Barge pole

[Doolallygirl]

I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole, where does this come from?

[PieMan]

Barge poles are long. They used to be used to propel barges. If you wouldn't touch something even with a very long pole, then that thing must be pretty unpleasant.

[Doolallygirl]

But who first said it? I know what it means.

[Quizmonster]

It's frequently difficult to establish who was first to say something, since records of spoken words are relatively recent. However, if it is of interest to you, the earliest-record version was an entry in Lady Monkwell's diary for 1893. It read: "It will be a long time before any political party touches Home Rule again with the end of a barge-pole." (The reference was clearly to Home Rule for Ireland.)

[Quizmonster]

I don't know what happened above, but it was supposed to say "the earliest-recorded written version" with 'written' underlined and the rest of it not underlined! Clearly, I got my fingers tangled up again.