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Post by chuffedstokie on May 12, 2018 13:24:48 GMT
Exactly how thick were they and how short. There must be a guideline somewhere. How did that saying get into common language I wonder.
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2018 13:39:37 GMT
Extracted from a Phrases -Origin website.
What's the meaning of the phrase 'As thick as two short planks'?
Exceedingly stupid.
What's the origin of the phrase 'As thick as two short planks'?
'Thick' has been used to mean slow-witted or stupid since the turn of the 17th century. Shakespeare used it to good effect in Henry IV, Part. 2, 1600:
Hang him baboon, his wit's as thicke as Tewksbury mustard.
Tewksbury mustard was a variety that was made in the Gloucestershire town from ground English mustard seeds and horseradish, formed into a ball. It was thick and creamy, in fact it still is and is available in Tewksbury and elsewhere in the UK.
Most of the 'as X as Y' similes refer to some item (Y) and precede it with some property (X) that Y is well-known to posses. Here 'thick' does double duty. It refers to the obvious lack of wit that a piece of wood would display and also to another meaning of thick, that is, 'short and wide'. Planks of wood are wide and the shorted they are the greater their apparent thickness. Two short planks are even thicker.
The expression 'as thick as two short planks', which is sometimes given in the variant form 'as thick as two planks', is of UK origin and dates from the 1970s. The earliest example of it that I know of in print is in Gordon Honeycombe's novel Adam's Tale, 1974. Memory is fallible and plays no useful part in etymology, but I'll (the author) mentions anyway that I have a clear recollection of hearing it 'in the wild' earlier than that.
The phrase led to the later adoption, also in the UK, of the single word 'plank' to describe someone thought to be stupid.
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Post by chuffedstokie on May 12, 2018 13:45:23 GMT
Extracted from a Phrases -Origin website. What's the meaning of the phrase 'As thick as two short planks'? Exceedingly stupid. What's the origin of the phrase 'As thick as two short planks'? 'Thick' has been used to mean slow-witted or stupid since the turn of the 17th century. Shakespeare used it to good effect in Henry IV, Part. 2, 1600: Hang him baboon, his wit's as thicke as Tewksbury mustard. Tewksbury mustard was a variety that was made in the Gloucestershire town from ground English mustard seeds and horseradish, formed into a ball. It was thick and creamy, in fact it still is and is available in Tewksbury and elsewhere in the UK. Most of the 'as X as Y' similes refer to some item (Y) and precede it with some property (X) that Y is well-known to posses. Here 'thick' does double duty. It refers to the obvious lack of wit that a piece of wood would display and also to another meaning of thick, that is, 'short and wide'. Planks of wood are wide and the shorted they are the greater their apparent thickness. Two short planks are even thicker. The expression 'as thick as two short planks', which is sometimes given in the variant form 'as thick as two planks', is of UK origin and dates from the 1970s. The earliest example of it that I know of in print is in Gordon Honeycombe's novel Adam's Tale, 1974. Memory is fallible and plays no useful part in etymology, but I'll (the author) mentions anyway that I have a clear recollection of hearing it 'in the wild' earlier than that.
The phrase led to the later adoption, also in the UK, of the single word 'plank' to describe someone thought to be stupid.Thanks for that, very interesting. Just about sums up a certain politician. Especially the thick mustard bit. |
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2018 21:38:44 GMT
Any excuse for great British Comedy.
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Post by Deleted on May 14, 2018 22:54:06 GMT
Any excuse for great British Comedy. Brilliant  |
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Post by chuffedstokie on May 15, 2018 17:15:46 GMT
Any excuse for great British Comedy. Great. |
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Post by mermaidsal on May 16, 2018 11:58:36 GMT
Extracted from a Phrases -Origin website. What's the meaning of the phrase 'As thick as two short planks'? Exceedingly stupid. What's the origin of the phrase 'As thick as two short planks'? 'Thick' has been used to mean slow-witted or stupid since the turn of the 17th century. Shakespeare used it to good effect in Henry IV, Part. 2, 1600: Hang him baboon, his wit's as thicke as Tewksbury mustard. Tewksbury mustard was a variety that was made in the Gloucestershire town from ground English mustard seeds and horseradish, formed into a ball. It was thick and creamy, in fact it still is and is available in Tewksbury and elsewhere in the UK. Most of the 'as X as Y' similes refer to some item (Y) and precede it with some property (X) that Y is well-known to posses. Here 'thick' does double duty. It refers to the obvious lack of wit that a piece of wood would display and also to another meaning of thick, that is, 'short and wide'. Planks of wood are wide and the shorted they are the greater their apparent thickness. Two short planks are even thicker. The expression 'as thick as two short planks', which is sometimes given in the variant form 'as thick as two planks', is of UK origin and dates from the 1970s. The earliest example of it that I know of in print is in Gordon Honeycombe's novel Adam's Tale, 1974. Memory is fallible and plays no useful part in etymology, but I'll (the author) mentions anyway that I have a clear recollection of hearing it 'in the wild' earlier than that.
The phrase led to the later adoption, also in the UK, of the single word 'plank' to describe someone thought to be stupid.Brilliant  I'm reintroducing Tewkesbury mustard as a term of abuse as of now (just wait for the citizens of Tewkesbury to respond...) |
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Post by mermaidsal on May 16, 2018 12:00:15 GMT
Any excuse for great British Comedy. Great. Always loved this, my dad sat me down to watch it when I was 6 or 7 and I couldn't stop giggling. Since then almost all the characters have come to work on my house at some point... |
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I'm reintroducing Tewkesbury mustard as a term of abuse as of now (just wait for the citizens of Tewkesbury to respond...)
