So put that in your pipe, my Lord Otto, and smoke it (meaning)

Posted by Smokey Stover on May 28, 2004

In Reply to: So put that in your pipe, my Lord Otto, and smoke it (meaning) posted by Word Camel on May 28, 2004

: : this line is from a poem (Lay of St. Odille) by Thomas Ingolsby and that line is the reply from the saint to Lord Otto (father of Odille) who didn't want to marrry count Herman and preferred to be a nun

: : i'm not sure about the meaning, any ideas?

: : thanks

:
: I think it means take what I've said to you and absorb it in the way that one absorbs tobacco - or any substance for that matter - when smoking it. Tobacco smells a certain way when it's in the pouch, but the person who smokes it will be completely imbued with the essence of it. It's probably sarcastic and defiant as well.

I don't know whether Ingolsby coined the phrase or not, but it has been around for a long time (generally without Lord Otto). As Word Camel suggests, "put that in your pipe and smoke it" is defiant. And that's the whole point of the phrase, defiance. I suppose shoving something into your pipe is not too different from shoving it somewhere else, defiantly suggested. SS

• So put that in your pipe, my Lord Otto, and smoke it (meaning) Rube 28/May/04
  • Pipe R. Berg 29/May/04