Give a Monkey's

Posted by James Briggs on January 29, 2003

In Reply to: Give a Monkey's posted by Jon on January 29, 2003

: Origin of the phrase "couldn't give a monkey's" ?

: A monkey's what? Is it rhyming slang perhaps?

: Thanks

: Jon

I believe it to be just another case of choosing an animal to illustrate a point - eg 'sick as a parrot', 'dog-tired'. The example is particularly crude, because I've always understood that there's a missing word, indicating that things are so trivial as to be not worth caring about. 'I don't give a monkey's f**k'.

• Give a Monkey's ESC 01/30/03
  • Giving a Monkey's TheFallen 01/30/03
    • Giving a Monkey's Lewis 01/31/03
      • Giving a Monkey's S. 02/02/03
        • Giving a Monkey's S. 02/02/03
          • "Flying [F-word]": Vonnegut vs. Steinbeck R. Berg 02/02/03
            • "Flying [F-word]": Vonnegut vs. Steinbeck S. 02/03/03
              • "Flying [F-word]" in Steinbeck R. Berg 02/03/03
                • "Flying [F-word]" in Steinbeck S. 02/04/03