@Darth Wheezius well that's what I've always believed to be the case, you never know though if someone found a different meaning ? There's also the old saying often heard up here in Yorkshire. When you're told something that's a bit questionable, a common reply is to say- "I've heard ducks fart before" Could have come from the same source maybe ? Coincidentally Duck quacks aren't supposed to echo, debate is still open on that theory !
"Going to see a man about a dog" actually is when someone asks or enquires what you're doing or where you're going, your telling them to mind their own business x
@@WanderingRavens The timetable I'd written, and was about to send for processing had been re-called for edits 3 times for various reasons - all valid, and none my fault, and each of them half a day apart. When we finally got the processing and edits done for the 3rd time, I said to my boss "If anyone comes and asks for any more edits tell em to take a long walk off a short pier". He didn't disagree :)
Using this phrase you can turn almost any statement in to a smutty one because it reverses to suit the situation. It's centuries old. acting grew out of public performing in streets and pub yards and was considered as being on the same social level as cutpurses and prostitutes. The actress is a euphemism for the latter, as the word 'model' used to be when I was a lad.
A blue moon is a second full moon in a calendar month, and they happen about once a year. So once in a blue moon is less an idiom than an obscure phrase
@@WanderingRavens I'd say that one is in the same vein as "One sandwich short of a picnic" or "A few cards short of a deck", love those. The lights are on bu nobody's home is another version :D
Have you heard: Fur coat, no knickers. (Said about someone superficial, they have things considered extravagant, but essential items you don’t see.. they forgo to get the showy items)
@@cleoldbagtraallsorts3380 Yes, that's what I've always taken it to mean, as in a woman who dresses in finery but we all know what she really is. Not that I'm judging.
2:00 I think the term "something for the weekend" comes from the expectation that a young man might hit the town (with all its temptations) at the weekend, free from the need to get up early for work the next day. I'm sure some coitus occured during the week.
In the olden days, it was illegal to advertise contraceptives. They were sold by barbers, who would ask the customers whether they needed "something for the weekend". It would have been illegal for the barber to directly ask: "Do you want to buy condoms". Chemists sold condoms, but they were not on display, and you had to ask for them. Contraceptives were indirectly advertised as "rubber goods", which could include diaphragms, Dutch caps and condoms.
I love regional sayings. Here in liverpool you’d often hear “gob wider than the Mersey tunnel” which basically means someone who doesn’t know how to be quiet. It’s one of my favourite sayings
You are *correct* about "going to see a man about a dog". It means going to do something that you don't want to divulge. If it's said in response to a direct question such as "where are you off to?", then it basically means "mind your own business".
Wow, you guys use this one SO DIFFERENTLY. I've always known "off to see a man about a dog" to mean: You have to leave because you have sex planned. Referring to the exact inverse: "off to see a woman about a P*ssy" It is more loosely used In the Midlands to mean you have to leave to do something you couldn't possibly describe in any more detail publicly. Purposely leaving your friends questioning whether you're "on a promise" or not. You certainly wouldn't use it if you were going to return soon otherwise you will very much be frowned upon for not being a very good 'performer' 😂
“A full and frank discussion took place”. The number of times I used that one when writing up minutes of the club I used to be secretary of in the 1970s.
"Full and frank discussion" = nose to nose shouting match in which both parties express their view of each other, usually in "emphatic language". Usually applied by the civil service to describe in polite terms a private meeting between two politicians that strongly disagree with each other. 😁
There was a young man called Reg Who took a young girl to a hedge Then along came his wife With a large carving knife And cut off his meat and two veg!
It's from a _Carry On_ film called _Carry On at Your Convenience_ . Carry Ons were a cultural reflection of post-war British humour, incorporating musical hall, postcard humour with frequent usage of euphemisms in both titles and dialogue. This type of humour was prevalent in the media until the 1980s when alternative comedy began to dominate both stand up and sitcoms in the UK. That said, this type of humour has persisted among the _hoi polloi_ , and is a regular feature of informal conversations.
