fred canoe

[bubs02]

can anyone tell me how canoe is spelt and what the saying means

[RCP]

Do you mean Fred Carno as in Fred Carno's army. I'm not sure I have the spelling right but it's an expression my father used to use but I can't remember the context.

[mikewith]

Fred Karno was a music hall impressario who, amongst many other things, invented the custard-pie-in-face gag (oh, how we laughed!) and gave early career starts to Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel. He was enormously successful but the phrase "Fred Karno's Army" came to mean a chaotic grroup or outfit. Source:
http://www.times1190.freeserve.co.uk/karno.htm

[blackburne]

I believe Fred Karno had a troupe of manic comedians who toured music halls, though it's before my time. This was Fred Karno's Army