Go to town and Go all Out

Posted by Lotg on September 30, 2003

In Reply to: Go to town and eat peaches posted by ESC on September 30, 2003

: : : Is anyone aware of the origin of a phrase: Going to town to eat peaches. This was used by our family in the depression era to indicate there was money available to go shopping, etc. If there was no money to spend, they used: Go to town and watch the people eat peaches.

: : What state or region of the country?

: : I've never heard it, but I like it. It's kind of like an expression from southern W.Va. about the "good life": "Live on the hard road and take the paper." Meaning live near a paved road so you could have home delivery of the daily newspaper.

: Maybe John Prine had heard this expression:

: Spanish Pipedream (AKA Blow Up Your TV)
: S
: he was a level-headed dancer on the road to alcohol
: And I was just a soldier on my way to Montreal
: Well she pressed her chest against me
: About the time the juke box broke
: Yeah, she gave me a peck on the back of the neck
: And these are the words she spoke

: Chorus:
: Blow up your T.V. throw away your paper
: Go to the country, build you a home
: Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches
: Try and find Jesus on your own

::: I've never heard it before either. But I've heard the term 'go to town', which tends to imply 'go all out' to do something, and I now why wonder why 'going to town' should mean that. Anyone know?

In fact, how did 'going all out' come to be? Why 'all out'?

• Go to town and Go all Out R. Berg 30/September/03