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Cock a hoop

Posted by James Briggs on May 25, 2011 at 09:04

In Reply to: Cock a hoop posted by Adam Foster on May 24, 2011 at 21:11:

: Mmy director said the customer was "cock a hoop". He said 'is that good?' I said 'yes, but I don't know why'. Do you?


This doesn't seem to be in our archive.

The analogy with a crowing cock could well be the origin. However, there's another possible basis. It's said that during medieval drinking bouts the spigot or cock was often removed from the barrel and placed on the hoop at the top. The beer flowed freely and the drinkers were full of merriment and delight. My Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, however, spells it Cock-a-whoop, somewhat negating this possibility.

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