Pulling your leg

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on March 31, 2010 at 18:38

In Reply to: Pulling your leg posted by Gary Martin on March 31, 2010 at 17:28:

: : Regarding the phrase 'pulling your leg'. Have recently been on a ghost walk in my home city. We were informed that the phrase referred to when hanging took place. It did not always cause the persons neck to break and therefore they would be in agony. If the executioner was kindly he would pull on the persons legs to put the person being hanged out of their misery. Is this correct?

: Can't say I'm in favour of reintroducing capital punishment but, if we ever do, let's start with the tour guides.

Hear, hear! Apart from anything else, this is obvious nonsense - yes, before the introduction of the "drop" in judicial hangings it was known for the friends of the condemned to pull his legs to put him out of his misery, but you don't suppose they all laughed heartily about it, do you? (VSD)