Piffy As when a person is left in an isolated, useless position, for some time and asks why am I sat here like Piffy.  British North Country usage.  Sitting like Piffy on a rock bun, remembered from the 1930's.  In the days before theme parks and garden centres when it was quite usual to go and sit and have a picnic at the graveyard, a child in one party fell over and was comforted with these words "sit on your grandpas grave and have a rock bun" .  It is mocking comfort, especially if someone has a misfortunate after a slight mishap. It has also been suggested that Piffy was a type of icing dolloped on a rock bun, but only in small amounts. 

Thank you Oscar. 

Thomas Hobbes: The earliest known written record of the exact phrase appears in 1656. The English philosopher used it in his book The Questions Concerning Liberty, Necessity, and Chance. He wrote: "T. H. thinks to kill two birds with one stone, and satisfie two Arguments with one answer, whereas in truth he satisfieth neither." [1] (poemanalysis.com/.../)Earlier Variations: A similar older English proverb was recorded by John Heywood in 1546. That phrase was: "I will learne to stop two gaps with one bush." [1] (poemanalysis.com/.../)Popular Origin TheoriesHunting Efficiency: The metaphor comes from the practical reality of hunting birds with a stone or a slingshot. Hitting two targets with one throw was a rare display of skill that saved time and ammunition. [1] (www.forbes.com/.../), [2] (www.lexistry.com/.../kill-two-birds-with-one-stone), [3] (www.youtube.com/.../dEZdYPq1K7o)Greek Mythology: Some people suggest it connects to the story of Daedalus and Icarus, where Daedalus supposedly killed two birds with a stone to collect feathers for their escape wings. However, ancient texts by the main myth writers (like Ovid) do not actually mention how he gathered the feathers. [1] (grammarphobia.com/.../bird-play.html), [2] (www.quora.com/Did-the-expression-killing-two-birds-with-one-stone-originate-from-someone-literally-killing-2-birds-with-a-stone), [3] (poemanalysis.com/.../)If you'd like, I can share:Similar idioms from other languages that mean the same thingMore examples of how to use this phrase in professional or casual writingForbesHow 'Killing Two Birds With One Stone' Kills Us and Our WorkThe phrase “to kill two birds with one stone” dates back to the 1600s. It refers to using a slingshot to hunt birds, where killing two birds with the same stone...Poem Analysis'Kill two birds with one stone' meaning and originOrigins of “Kill two birds with one stone” “Kill two birds with one stone” was first found in writing in 1656. It appeared in The Questions Concerning Liberty, ...GrammarphobiaThe Grammarphobia Blog: Bird playBird play Many online “experts” believe the usage originated in the story of Daedalus and Icarus, who escaped from the Labyrinth on Crete by making wings and fl...QuoraDid the expression “killing two birds with one stone” originate from someone literally killing 2 ...June 11, 2024 — Mythological Origin Theory: One theory suggests the phrase originated from the Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus, where Daedalus reportedly killed two birds wit...LexistryKill two birds with one stone – Meaning & Origin1 Jun 2024 — Region: The Origin Story 'Kill two birds with one stone' represents the universal human desire for efficiency—accomplishing multiple goals through a single acti...YouTube·LinguoLens English0:31Ielts English Idioms | Kill Two Birds with One Stone Meaning #englishlearningclass AI responses may include mistakes. Learn more    

I have always liked "So there I was, standing there like Tiffy on a rock bun" Actually, it should be Piffy but I mis-heard. It means a person being sidelined or left in the cold. I have only just this second and after many years, realised the connection to being autistic. 

I had a temporary post with the now defunct Farming & Rural Conservation Agency. One of the wildlife Inspectors was talking to me about two tasks we needed to conclude. Filled with enthusiasm, I explained it was possible to achieve both at once, saying, 'we could kill two birds with one stone.' I've never forgotten the look of horror on his face ! 

Thanks for this thread. I love dictionaries of all kinds. These are interesting 'dip into' books too, 'Information is Beautiful' by David McCandless also 'Who, Why, Which, What' by John Oldale.

I like the saying "it's a piece of cake"

https://englishrulebook.com/its-a-piece-of-cake/

Todays Random Choice; Page 135 Cleanliness is next to Godliness...........

https://wordhistories.net/2021/07/18/cleanliness-godliness/