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FredPuli

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FredPuli

Knowing onions

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 ?
22:47 Sat 19th Jun 20043 answers, last by Quizmonster 11:22 Mon 21st Jun 2004
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FredPuli

Skoda TV ad.

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...
16:59 Sun 25th Jan 20043 answers, last by johntheplamf 22:21 Sun 25th Jan 2004
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FredPuli

Ballon goes up

'The balloon went up' means that hostilities started or anticipated trouble suddenly erupted. What balloon is this referring to?
01:19 Thu 15th Jan 20045 answers, last by Quizmonster 08:05 Fri 16th Jan 2004
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FredPuli

Near knuckle

'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 /
01:16 Thu 15th Jan 20043 answers, last by Plado 11:24 Tue 05th Sep 2017
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FredPuli

Beanfeast

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...
10:19 Sat 03rd Jan 20044 answers, last by firefly 18:57 Sun 04th Jan 2004
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FredPuli

goose chasing

What is the origin of 'A wild goose chase' meaning a pointless or fruitless errrand, a fool's errand?
12:24 Fri 05th Dec 20032 answers, last by geofbob 14:03 Fri 05th Dec 2003
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FredPuli

One sandwich short...

What is the origin of ' One sandwich short of a picnic' for someone mentally deficient or somewhat mad?
14:05 Mon 24th Nov 20035 answers, last by bazwillrun 15:36 Thu 27th Nov 2003
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FredPuli

Butter parsnips

' Fine words butter no parsnips' What's the origin of this quaint culinary put-down of the fine talker who produces nothing ?
01:08 Sat 15th Nov 20032 answers, last by treaclefight 10:31 Sat 15th Nov 2003
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FredPuli

Big Ben; other words

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 .
10:09 Thu 18th Sep 20032 answers, last by FredPuli 19:45 Fri 19th Sep 2003
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FredPuli

NY airports

Arriving from the UK which is better; JFK or Newark, NJ ? I'm thinking of time getting through immigration and accessibility to central NYC
17:50 Fri 12th Sep 20036 answers, last by beetlebug 08:28 Wed 09th Jun 2004
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FredPuli

Pants

Why 'it's pants' or ' a pile of pants' for something which is rubbish or poor? Is it a counterpart to yelling 'knickers!' ?
07:37 Wed 06th Aug 20033 answers, last by Quizmonster 09:37 Wed 06th Aug 2003
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FredPuli

billy-o

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...
21:07 Tue 05th Aug 20033 answers, last by the_dipsey_1 01:28 Sun 10th Aug 2003
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FredPuli

Last straw

What is the origin of the saying 'it's the last straw that breaks the camel's back' ?
14:22 Sat 28th Jun 20033 answers, last by FredPuli 13:12 Sun 29th Jun 2003
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FredPuli

Weasel

Why is the weasel associated with treachery or deceit e.g. 'weasel words' and , in the U.S as a word for a traitor ?
21:42 Sat 15th Feb 20032 answers, last by flirty41 14:52 Sun 16th Feb 2003
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FredPuli

Chicago

Chicago is 'The Windy City'. Is it really exceptionally windy and if so why ?
21:08 Mon 28th Oct 20024 answers, last by simon_says 11:51 Sat 02nd Nov 2002
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FredPuli

Typing accents

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)?
19:23 Thu 13th Jun 20022 answers, last by jivebaby 20:08 Fri 14th Jun 2002

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