Mind your own business…

[DianaCanada]

Never heard those.  In Yorkshire it was "keep thi' sneck out" (not neck, and a sneck was a door catch I think).  Dad always said "gone to see a man about a dog" which usually meant he was off to price a "fiddle job" up and didn't want us to say owt! When we asked where mum had vanished to (such a rare occasion, that, she was always there) he'd say she'd "run away wi' a black man" - lots of people said that, but no one does now!  Adults were always "going to t'foot o'our stairs" and I have no idea why.  Interesting reading all these memories.

“Black” might not have referred to colour in the past…many times it meant something bad or a setback.  Our association with the dark of night likely had to do with frightening things and the unknown.  It’s possible a “black man” was simply someone bad or unknown.

[Treetotal]

We were told not to "Stick our nose in where it wasn't wanted....or " Keep your stiicky beak out of it"
Carol

[Josephine]

We were also told, "Don't be a nosy Parker."

[DianaCanada]

We were also told, "Don't be a nosy Parker."

Oh, I heard that one many time (Lancs. father)!

[Josephine]

We were also told, "Don't be a nosy Parker."

Oh, I heard that one many time (Lancs. father)!

Interesting! My mother's grandparents were from England but not Lancashire.

[Viktoria]

One I remember from working in the Black Country - "going all round The Wrekin" - meant never coming to the point.

The Wrekin is a prominent hill about 20 miles north west of Wolverhampton, the nearest Black Country town, but visible on the horizon even from there.

The Wrekin is in Shropshire ,very prominent and yes, can be seen for a very long way.
Nearest town in Shropshire is Telford , an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty .
Lots of myths re giants etc .
Viktoria.

[Kiltpin]

Never heard those.  In Yorkshire it was "keep thi' sneck out" (not neck, and a sneck was a door catch I think).  Dad always said "gone to see a man about a dog" which usually meant he was off to price a "fiddle job" up and didn't want us to say owt! When we asked where mum had vanished to (such a rare occasion, that, she was always there) he'd say she'd "run away wi' a black man" - lots of people said that, but no one does now!  Adults were always "going to t'foot o'our stairs" and I have no idea why.  Interesting reading all these memories.

“Black” might not have referred to colour in the past…many times it meant something bad or a setback.  Our association with the dark of night likely had to do with frightening things and the unknown.  It’s possible a “black man” was simply someone bad or unknown.

 

Possible, but I don't think so. It was said during the "Windrush" years, when people of colour were a novelty. I can remember it being said in '66, and then it meant a man whose skin was black. 

Regards 

Chas

[DianaCanada]

Never heard those.  In Yorkshire it was "keep thi' sneck out" (not neck, and a sneck was a door catch I think).  Dad always said "gone to see a man about a dog" which usually meant he was off to price a "fiddle job" up and didn't want us to say owt! When we asked where mum had vanished to (such a rare occasion, that, she was always there) he'd say she'd "run away wi' a black man" - lots of people said that, but no one does now!  Adults were always "going to t'foot o'our stairs" and I have no idea why.  Interesting reading all these memories.

“Black” might not have referred to colour in the past…many times it meant something bad or a setback.  Our association with the dark of night likely had to do with frightening things and the unknown.  It’s possible a “black man” was simply someone bad or unknown.

 

Possible, but I don't think so. It was said during the "Windrush" years, when people of colour were a novelty. I can remember it being said in '66, and then it meant a man whose skin was black. 

Regards 

Chas

I think I am referring to expressions from much earlier than the 20th century - and many have survived over the centuries.  That doesn't mean the saying was used in different ways than its original meaning more recently.

[Ian999]

Regarding a trip to the loo, a posh Oxford girl I knew used the phrase “I am just going to turn my bicycle round”. It took me a while to figure it out.