@@mikeward7367 Shush! 😂 You know you're the first person to spot it, ever. In fact no-one's managed to read it out properly yet either! They can do the Mic part, but not the Turition bit. It's like my little one over on everyone else.
The knocker upper from the previous video was often a young employee, sent out from the previous shift that was stil working. They made sure the worker answered so all the next shift were up, fed and at work on time. In some towns the lamp lighter, the person who lit and snuffed out the gas street lamps at dusk/dawn did it as a secondary income. He would have a shift list, or the worker would chalk the shift time on their house wall. I believe it's been a common practice from the industrial revolution times.
@@stephencressey1 Yes people did it as an occupation but often did it as a second occupation. People who would be out and about on the streets, such as lamplighters, policemen, street cleaners etc. Workers often had a board or slate outside their house, they would chalk their shift time so the knocker up knew who to wake. Thats where the sayings," chalking up" and "put it on the slate" come from. It was common practice to send apprentices out to wake workers for their start time. Gas lamp lighter/extinguisher would often use their lamping pole to rap on upstairs windows and shutters. They didn't move on until the shift worker was seen to be up, at the door or window. It all depended on the area employer, factory, mine etc as to who or how many knockers were needed.
My great grandfather was a “knocker up” . He worked in the steel mills and was always up early, so when he had to retire he had no income (no pensions for working people) so became a knocker up. He used to take a tin can of hot porter - strong ale heated by a poker from the fire-and his long pole to tap on peoples windows. Nan got up one day and he was sat in his chair with one boot on, the poker in his ale can, he had passed away. Everyone on his rounds was late for the cotton mill that day.
Slightly rude one: " I laughed so much I thought my knickers would never dry" I know the rain/petticoat one as " it's snowing down south" I was brought up with the idea that toilet was common and the word lavatory was the word you should use
Another euphemism for when someone inadvertently 'drops their lunch' in company: "More tea, vicar?" And another Private Eye expression: 'Ugandan discussions'. This one originated in the early 70s when a government minister was caught 'in flagrante' with his secretary, and he gave the lame excuse that they had been discussing the current situation in Uganda. Still loving your content!
Here In Yorkshire, in my living memory, some houses didn't have indoor toilets. They had a small, squat brick building in the backyard containing the toilet. It typical blunt Yorkshire vernacular, it was called "the shithouse". Well built, squat, muscly rugby players would be said to be "built like a brick shithouse" I always thought that "loo" was derived from the habit of throwing the contents of the chamber pot out of the bedroom window in the mornings, shouting "Gardez l'eau!" to warn those below of falling urine - l'eau becoming "loo". Not 100% sure about that though
I think you're right. I associate 'gardez l'eau' with Scotland; indeed, the ship that used to take Glasgow's sewage sludge out into the Clyde estuary was the MV Gardyloo. It's now a pleasure steamer, and you can (though not at the moment) take a trip out in the Clyde aboard. They have, I'm pleased to say, cleaned it, but the hold is, er, out of use.
@@frglee - or "she bangs like a shithouse door when the plague's in town". Presumably from the idea that, if the people in your block have one of those diseases - such as cholera - that were common in older times, the outside toilet would be in constant use, with the door banging shut as people dash in. (For an example of this phrase, listen to 'Julie the Schoolie' by The Macc Lads!)
@@hectorthorverton4920 gardez l'eau comes from when they used to empty their pisspots out of window on to the street. ( pre mr crapper, obv.) ( it's french ,hector, meaning "look out for the water".)
"Something for the weekend" is why the small packs of condoms have three in, one for Saturday, one for Sunday, and one for luck. Grace, swap boulangerie for "Bakers" and your baguette saying would be a classic British one! Eric, why would we want to say things to AVOID confusing Americans? Its one of our favourite sports! Keep it up!
Condoms always used to be sold in packs of one, three or twelve. The joke was that the single pack was for young men to keep in their wallet in case they got lucky. The three pack was for single guys with a girlfriend, who would want one for Friday, one for Saturday, one for Sunday. The twelve pack was for married men - one for January, one for February...
