Sayings that don't make any sense.

[ToffeeDoug]

I could google it I suppose, but what is the origin of "getting the monkey off his back", beloved of football pundits.

 

[peteblue]

Evening Pete

Evening Carlos.......

 

[carlos21]

Evening Carlos.......

You okay mate

 

[roydo]

I could google it I suppose, but what is the origin of "getting the monkey off his back", beloved of football pundits.

Like a lot, it is naval based. The "Monkey" being a brass triangle that housed cannon balls, (stopped them running all over the shop). So the poor bloke who had to carry the thing until the ship sailed finally got the "monkey off his back" when the voyage started/his job was done.

As in being "cold enough to freeze brass monkey's off". The extreme cold would cause the brass monkey to contract, making the cannon balls spill out onto the deck.

Think of a rack of red balls in snooker.

Now why it was called a brass monkey, have no idea!

 

[Milk]

"More xxxx than you can shake a stick at"

or when it's piddling down, we say in Wales "It's raining old women & sticks" (Mae h'in bwrw hen wragedd a ffyn)

 

[ToffeeDoug]

Like a lot, it is naval based. The "Monkey" being a brass triangle that housed cannon balls, (stopped them running all over the shop). So the poor bloke who had to carry the thing until the ship sailed finally got the "monkey off his back" when the voyage started/his job was done.

As in being "cold enough to freeze brass monkey's off". The extreme cold would cause the brass monkey to contract, making the cannon balls spill out onto the deck.

Think of a rack of red balls in snooker.

Now why it was called a brass monkey, have no idea!

I did wonder about the nautical angle, but I had powder monkey in mind as a complete guess, maybe being injured in the line of duty and carried away.

 

[roydo]

"More xxxx than you can shake a stick at"

or when it's piddling down, we say in Wales "It's raining old women & sticks" (Mae h'in bwrw hen wragedd a ffyn)

Makes as much sense as "cats and dogs"

As in, none at all.

 

[ToffeeDoug]

Makes as much sense as "cats and dogs"

As in, none at all.

Wasn't that related to tornado type winds that picked up cats and dogs in their swirls and dumped them down again miles away!

 

[roydo]

I did wonder about the nautical angle, but I had powder monkey in mind as a complete guess, maybe being injured in the line of duty and carried away.

Could be I guess. But Brass Monkeys was deffo the name given to the cannon ball snooker rack things.

Got the phrase wrong before. "Cold enough to freeze balls off a brass monkey"

Makes more sense now.

 

[ToffeeDoug]

Could be I guess. But Brass Monkeys was deffo the name given to the cannon ball snooker rack things.

Got the phrase wrong before. "Cold enough to freeze balls off a brass monkey"

Makes more sense now.

I'm sure you are right, mine was just a guess based on nothing much.

 

[roydo]

Wasn't that related to tornado type winds that picked up cats and dogs in their swirls and dumped them down again miles away!

Haha! Dunno.

Not sure we have ever had tornados strong enough to do that in the UK mind.

More inclined to think "Cats and Dogs" is a cockney rhyming sland for "Stair Rods". Or something.

 

[magicjuan]

"More xxxx than you can shake a stick at"

or when it's piddling down, we say in Wales "It's raining old women & sticks" (Mae h'in bwrw hen wragedd a ffyn)

that's just gibberish...

 

[magicjuan]

Wasn't that related to tornado type winds that picked up cats and dogs in their swirls and dumped them down again miles away!

It was to do with cats and dogs living in the upper eaves/roof of old settlement houses, one storey ones, when it would rain and leak through the thatch they would jump down

 

[summerisle]

It was to do with cats and dogs living in the upper eaves/roof of old settlement houses, one storey ones, when it would rain and leak through the thatch they would jump down

Hence eavesdropping because of the close proximity of medieval city houses.

 

[ToffeeDoug]

Excellent stuff, keep it coming!