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Unhappy babies

Posted by R. Berg on July 04, 2007

In Reply to: Throw the dolly out of the pram posted by Chris on July 04, 2007

: : : What does the phrase "threw their dolly of the pram" reference and what does it mean exactly? Here is the sentence in which I found this phrase:

: : : It is hardly surprising, then, that when someone came along and challenged the version of history on which their new-found importance in society was to be based, they threw their dolly out of the pram, as the prison wardens in the prison in which I worked used to put it to describe the actions of a prisoner who had lost his temper.

: : In my experience "threw their toys out of the pram" is more common. It means they responded to frustration with an irrational and seemingly dispropotionate outburst; like a baby repeatedly throwing away everything it can get its hands on. A less common variation is "spat out their dummy"

: Sorry for the spelling error Ahmad Ragab - dispropotionate should, of course, be disproportionate. I'm sure you will have guessed that but I had to come back because ESC's answer reminds me you might be more at home with US English and not understand the word 'dummy', which is a rubber teat that a baby is given to suck on. I think it's called a 'comforter' in the US.

It's called a pacifier in the U.S. ~rb

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