Leather arse

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on August 27, 2007

In Reply to: Leather arse posted by Jan on August 26, 2007

: What does the saying "never been so well off since leather arse died" come from? My husband's parents and mine used it all the time.

I believe "...since Leather-arse died" (there can be various preambles) is originally an Irish saying, and I was always told that it is a reference to Cromwell who allegedly used to wear leather breeches. But don't trust too much to this which could be, and probably is, a pure folk etymology. An awful lot of things in Ireland get referred back to Cromwell's time.(VSD)