I recently questioned this to a few friends... I searched in the dictionary (its a bit old) and searched for the word cob(s) and to my suprise it siad ponies...... so I'm sweating ponies?? any1 know any other weird sayings?
Comes from old English. Cobbe. A powerful small horse used for ploughing and heavy haulage. Hence a sweating cob or if more than one cobs...Horses sweat;men perspire and ladies glow !
If I am a monkey's uncle, the great and wise quizmonster must be the monkey's auntie.
Quizmonster
Wed 21/08/02
08:09
The word 'cob' has been used to mean anything rounded - eg a type of bread - since the 16th century. A cob horse, for example, is a short, stout breed. (It was even used as slang for 'testicle' at one time.) It's easy to see, therefore, how it came to suggest large 'beads' of sweat.
Good grief! Amazing how things come back to haunt one, isn't it? Still...it is the answer, I believe.
Thanks for the "great and wise", Ethel, but I'm nobody's auntie! I couldn't stand the agony.