2:40 George Brown was a bit before my time, by I've heard of some of his drunken exploits. Once at soirée, he was introduced to a high-ranking clergyman dressed in full clerical robes, who he duly addressed as 'madam'.
The George Brown story I like is that he meets a lovely lady in a red gown at a diplomatic ball and asks her to dance. "I will not dance with you because (a) you are drunk, (b) they are playing the Peruvian national anthem, and (c) above all because I am not a lady but I am the Archbishop of Lima
Yay, you said mardy. Our plan is working. By the way, Charlie's dead = petticoat showing; fly's undone = you've got egg on your chin. For going to the bog = just going to turn me bike round (always said in a pub). For the wizard's sleeve thing = arse like a clown's pocket; arse like yawning hippo - what happens when a nice boy goes to prison. Slap and tickle (which I think you know) = a bit of how's your father. Not all but some of these come from old music hall comedians whose acts were heavily censored. It's *entirely untrue* but the joke was that Captain Pugwash (an old kids' programme with a brilliant theme tune, episodes on YT) had characters like Roger the cabin boy, Master Bate and Seaman Staines. This even got fact-checked by Snopes. The Guardian had to pay damages for claiming it was true.
"As much use as a chocolate kettle" means the person's useless, kettle can be swapped with fire guard ect "Couldn't get laid in a brothel" yeah use your imagination for that one, can be swapped with "couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery" same thing
I remember meeting someone whose job was actually organising company events for Courage the brewer. I couldn't resist, "so, you actually organise piss ups in breweries?"....yeah, bet they hadn't heard that before.
@@WanderingRavens some variations of these 4:14 "lost marbles" or "sharpest tool in the shed" probably appear in all languages, in Finland they say "person X is missing few indians in the canoe" or "doesn't have all his Moomins in the valley"
'Spend a penny' is in reference to the Great Exhibition of 1851, where the first flushing toilets by George Jennings were introduced as an feature in the exhibition and visitors could use any of the toilets for the cost of 'one penny', which became the euphemism you read out. (btw Thomas Crapper was only 14 at the time of the exhibition) One for going for a dump is, 'I need to go make a large deposit into the bank'.
I love you two. The English language is so malleable; you can make up whatever you like. If it catches on then it becomes consensus. The pond isn't that small.
Did you guys say 'mardy' when taking about teenagers? That's a very Sheffield slang word, so you use that in the States also or have you picked that up here?
Crapper comes from a plumber in London, called Thomas Crapper. He used to install toilets in houses and used to have his name on the toilet, just under the rim at the back, so people started calling it the crapper. A knocker-upper would some times be a night watchman or a policeman that worked nights, they did it to earn a few extra pennies each week. By the way the last knocker-upper was in the 1970's.
my parents used "going to see a man about a dog" whenever they were going somewhere, or going to do something and they didnt want to tell us kids where, or what it was. Other times they would simply say "mind ya own business" or "its nothing to do with you, you nosy fucker"
Original meaning of "going to see a man about a dog" was sneaking off to the betting office (ie going to see the bookie to put a bet on a greyhound race) but then came to have a broader meaning for any task/trip/visit you want to do privately or covertly.
'Spend a penny' is just a phrase to mean going to toilet. The vast majority of public toilets in UK are free, but you occasionally find private companies operating fancy toilets in outside locations (the ones that clean themselves after each use) and these usually cost money to use, typically 20p-50p and £1 in big cities. Another phrase is 'pointing Percy at the Porcelain' lol.
@@WanderingRavens That is a Barry Humphries expression, along with “Technicolour Yawn” for a puke, “Straining the potatoes” for a shit, and “The one-eyed trouser snake” for a penis!
