 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsEnglish UsageBritish EnglishESL Teaching Learnglish.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Discussion Groups / British English / August 2004"Charlie's dead"
Does anyone here know the origin of the phrase "Charlie's dead", meaning 'your petticoat is showing'? I've done a Google but found nothing, other than "Queen Anne's dead" is used also. Anyone? Peter Harris  SignatureNever eat more than you can lift. > Does anyone here know the origin of the phrase "Charlie's dead", > meaning 'your petticoat is showing'? I've done a Google but found > nothing, other than "Queen Anne's dead" is used also. > Anyone? Probably means the petticoat is flying at half mast. Cheers Tony SignatureTony Mountifield Work: tony@softins.co.uk - http://www.softins.co.uk Play: tony@mountifield.org - http://tony.mountifield.org >> Does anyone here know the origin of the phrase "Charlie's dead", >> meaning 'your petticoat is showing'? I've done a Google but found >> nothing, other than "Queen Anne's dead" is used also. >> Anyone? > >Probably means the petticoat is flying at half mast. OTTOMH "Queen Anne" could also be alluding to the plant Queen Anne's Lace - i.e. tactfully hinting that lace is on show. http://website.lineone.net/~stolarczyk/queen.html#name gives suggestions as to the origin of the plant name. Partridge suggests that Charlie/Charley is old rhyming slang from Charley Hunt - but that seems a long shot to explain a rather polite expression. SignaturePhil C. At 21:07:55 on Mon, 23 Aug 2004, Peter Harris <pharris@bootup.demon.co.uk> wrote in <g6dki0pqgfoqihbm4poe746av120fc2qhk@4ax.com>: >Does anyone here know the origin of the phrase "Charlie's dead", >meaning 'your petticoat is showing'? I've done a Google but found >nothing, other than "Queen Anne's dead" is used also. >Anyone? In my youth, we used to say "It's raining in Paris" in such circumstances. I have no idea why. The French said "Tu cherche une belle-mere" (you're looking for a mother-in-law) which makes much more sense. SignatureMolly Mockford I think I've been too long on my own, but the little green goblin that lives under the sink says I'm OK - and he's never wrong, so I must be! (My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) > The French said "Tu cherche une belle-mere" (you're looking for a mother-in-law) which makes much more > sense. Does it? Bye, FB SignatureLocked from the inside. That can only mean one thing, and I don't know what it is. (Murder by Death) > Does anyone here know the origin of the phrase "Charlie's dead", > meaning 'your petticoat is showing'? I've done a Google but found > nothing, other than "Queen Anne's dead" is used also. > Anyone? <non-native speaker> What does "your petticoat is showing" mean? Bye, FB SignatureSe dico "siedi!" manca l'oggetto. Siedo chi? Lei o me? (da it.cultura.linguistica.italiano) > > Does anyone here know the origin of the phrase "Charlie's dead", > > meaning 'your petticoat is showing'? I've done a Google but found [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > What does "your petticoat is showing" mean? Well, an attempt in Google proved amusing: 1. to Italian: il vostro isolatore a campana sta mostrando 2. back to English: your bell insulator is showing Not sure in which direction the meaning was lost! :-) A petticoat is a ladies' skirt-like undergarment worn inside a normal skirt or dress. It is/was considered impolite if the lower edge of the petticoat was lower than the outer skirt so that it could be seen. "Charlie's dead" was a discreet, euphemistic way of informing the unaware wearer, so that she could go and adjust it. Cheers Tony SignatureTony Mountifield Work: tony@softins.co.uk - http://www.softins.co.uk Play: tony@mountifield.org - http://tony.mountifield.org > > What does "your petticoat is showing" mean? > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Not sure in which direction the meaning was lost! :-) Actually, on closer inspection it was obviously from English to Italian! Cheers Tony SignatureTony Mountifield Work: tony@softins.co.uk - http://www.softins.co.uk Play: tony@mountifield.org - http://tony.mountifield.org In uk.culture.language.english, FB wrote: >> Does anyone here know the origin of the phrase "Charlie's dead", >> meaning 'your petticoat is showing'? I've done a Google but found [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >What does "your petticoat is showing" mean? http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/ManitobaCrafts/throughthedecades/images/ crafts/dollfemale_dress.jpg SignatureMike Barnes >Does anyone here know the origin of the phrase "Charlie's dead", >meaning 'your petticoat is showing'? I've done a Google but found >nothing, other than "Queen Anne's dead" is used also. >Anyone? I'll take a long shot and suggest that it's a reference to Bonnie Prince Charlie who used to wear lace? (For those who don't wear petticoats, they are made of a lace like material.) Sig: I have a brain the size of a planet. It's not much good to me, however. It's on a different planet. > >Does anyone here know the origin of the phrase "Charlie's dead", > >meaning 'your petticoat is showing'? I've done a Google but found > >nothing, other than "Queen Anne's dead" is used also. > >Anyone? > I'll take a long shot and suggest that it's a reference to Bonnie > Prince Charlie who used to wear lace? (For those who don't wear > petticoats, they are made of a lace like material.) They're also made of a lace like material for those who do wear them, possibly more so. > Sig: > I have a brain the size of a planet. It's not much good to me, > however. It's on a different planet. Obviously. :-) Signaturehttp://www.dacha.freeuk.com/aureole/30-0.htm here endeth the lessen of the iron icon to genesis On Monday, in article <g6dki0pqgfoqihbm4poe746av120fc2qhk@4ax.com> > Does anyone here know the origin of the phrase "Charlie's dead", > meaning 'your petticoat is showing'? I've done a Google but found > nothing, other than "Queen Anne's dead" is used also. "Queen Anne is dead" has nothing to do with "your slip is showing". Rather it's what is said to the bearer of stale news. SignatureBrian {Hamilton Kelly} bhk@dsl.co.uk "I don't use Linux. I prefer to use an OS supported by a large multi- national vendor, with a good office suite, excellent network/internet software and decent hardware support." |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2012 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.