Hmmm...
Why, when describing something that has proved unpopular, do people use the phrase "That went down like a lead balloon"?
If you hold them a a little way off the floor most balloons, the plastic/rubber/whatever-it-is-kind, will drop down fairly slowly and gently. If filled with helium or some other lighter-than-air gas, the won't go down at all - at least not straight away. However, if you take a balloon made of lead and let it go it's a fairly safe bet that it would plummet pretty decently... or in other words, go down very well.
English - it's a funny old language.
Cheers m'dears!
Labels: Language
posted by Binty McShae @ 6:03 pm
6 Comments:
Ok, I'm obviously not English but one that cracks me up every single time is "Dog's Bollocks"!
What's with that!
I prefer the expression "that went down like a fart in church."
Gets me every time. I'm a simple soul.
I always assumed one was trying to SWALLOW the lead balloon in that phrase.
'Cheap at half the price' - that one annoys me a lot. It should be 'cheap at twice the price' surely...?
Well, I suppose it would be cheaper at half the price.
The phrase is actually cheap at twice the price.... when saying cheap at half the price it's supposed to be sarcastic!
Post a Comment
<< Home