Said of someone you despise
"I wouldn't piss on him if he were on fire."

Said of a masculine woman:
"She could throw Herb Welch!"
(Herb was a local pro wrestler many years ago)

Said of an unattractive woman:
"She's as ugly as a hatfull of a**holes."

I also apologize in advance....My Southern family would make "S**t on a shingle" meaning "Chipped beef in gravy on toast"....as a kid I would not want to eat it. I guess it is not after all a regional thing as my boyfriend from Michigan called it that the other day as well (he had it at his Mom's which is godd cuz I still won't make it)

Oh yes, Sugar Plum!! My grandmother used that one, too, only it was "I swan"! This is too funny. I never of anyone else who'd ever heard of these phrases.

Dave, I thank you for the continued discussion on "butter wouldn't melt...". Someone who is prim & proper would certainly encompass someone who is of a cold nature & most likely someone who would be considered "fake" as well.

Kvick, I always heard it as "if his PANTS were on fire"!!

Wednesday, I always thought SOS was just a military term. Again, hmmmmmmmm...

There are so many (whatevers) in there, you can hardly throw a brick without hitting one. (credit P.G. Wodehouse)

love those Britishisms. obxgirl, do you or does anybody know the derivation of "Bob's your uncle"?

Possible drivation of Bob's your uncle:

In 1887, A J Balfour was unexpectedly promoted to the vital front line post of Chief Secretary for Ireland by the Prime Minister, his uncle Robert, Lord Salisbury.

Anyone know about, the extension to this phrase, "Fanny's your aunt"? This could get tricky, bearing in mind fanny means someting quite different in the UK compared to in the US.

What's is with the statement "There's more than one way to skin a cat"??? Who/how did someone came up with that? It's not like that is something people do every day..a long time ago, you'd skin your own chicken..etc..

He fell out of the ugly tree and hit every limb on the way down.

When I would say or do something foolish, my mother would look at me and say (in a good-natured way that made us both laugh): Nicki - sometimes you don't have the sense God gave a goose.

...and to describe someone who is even more stupid than the fellow in ThinGorjus' example : "...he's thicker than 2 planks of wood nailed together"

Yes, the full phrase is " The proof of the pudding is in the tasting " meaning you can talk all you like about something but the true test will be when we see the final product.

"Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth" is usually used to describe a cold-hearted person. So cold that "...every word she spews is an icy dagger."
Related to " If looks were daggers, I'd be dead by now."

This could go on forever.
"Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth" is often taken to mean someone who is very innocent and good (ie not hot blooded) ("acts like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth&quot
Various less polite ones:
"Goes like shit off a red hot shovel" - it's quite quick
"Christ on a bike" - exclamation of surprise or annoyance
"F*** you and the horse you came in on" - please go away
"In tall corn" - one from Texas meaning (I'm told) we're doing well
"Prettier than a new set of snow tires" - good looking to a red neck
"He was at rock bottom but has since shown signs of digging" - a bad performance review
"Knackered" - very tired. With an English accent it can sound like "Naked" if you haven't heard it before. I've got a few strange looks in bars because of that one..... (it comes from the Knackers yard where you took tired old horses at the end of their useful life)

Elaine - Nobody seems sure where "Dressed to the nines" comes from - see http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-nin1.htm but it won't help much

Just seen this one from Degas on another thread on this site:
"You sure know how to drop a turd in the punch bowl" - nice image.
Goes with:
"That pissed on his bonfire" - put someone back in their place
and
"I wouldn't piss on his head if his hair was on fire" - I don't like him

Fun question! I couldn't get through all of the postings, so I hope this isn't a repeat. In Yiddish, there aren't really curse words, but curses, such as "go bury your head in the field with the onions" and "go sh*t in the ocean." I'd love to hear the origins of those...

Hoe about this one (someone in London, an Englishman,said to us in reference to being surprised) "I'm absolutely gob smacked!!"

that's an easy one. "Gob smacked" means quite literally "smacked in the gob" (gob meaning mouth, as in "shut you gob&quot - hence the phrase means "I am rather stunned"

As irishdame knows, "Kennywood's open" means that the zipper on your pants is down; your fly is open.

Kennywood is an amusement park in West Mifflin, PA, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The highlight of the park's season is when it is your school district's day at the park. The question "Is Kennywood open?" is sort of like "Are we there yet?", only worse. The latter only lasts for a trip. The former starts when good weather arrives in spring and lasts until, finally!, Kennywood does open.

Dave, sure we know "fanny". It is where your fanny pack goes.

"Dave, sure we know "fanny". It is where your fanny pack goes."


Not in the UK it ain't. That could prove rather uncomfortable

Oh! Then your meaning is more, um, specific?

Here's one I heard from an old Yankee farmer about an unsavory neighbor: He's so crooked he can't lay down in bed.

mrwunrfl, it's in a slightly different place - more to the front of a lady than the back, if you get my meaning

Okay, I didn't read this one here yet. It's one I've heard most of my life (my family is from the Ozarks).

"She sure has her tit caught in a wringer." Meaning - someone is in a real mess. (Origin has to be with the old wringer washers...although I think of it everytime I have to go for a mammogram.)