A wigwam for a goose's bridle
A wigwam for a goose's bridle is a phrase, meaning something absurd or a nonsense object, or latterly "none of your business". It is an old English phrase from the United Kingdom which later found particular favour in Australia, where its first recorded use is in 1917,[1] and also in New Zealand.[2] An obscure variation has been attributed to the mid-1900s in Canada's Nova Scotia province. It has been reported that mundane household enquiries like "what's for dinner?" could draw the response "bits for gooses' bridles".[citation needed]
UK origins[edit]
An early recorded use is found in an 1836 article in The New Monthly Magazine, where the phrase is used by an English sailor whose ship was berthed in Calcutta.[3]
Originally, the phrase was "a whim-wham for a goose's bridle", with "whim-wham" a word meaning "a fanciful or fantastic object". The phrase was deliberately absurd as a goose would never wear a bridle. Folk etymology converted the word "whim-wham"—a word that was no longer much used—to "wigwam", an Ojibwa word for a domed single-room dwelling used by Native Americans. This change retained the phrase's absurd meaning and sense.[4]
Australian use[edit]
In Australia, a common usage is in response to an inquiry such as Q. "What are you making?", A. "A wigwam for a goose's bridle".[5] The rejoinder was a code for "Mind your own business" and children acquired this pragmatic knowledge after repeated discourse with their parents ended with this response.[6] It was a common family saying.[7]
The phrase is believed to be less popular than it once was.[8]
Other variations of the phrase[edit]
- "Whim wham for ducks to sit on." (Stated by a woman of English heritage, first of six born (1907) in the US, in Rocks Springs, Wyoming)[citation needed]
- "Whim whams to wind the sun up." (Said by an Englishman of Chester, Cheshire in the years 1930–1940)[citation needed]
References[edit]
- ^ "Meanings and origins of Australian words and idioms - Australian National Dictionary Centre - ANU". Archived from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ "Tony Beyer". Manukau in Poetry. Manukau Libraries. Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
- ^ Walsh, Robert; Eliakim Littell; John Jay Smith (2005) [1836]. "Scene in Calcutta". Museum of Foreign Literature, Science and Art. Philadelphia: E Little. p. 590. First published in The New Monthly Magazine
- ^ Ludowyk, Frederick. "All my eye and Betty Martin! The folk etymology of some popular idioms". OzWords (October 1996). Australian National University : Australian National Dictionary Centre. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
- ^ Seal, Graham (1999). The Lingo: Listening to Australian English. UNSW Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-86840-680-0. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
- ^ Wajnryb, Ruth (2008). Cheerio Tom, Dick and Harry: Despatches from the Hospice of Fading Words. Allen & Unwin. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-74114-993-7. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
- ^ "Fish Trout: Children's Folklore". National Library of Australia. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
- ^ Chesterton, Ray (9 October 2006). "Aussie lingo facing extinction". News Ltd. Retrieved 13 June 2008. [dead link]