A recent post referring to the above attracted 111 replies. Could someone please explain it's meaning ? A VERY big girls's blouse could perhaps be used as a spinnaker, but ??????????
Canadians are almost foreigners, so you deserve at lease one serious reply along with all the funny ones below. It is an expression meaning 'softies' and is used to comic effect, as in. 'you softies are worried about one little hole in your boat'. It implies effeminacy too, sometimes. Our northern correspondents will give you loads of examples, often for some reason associated with southerners. I can't think why.
When you get involved with North v South I do wish you would make an exception for the far South West. We have more in common with Northerners than they other up-country folk, although our desecration of the Queen's English is very different!
Big Girls' Blouses? Our Big Girls do still wear smocks.
Farming's scat
Fishing's scat
Mining's scat
Ah! Well, back to wrecking
I was offering the poor man a sidelight on English private grief. I am far too cowardy custard to disagree with either rufty tufty pasty boys or rock hard northerners who live in unheated lean-to's. Anyway, down here in Essex the girls only wear one sleeve in their blouses, of no matter what size (girl or blouse). Sometimes it is a sight for sore eyes, more spitfire jib than spinnaker.
well i'm from the north and i've not heard ferret, whippet nor pigeon-related sayings in this context. But of course it could be a local dialect, perhaps even so local that it was a few streets. Or maybe even just you?