FredPuli
Why do people say 'He knows his onions' meaning that he is an expert in some trade or skill or that he is worldly and wise ?How do onions come in to it ?
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FredPuli
What does the Skoda ad mean; the one where the supermarket manager (?) puts out a call for the Skoda driver when a customer gets his tie caught in the checkout conveyor belt ? Is it that any Skoda...
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FredPuli
'The balloon went up' means that hostilities started or anticipated trouble suddenly erupted. What balloon is this referring to?
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FredPuli
'Near the knuckle' nowadays means that a joke is 'off colour', vulgar or has some sexual content or allusion, . What's the origin of this expression /
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FredPuli
Why is a beanfeast so called? It seems unlikely that any happy gathering could be based on a menu of beans. Or is it perhaps a reference to an old practice where a bean was hidden in a cake and the...
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FredPuli
What is the origin of 'A wild goose chase' meaning a pointless or fruitless errrand, a fool's errand?
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FredPuli
What is the origin of ' One sandwich short of a picnic' for someone mentally deficient or somewhat mad?
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FredPuli
' Fine words butter no parsnips' What's the origin of this quaint culinary put-down of the fine talker who produces nothing ?
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FredPuli
Furtherto the Q about the chimes and words, what are the words written in Gothic script under the clock faces of 'Big Ben'? They are pretty much indecipherable .
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FredPuli
Arriving from the UK which is better; JFK or Newark, NJ ? I'm thinking of time getting through immigration and accessibility to central NYC
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FredPuli
Why 'it's pants' or ' a pile of pants' for something which is rubbish or poor? Is it a counterpart to yelling 'knickers!' ?
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FredPuli
What is the origin of 'billy-o' in expressions such as 'it hurt like billy-o' and 'he yelled like billy-o' , meaning ' a great deal, extremely' ? Who was Billy or is it ,perhaps ,some mis-hearing of...
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FredPuli
What is the origin of the saying 'it's the last straw that breaks the camel's back' ?
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FredPuli
Why is the weasel associated with treachery or deceit e.g. 'weasel words' and , in the U.S as a word for a traitor ?
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FredPuli
What is it that goes to the FA Cup Final every year but is never used ?
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FredPuli
Chicago is 'The Windy City'. Is it really exceptionally windy and if so why ?
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FredPuli
Is there any easy way to type accents in French or German on a standard English Windows 2000 QWERTY computer keyboard? How do French and Geman users manage with their version(s)?
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