wigwam for a gooses bridle

[matti]

does anyone know where the catch-all phrase for an unknown object 'wigwam for a gooses bridle' originated?

[Quizmonster]

Click here for the answer.

[Narolines]

Interesting link, QM.  My grandfather (who came from Yorkshire) and my father (who didn't) always called an unidentifiable object "a whimwham for a wowser".  It's curious to see how the word "wowser" is used in Australian slang to mean something quite different (a fairly useless person, if I'm not mistaken), whereas in my grandfather's phrase it meant a piece of machinery with no definable purpose.  Actually I suppose that's not too different........

[matti]

Thanks - thats are more comprehensive answer than I expected.

I relation to the reference to wowser from Narolines - I am from Australia, in my early 40's and would use wowser to describe a person that was no fun and would rather others had no fun either - not a useless person...

[Narolines]

Thanks for that clarification, matti - I knew I'd heard it used in a derogatory sense by Aussies but I'd obviously not been paying enough attention to how it was used!