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Eagle flies - the

Posted by Masakim on October 31, 2001

In Reply to: Eagle flies - the posted by R. Berg on October 31, 2001

: : What is the orgin of "the eagle flies" as a reference to payday

: According to Eric Partridge, Dictionary of Catch Phrases: American and British, from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Day, the eagle is "that which figures on the US dollar." Partridge doesn't give your version of the saying; he has "the golden eagle ****s on Friday," "the eagle ****s on pay day," and "the golden eagle lays its eggs," all of British or American military origin, from World War II or earlier.

The eagle is said to fly, moult, scream, ****, squawk, and walk on payday.

The eagle -- money. On payday, the eagle flies. (Halgrove, _Private Hargrove_, 1941)

XXIII. MILITARY 868-896. Army 895 Miscellaneous subjects 13. MONEY. ... eagle day, when the eagle flies _or_ ****s, Uncle Sam's party, _payday_ .... (L.V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark, _The American Thesaurus of Slang, Second Edition_

eagle day _n phr_ _WWII armed forces_ Payday [fr the _eagle depicted on US currency, and the fact that the eagle is said to fly or **** or scream on payday] (R.L. Chapman, Dictionary of American Slang, 1995)

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