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Thread: Ever wondered what an old saying meant?

  1. #1
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    Default Ever wondered what an old saying meant?

    Have you ever used or heard a saying and never new quite what it meant.
    A saying regarding a spinster that still lives at home with her parents IE "you want to be carefull or you will left on the shelve" On a visit to the MUSIUM OF WELSH LIFE near Cardiff we were being shown around a very old house and when you walked through the door it had no upstairs as we know it .
    To the left is were 2 cows lived with a loft above for there fodder the middle part was open to the rafters with no chiminy and to the right was the parents living and sleeping area with a loft above and a ladder were the children slept. A bit like the little house on the praire. The tour guide pointed out that the loft area for the children was called the shelve. So if you had a daughter left at home past chidhood it was often said "be carefull you may get left on the Shelve" It answered a age old question.
    Any more out there

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    i could never understand the saying " to cut off your nose to spite your face" beats me!!

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    years ago when fowlk hed til go til somewhere far awie wi a message, they wid stop in at a fairmhoose on 'e way an ask for sum denner an maybe a kip.

    they'd get a guid bit o' meit an a bied for enite. 'e next day if they didna leive, they wid get offered a 'cowld shoulder o' mutten'.

    hence, 'e sayin, til gie someone 'e cowld shoulder.
    Merry Meet, Merry Part and Merry Meet Again
    Blessed Be...

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    or " if you break a leg dont come cryng to me....Where on this earth did that come from.....maybe these sayings are brought to us from mystical worlds.....

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    Default Old sayings

    Quote Originally Posted by trix View Post
    years ago when fowlk hed til go til somewhere far awie wi a message, they wid stop in at a fairmhoose on 'e way an ask for sum denner an maybe a kip.

    they'd get a guid bit o' meit an a bied for enite. 'e next day if they didna leive, they wid get offered a 'cowld shoulder o' mutten'.

    hence, 'e sayin, til gie someone 'e cowld shoulder.
    thats a great example. I would guess that it was traditional years ago to help each other in time of need.IE a traveller etc ,but if advantage was taken of that good will you may say Best give him the cold shoulder

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    heres a good one....

    "We're going to turn this team around 360 degrees" not sure what it means...


    My friends, no matter how rough the road may be, we can and we will never, never surrender to what is right."
    Last edited by justine; 05-Mar-08 at 23:54.

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    My all time favorite is "brass monkeys" when its cold out, full term "Cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey". As my dad was in the navy i (after lots of giggling, innocent little girl that i was) eventually found out was an old nautical term. a Brass Monkey was the stand that canon balls were stacked on to stop them rolling around on deck. When the weather got cold enough, it would contract and shrink, causing the balls to pop off. i had spent years envisioning emasculated metal apes before learning the truth!!!


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    Default Wats that mean

    Often on a farm I used to work on a work mate used to say never cast a clout till May is out. I found out many years later that Clout was the old English word for Cloth So to put it in my mothers terms "dont take your vest off till May is out. And when I say May I dont Mean the month off May but Scabby May as in the flower of the hawthorn bush

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Milkins View Post
    Often on a farm I used to work on a work mate used to say never cast a clout till May is out. I found out many years later that Clout was the old English word for Cloth So to put it in my mothers terms "dont take your vest off till May is out. And when I say May I dont Mean the month off May but Scabby May as in the flower of the hawthorn bush

    Your games are so childish....................

  10. #10
    router Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Milkins View Post
    Often on a farm I used to work on a work mate used to say never cast a clout till May is out. I found out many years later that Clout was the old English word for Cloth So to put it in my mothers terms "dont take your vest off till May is out. And when I say May I dont Mean the month off May but Scabby May as in the flower of the hawthorn bush
    May is exactly what it means.........rest of what you say sounds more like claptrap.......i'm scottish i know what it means as do all my generations before who were all farmers......................................ps clout is spelt cloot as in clootie dumplin

  11. #11
    router Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by trix View Post
    years ago when fowlk hed til go til somewhere far awie wi a message, they wid stop in at a fairmhoose on 'e way an ask for sum denner an maybe a kip.

    they'd get a guid bit o' meit an a bied for enite. 'e next day if they didna leive, they wid get offered a 'cowld shoulder o' mutten'.

    hence, 'e sayin, til gie someone 'e cowld shoulder.
    giving someone the cold shoulder is turn your back on them...........are you making this up as you go along?.....or have both you and KM reading from the same book of nonsense?