"I'm just nipping out for a minute" was used where we lived for going to the toilet. Very few houses had indoor loos, so you went to the "Outhouse" which was shortened to just out
Zip malfunction -- " the gate is open but the bulls asleep " Discribing a man that was born first in the que ------- " he is like a bungalow , nothing upstairs but downstairs is packed out. "
Few more that I can think of (not for flying low) 5 knuckle shuffle Bashing the Bishop Shaking hands with the Lord of love Duvet dancing Horizontal dance I'm sure you can guess what these are referring to
One that I've quite often heard is 'bout as useful as a broken door' used to describe a pointless suggestion, a person who is unreliable or an underperforming object/possession.
Cool video, I love regional sayings. My grandparents used to say 'there's more out than in' when someone did something especially dumb. Meaning there's more stupid people out and about than in asylums. They had lots of Yorkshire sayings that aren't used any more cos ppl wouldn't understand like 'head like a set pot' meaning having a large head. A set pot was like a large cauldron. Someone shameless would be 'brass necked'. Someone mean with money could 'peel an orange in their pocket'.
A full and frank discussion is an exchange of views that just stops short of physical violence, or actually becomes a fight. Its situation dependant. From a friend in the military, you can tell how deep in the shit you are depending on the meetings catering. Tea and biscuits, you’re up for promotion, tea, no biscuits, you’re in a spot of bother. A stand up meeting without biscuits, you’re getting a bollocking, a stand up meeting without biscuits, ………you’re getting demoted or possibly you’re P45! (Biscuits in the UK are why you call cookies. American biscuits are more correctly called scones, and are served with jam and cream, not gravy)
@@matsamuel5655 from wikipedia The original non-facetious meaning was probably to place or settle a bet on a racing dog. Picture the phrase said with a wink. In England/UK the phrase is generally used nowadays as a tongue in cheek way to let people know that you are about to be, or have been up to no good, usually illegal activities. (eg. Going to see... Been to see...) Basically a polite way of saying.... "I (am going out/) have been out, don't ask where
The toilet is called a crapper after Thomas Crapper. He was a business man and plumber born in 1836. He founded the Thomas Crapper & Co a sanitary equipment supplier he held 3 patents for the water closet
@@WanderingRavens It is said that American troops in WW1 when posted to the UK were frequently confronted with “Thomas Crapper” on the WCs they used, and picked up the use of the term “Crapper” for the WC from there. It is a nice story.
An alternative to 'Drop the kids off at the pool' is 'I've got to see a friend off to the coast'. It dates from the time when raw sewage was discharged into the sea!
Still love the "mowing an old lady's lawn". One of my favourites, again to mean stupid, is "as thick as two short planks". Love your content! Keep it up :) x
So frustrating finding out that we start sentences with “right!”. I’d never noticed before and now catch myself doing it every damn time I speak... also, British comedies are great for euphemisms: Fawlty Towers and Father Ted (although actually Irish) are particularly good for them.
"He's got more ways than Wednesday" - (This is a rare complimentary one!) he's so adaptable that he's got 5 or 6 ways of doing the same thing, all of which, more or less, work.
It's usually used to re-enforce a double-entendre i.e. 'it's too long' or 'is that too tight'?, +1000 others,you just tag the phrase on as an afterthought.
I've always used the phrase going to see a man about a dog to represent that I'm going to do something that's none of their business,or I don't wish to discuss it
There is a famous war story about a British Brigadier during the Korean War facing a huge Chinese attack. He was radioed by the Americans to ask about the situation and described things as "a bit sticky". The Americans took this to mean "tough but ok' when actually it meant "This is terrible and we need help now." They did not send reenforcements and the position was lost. But not after the British garrison gave all kinds of hell defending themselves.
why not spill some of my knowledge of chav/ roadmen slang? being in secondary school has really expanded my vocabulary 😂. “peng” and “fit” are words that are commonly used to mean attractive. that’s just a start, chav slang is massive.
When I was young the standard phrase to say a womans petticoat was showing, was "Charleys dead". I think it died out when full skirts were produced with a strip of lace sewn along the hem to deliberately appear to be the bottom of a petticoat showing from beneath the skirt.
