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Just stepped out of a bandbox...

Posted by ESC on July 24, 2000

In Reply to: Old phrase posted by Kathleen Meighan on July 24, 2000

: Has anyone heard of or know anything about the phrase "she looks like she just stepped out of a bandbox". Am I the only person that is familiar with that phrase. If you know anything about it please email me ASAP.

"bandbox -- The bands in question here are entirely unmusical. They were clerical bands -- the little square linen tippet worn around the neck by ministers, especially those of the Presbyterian faith. So the 'bandbox' was a box in which clergymen kept their vestments, which were invariably spotless and neatly pressed. And a person looking as if he had just stepped out of a bandbox was neat, spruce and spotless." From Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins by William and Mary Morris (HarperCollins, New York, 1977, 1988).

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