phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Stay too long at the fair

Posted by Baceseras on January 21, 2009 at 16:12

In Reply to: Stay too long at the fair posted by Brian from Shawnee on January 21, 2009 at 13:51:

: : : : : : What's the origin of: 'stay too long at the fair'?

: : : : : I couldn't find it in my references. I think the origin comes from staying too long at the once-a-year carnival, county fair, etc., to the point a person is dazzled and unsatisfied with ordinary life. But a search online gave another meaning, "don't stay too long at the fair," quit when you're ahead.

: : : : -

: : : : ........ and possibly before you upset the folks back home - including a worried / suspicious girlfriend. There's an old song (too chintzy to be called a folksong, more a children's song):
: : : : en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Johnny's_So_Long_At_The_Fair. Dated 1770s in the UK, 1790s in US.

: : : I thought there was a song -- searched lyrics + stay too long at the fair. Didn't find anything.

: : "Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair?" sung by Barbra Streisand circa 1963 written by Billy Barnes.

: I googled "too long at the fair"+"lyrics" found two songs. There is a Bonnie Raitt song and a Barbra Streisand song with similar titles but different lyrics. Both question whether they have stayed too long at the fair.

: There is also a line in Tom Waits' Downtown Train that goes "They stay at the carnival, but they'll never win you back".

: So, if you stay too long at the fair or carnival you're just sad and pathetic and you didn't get a kiss or the brass ring.

Or, like a child past the fill-level for pleasurable stimulation, the surfeit of fun turns you cranky, irritable, vaguely dissatisfied ... should have left an hour ago and carried the good feeling away with you: now, instead, you've stayed too long at the fair ....

© 1997 – 2024 Phrases.org.uk. All rights reserved.