phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Put the cobs on

Posted by Joe West on November 13, 2001

Greetings all

I seem to be the only one to use this
expression. My father said it meant to
make off with in a hurry. As in "grab the
goods and run"

Example

He put the cobs on my pizza!

Any one have any ideas as to the origin?

What little research I have done leads to
a steam locomotive, where a batch of
corn cobs could be tossed into the
fire to add a sudden burst of heat to
the engine. In doing so escaping the
bad guys.

Thanks
Joe

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