When fly zippers are low I tend to use “You’re flying low” or “have you got a license to fly that low’ seems to be used a lot in the south east and London.
And another for the low-hanging petticoat is that your flying your flag at half mast - often morphed to "oh - has someone died then?" or "I see Charlies died"
We were still spending pennies to open the cubicle door when I was a kid. So long as you didn’t let it shut between users then 1 penny (some of which still had Victoria on then) would let any number of people in so my mum, me and my sister could all have a pee for a penny. On the outside of the door was the coin operated lock. You put your penny in to open the door when you can out and let the door close behind you the penny dropped and the door relocked. Saddly this probably not where the phrase “and the penny drops” meaning someone finally understood something, may come from.
People used to buy your urine to treat stuff like leather. You could get a penny for it hence the original meaning you’re off to urinate a pennies worth. It would be a buckets worth for a penny so you were alluding you had a full bladder to pass.
I was delighted to find out that the advice to "Never buy a pig in a poke" (don't accept something without having seen it first) and to "let the cat of the bag" (reveal information too soon) are etymologically related. A poke being a type of bag, in which some unscrupulous folk apparently tried to pass off as having pigs in, when in fact they held a cat, cuter but not much good for eating. Therefore if you bought a pig in a poke, you could end up with a cat, but if someone were to let the cat out of the bag before the sale took place, you'd know it wasn't a pig.
The 1p thing is fairly recent - since we decimalised the coinage in 1971. “Spend a penny” is from Victorian times, when public toilets were introduced and the stalls had a coin slot to open them. The “penny” was the old penny, 1d (£1 = 240d = 100p). There is also some humour in 1p, pronounced “one pee”.
Another theory about 'loo' is that on sailing ships sailors would pee over the side. For obvious reasons they would do this on the sheltered or leeward side, otherwise known as the loo side. A sailor would say I'm just going the loo.
Should the owner of said ear or sleeve be “aroused” they can be described as “wetter than an otters pocket”. This can also be used for someone soaked to the skin in a heavy rainstorm. So much slang is conditional,on the setting it’s used in. - I once got caught in a monsoonal rain on my motorbike and literally poured a pint of water out of each boot when I got home, which reminds me of another for a stupid person. “ He couldn’t pour piss out of a boot if the instructions were on the heel”.
Thomas Crapper is often credited with inventing the flush toilet. This he did not do but can be credited with developing a range of sanitary-ware and plumbing connected with the original invention. The lavatory or water-closet was invented much earlier in the Elizabethan age by Sir John Harrington in 1596.
Good Evening. One was viewing your latest production and with particular reference “breaking wind”. There are another couple of phrases you might like. 1. “More tea Vicar?” A phrase uttered when another person (doesn’t have to be a man of the cloth) farts in your presence. If we are being totally correct, there is (in South Yorkshire) a response to this too..... 1. The Farter issues the fart. 2. The Fartee announces “More tea Vicar?” 3. The Farter replies “No thank you my dear, it makes me fart, but I’ll have another slice of that fucking angel cake” 2 “Has some one trod on a frog?” Again a phrase used after a fart has been issued by a third party within earshot. Please rest assured we do comment on other things as well as farting. Kind Regards etc.
Here's a few that might suprise you from my end of the UK "I'd let her use my tongue as toilet paper" and "I'd drink her bath water" meaning there's someone who's very very attractive 😂
i've always used 'you've got egg on your chin' as the way to tell someone their fly is down problem is euphemisms can be very regional so i said it to a mancunian once and he looked at me like i'd just grown a second head
The phrases like "a sandwich short of a picnic" and "not the sharpest tool in the shed" were regularly used by Anne Robinson on The Weakest Link tv show which I believe she went on to host in America so these phrases if not used before, might have gained popularity from that show I suspect
Not to cast aspersions, but a I heard the phrase " That's a great face for radio" used in the movie "Evolution". According to the DVD commitary, the line was an adlib by actor Seann William Scott. JS