The comments on the last post have me smiling!
We usually say the phrase in annoyance about having to wait for something. Eg
Arranging to meet someone who didn’t turn up
You’d tell your friends he left me standing there like cheese at fourpence!
Now I’m only guessing that cheese at 4 pence was the rank cheese that nobody wanted to buy, but equally as it’s an obviously old tight Northern saying, the 4p cheese could have been too expensive to be bought and was forever in the fridge on sale!
Someone commented their version was tripe at fourpence !
Who knows. I love the way our English language has different dialects and sayings.
Love from
Rachel * The Tax Return has been submitted and paid smug face* Radiostar xxx
Ps finished the gorgeous jigsaw too!
Well done with the tax thingy!!
ReplyDeleteAnd the puzzle.
xx
As I have never heard of the idiom "like cheese at fourpence" before and as the origin of these type of phrases fascinate me I couldn't resist having a look see on Google and found the following: Cheese at fourpence"
ReplyDelete"A woman might say ... "He left me standing there like Cheese at fourpence". This phrase may be a little confusing to the world at large, but it is a lovely, quaint and amusing expression. I believe it originates from the poor mill towns of Lancashire, where the normal shop price of cheese was twopence say and nobody could afford the luxurious fourpenny stuff. This was left languishing in the shop window, just like the lady was left waiting for her date."
So there you are you guessed right :-) Very glad to hear you are feeling better now but best where possible to not over do it. Take care. Amanda x