Game : Idioms Corner!

Maybe if we think HARD, we can get the picture?
BTW, I like the idiom about the dog! Is it a REAL one?

Yes, it is used a lot in rural Australia.. where I grew up. There are many rich and idiolectual phrases, idioms and such from these areas, ussually with sarcastic humour.

But, I thought the "MAN ABOUT A DOG" one is used when you want to leave but you are not wanting to disclose your whereabouts or to give any indication about 'what' you're about to do.

Also, to see 'a man about a dog', would not instigate further questioning because it is a mundane issue - who wants to know WHY this guy is seeing another man about a dog???

But today, it is just accepted as saying goodbye or goodbye don't ask me where I'm going.

On another note: Has anyone heard of these colourful ones -

"You don't look at the mantlepiece when you're stoking the fire"
Meaning: don't base your entire judgement of a person on part of that person (usually about a woman in a sexual way)
Literally meaning: you don't look at a woman's head when your having sex... (if she is percieved to have an ugly head, this is in reply to someone's disapproval of a woman's looks)

and:
"Many a fine tune has been played on an old fiddle"
Meaning: There's still potential enjoyment to be had from something older
Literal meaning: don't dismiss an older lady just because she's old, becuase she can be as good as a younger one, in fact be more experienced (again in a sexual/sexist manner)

Maybe we could start another thread with sexist/racist remarks/jokes/idioms etc. - this is an area that fascinates me.

Oh, "don't come the raw prawn" with me Abbie! -
meaning 'to attempt to deceive (a person); to misrepresent a situation'...

I am not sexist... but am interested in words and their power to do damage. I have experienced a lot of racism being an Indigenous Australian.

About the above idiom - It occured to me that seeing as it is about deception, could it be that it is about someone passing off a raw prawn as a cooked one as it looks similar?

Oh Abbie,

What's all this stuff about. I couldn't decipher the meaning of even one sentence of your last thread. What are you trying to reveal?

So you know Australian language too!!!!