Sorry don't shine my shoes

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on February 15, 2008 at 10:43:

In Reply to: Sorry don't shine my shoes posted by Shirley on February 15, 2008 at 09:25:

: What is the original meaning of the phrase "sorry don't shine my shoes"?

It means "Just saying 'sorry' is cheap and easy, and doesn't do anything useful [such as polishing my shoes]". I don't know where and when this specific phrase was first used, but it's in an old tradition of proverbs containing the same idea that words without deeds aren't adequate; e.g. "Fine words butter no parsnips", first recorded in 1639. (VSD)