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Milkins View Post
    Often on a farm I used to work on a work mate used to say never cast a clout till May is out. I found out many years later that Clout was the old English word for Cloth So to put it in my mothers terms "dont take your vest off till May is out. And when I say May I dont Mean the month off May but Scabby May as in the flower of the hawthorn bush
    hi kevin, aye, ats an auld cracker 'at aine. i mind ma grany sayin at til 'e bairns years ago.

    workin wi 'e auld fowlks i hear different aines every day, il hev a whole list for ye tomorrow
    Merry Meet, Merry Part and Merry Meet Again
    Blessed Be...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Milkins View Post
    Often on a farm I used to work on a work mate used to say never cast a clout till May is out. I found out many years later that Clout was the old English word for Cloth So to put it in my mothers terms "dont take your vest off till May is out. And when I say May I dont Mean the month off May but Scabby May as in the flower of the hawthorn bush
    I have heard that too.. ne'er cast a cloot til may is oot
    Avoid biting when a simple growl will do

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Milkins View Post
    Often on a farm I used to work on a work mate used to say never cast a clout till May is out. I found out many years later that Clout was the old English word for Cloth So to put it in my mothers terms "dont take your vest off till May is out. And when I say May I dont Mean the month off May but Scabby May as in the flower of the hawthorn bush
    I was taught the same saying, and in later years, discovered allegedly that it was meant to say never take off your winter clothing i.e. Vest, until the May flower was out, the hawthorn flower
    Once the original Grumpy Owld Man but alas no more

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    Default Old sayings

    It would apear that some smart arses are only joining in the to iritate or anoy.
    I do not need reminding that I can not spell ,or do i not need reminding that I am from the south of the border. Myself and many others that enjoy the org both north and south of the border would be more than happy that if you do not like the thread then dont contribute.. If I see clap trap on TV I switch over ,so may I suggest you do the same.

  16. #16
    router Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Milkins View Post
    Often on a farm I used to work on a work mate used to say never cast a clout till May is out. I found out many years later that Clout was the old English word for Cloth So to put it in my mothers terms "dont take your vest off till May is out. And when I say May I dont Mean the month off May but Scabby May as in the flower of the hawthorn bush
    so why the scabby may,first i've heard that one or is this a derogatory term for something else you mean?

  17. #17
    router Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kevin Milkins View Post
    It would apear that some smart arses are only joining in the to iritate or anoy.
    I do not need reminding that I can not spell ,or do i not need reminding that I am from the south of the border. Myself and many others that enjoy the org both north and south of the border would be more than happy that if you do not like the thread then dont contribute.. If I see clap trap on TV I switch over ,so may I suggest you do the same.
    don't watch telly ,and i'll will post on a thread as i see fit to.thanks for taking the time to read mine.....

  18. #18

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    aye, things are defo going wonky on the Org. Can I suggest that all this bickering is unseemly and might be best left. Least said, soonest mended, just to get back to the thread.

  19. #19
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    Default Scabby may

    Quote Originally Posted by router View Post
    so why the scabby may,first i've heard that one or is this a derogatory term for something else you mean?
    scaby may is the common name for the flower on the hawthorn down south.
    Why does every inocent comment or post have to seem if its a double edge sword

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by trix View Post
    years ago when fowlk hed til go til somewhere far awie wi a message, they wid stop in at a fairmhoose on 'e way an ask for sum denner an maybe a kip.

    they'd get a guid bit o' meit an a bied for enite. 'e next day if they didna leive, they wid get offered a 'cowld shoulder o' mutten'.

    hence, 'e sayin, til gie someone 'e cowld shoulder.
    ye may THINK it is ''utter tedious rubbish'' router but, all 'e same, i da think it warrents gien me bad rep - thanks all 'e same eh??

    never hed one o them before....
    Merry Meet, Merry Part and Merry Meet Again
    Blessed Be...

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