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Message board > An expression I īm not familiar with
An expression I īm not familiar with
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yanogator
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An expression I īm not familiar with
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Hi, gang,
It īs very rare for me to come to you with a question, but here goes. I was looking at someone īs online exercise, and saw the expression "to make a pig īs ear of something", meaning to make a total mess of something. I had never heard of the expression, so I investigated it and found that it is an American expression from the mid-20th century. It comes from the familiar expression "to make a silk purse out of a sow īs ear", but is the opposite. Is this expression familiar to you folks?
Thanks,
Bruce |
24 Jul 2012
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ldthemagicman
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Hello Bruce,
Here in the UK it īs an expression that I īve often heard and one that I īve occasionally used.
It means exactly what you say:
"I asked him to do a little job for me and now it īs a complete mess. He īs made a pig īs ear of it."
Les |
24 Jul 2012
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yanogator
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Thanks, Les. I īm happy to know that it is used, since it was totally unfamiliar to me.
Bruce |
24 Jul 2012
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cunliffe
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Yes, it īs very familiar. The īsilk purse � bit isn īt much alluded to, but īpig īs ear � remains and we all know it means a total shambles.
Edit: īshambles� - a state of complete disorder. There is a famous street in York called īThe Shambles� - itīs houses of all different sizes and shapes. |
25 Jul 2012
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spinney
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Same here. "I made a pigs ear of it," is very common. You can also say "it went pear-shaped," or "it all went t*ts up." Wonderful expresions! I didn īt know that particular one was American originally, though. You live and you learn.
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25 Jul 2012
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cunliffe
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īBotch up � or ībotch job � is another one. īHe īs really botched up! � or īIt īs a complete botch job. � Also īto go belly up. �
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25 Jul 2012
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colibrita
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I use the expression quite a lot, and "to make a dog īs dinner of stg"
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25 Jul 2012
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cunliffe
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Where I come from, we say īdog īs dinner � for a lady who is over-dressed, or all dolled up. We say, īShe looks like a right dog īs dinner. � Isn īt that strange? Dogs � dinners are usually plain. |
25 Jul 2012
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titine69
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Thank you all! I īm learning a lot from your messages. In France we say "mettre le bazar/bordel(more familiar)" = to make a mess of something.  |
25 Jul 2012
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attoufawatef
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thanks millions for the expressions I īm learning |
27 Jul 2012
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