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step | 23:20 Tue 01st Aug 2006 | Phrases & Sayings
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what is the meaning of well i`ll go`t foot of our stairs
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Meaning Exclamation of surprise.
Originated in the north of England.

It is used by somebody who hears something that surprises or amazes them.

Its origin is a bit cloudy. It seems to be a saying which originated in Northern England and one idea is that it was used because, upon being amazed, the recipient of the news would stand at the foot of the stairs in order to recover his composure.

Another theory I have heard is that children who had been admonished would be sent upstairs to bed. They were told to stand at the foot of the stairs to await further instructions. Sometimes, when they knew the punishment was coming they would say �I�ll go to the foot of our stairs, then�. I prefer the first explanation.
this one gets asked approximately once a year - do a search-the-site for it - but the answers seem to be a bit different every time.
�Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs' is a euphemism for a much stronger expression of surprise, just as �Cor blimey!' is an acceptable version of �God blind me!'
The word �foot' was probably chosen to chime with the 'f' of a strong swear-word, and the �of our stairs' was just tagged on to make sense.
The whole thing is - I suspect - in other words, just a polite version of "Well, I'll go to f*&@!"

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