To go "get the stink blown off us"

Posted by R. Berg on February 09, 2002

In Reply to: To go "get the stink blown off us" posted by Marian on February 09, 2002

: My husband enountered this phrase in a short story recently and also recalls that his father, a 75-year-old retired farmer, used to use it forty years ago. What it means is, "We've been indoors too long; let's go outside." It suggests that a disagreeable odor collects around individuals who remain housebound for too long. I wonder if there's any connection to the phrase, "Let's blow this joint," i.e. leave this place.

Without knowing the history of these phrases, I'd say probably not. In the first one, the blowing agent is wind; in the second, it's the people who leave--they blow out the door like a storm.

• To go "get the stink blown off us" ESC 02/09/02
  • To go "get the stink blown off." Red 02/28/02