Where do England's most obscure phrases come from?
Ever wondered where some of England's most obscure phrases come from?
Lecturer in Linguistics and Creative Writing at the University of Bern Franz Morrissey shed light on some of most bizarre turns of phrase in the English language.
Speaking to 5 live Breakfast's Nicky Campbell, Franz said that 'happy as a sand boy' derives from when pubs 'hired' boys used to collect sand in buckets to mop up spillages.
"These poor lads were actually paid in booze rather than money, so they were happy most of the time".
This clip is originally from 5 live Breakfast on March 18 2016.
Duration:
This clip is from
Featured in...
News archive—5 Live In Short
The best current affairs interviews, insight and analysis from ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 5 live.
More clips from 5 Live In Short
-
Jerry Bruckheimer: ‘It’s like Rocky on steroids’
Duration: 01:10
-
Would Lioness Grace Clinton give up social media?
Duration: 00:59