Mutton dressed as lamb

Posted by Tony on June 23, 2003

In Reply to: Mutton dressed as lamb posted by R.Berg on June 07, 2003

: : : I've always thought that this was a very descriptive phrase, and have seen many examples of people who conformed to it. Was the phrase coined by some notable figure like Shakespeare or Chaucer, or is it just some anonymous, common usage?

: : Could be by some notable, but isn't from the usual suspects, the Bible or Shakespeare.

: It seems to be 19th-century slang. See this discussion from the archives:
: www.phrases.org.uk bulletin_board 12 messages 71.html
: (link below).

I heard one of my co-workers (from Ireland)
say this phrase, and I asked her about it...

She explained it to me as this...

misc cuts of lamb meat when cooked loose the gelanenous (sp) tendons and stuff holding them into a real shape -

and when presented at the dinner table with the presentation of lamb adornishments(sp)

in other words -

spam shaped like a turkey