 & 
|
Re: "up the spout"Posted by Bruce Kahl on August 17, 2005 In Reply to: "Up the spout" Posted by Joe on August 17, 2005 : Does somebody know where the phrase "up the spout" or "shove it up the spout" comes from? I've been seeing a lot in P.G. Wodehouse to refer to pawning something and was wondering where it came from. I saw a few references stating that "spout" used to mean the device ( lift, for those in Blair Land ) used in a pawnshop for sending deposited articles up for storage. So if anything - or, by transference, anybody - is up the spout, there are difficulties. Is the mirror image of this called "going down the tubes"?
|