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I have a ton myself that my Dad would say but couldn't explain, so I don't use them as much. Two notable examples... 'What do you want, a Dewey button?' as a s
by silisili 2y ago
I have a ton myself that my Dad would say but couldn't explain, so I don't use them as much.
Two notable examples...
'What do you want, a Dewey button?' as a sarcastic way of saying 'who cares.' He didn't know why. Google says it's probably related to Thomas Dewey.
'Kitty bar the door.' An expression to mean he was going to go all out. He didn't know who kitty was or why he said it. I still have no idea its real etymology.
- eszed 2y agoYou may not have been able to find that saying because its more-usual version is "Katy, bar the door": https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/katy-bar-the-door.html https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/katy-bar-the-door.html
- silisili 2y agoThanks, this completely tracks as he's infamous for mispronunciations and mixed idioms. Sadly, even clicking both links and a cursory Google search, nobody really knows where 'Katy bar the door' came from, either.
- nkurz 2y ago> 'Kitty bar the door.' It looks like Katy or Katie are the more common spellings in the Southern US, although Kitty seems to the standard when talking about hockey. The origin is disputed: https://worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-kat1.htm https://worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-kat1.htm