Yer cats are deed...

[erin-x]

Meaning your trousers are too short.... Where does this saying come from? :)

[muchlovex]

I thought it was 'Yer budgies deed'..?

[erin-x]

I've always heard 'cats'... maybe regional?? =s

[mike11111]

It used to be said of someone whose trousers were too short that they were 'hanging at half-mast', thus the reference to 'dad'.

[mike11111]

...dead, even.

[swedeheart]

I've googled it and the British consensus seems to be it's a Northern/Scottish thing but guess what: We say it too, here in Sweden. First time I heard it a boutique owner said it to me (jokingly) as I was trying some trousers on. This was just a few days before I had to put my cat to sleep so the expression has sort of stayed etched on my brain... I think Mike's half mast explanation is probably correct, but that's just my language intuition; I haven't found anything conclusive.

[slinky.kate]

'when did your budgie die'

[mike11111]

Yes, too short trousers looked like a flag hanging at half-mast, a symbol of mourning. Young lads outgrew their trousers very quickly. When I was a youth "going into long trousers" was a kind of rite of passage; boys traditionally wore short pants until reaching puberty.

[boxtops]

When I was a child in Surrey, we used to say "Charlie's dead" for your petticoat hanging down - nothing to do with budgies or cats!

[craft1948]

If it was oop North I'd understand "your kecks are deed"

[dotty.]

yeah I was going to say it's 'kecks'

[micmak]

When U was a child we said "Put some jam on your shoes and invite your trousers down to tea"

[craft1948]

You were posh mic..............fancy having shoes!!

[mike11111]

On a similar theme there was a multitude of expressions to hint to a bloke that his flies were undone. The only one I can remember is, "You're flying low tonight".

[micmak]

We said flying without a licence Mike.

Craft. Posh me Na.

[heathfield]

An undone button fly was 'showing your medals', while a lady told that her slip was showing might retort, 'so's your mother's!'

[pretty_snowdrop]

I am from 'up north' and i have never heard of the expression 'yer cats are deard' we would say 'yer britches/kegs are at half mast.

[denis567]

For your flies being undone, we used to say 'your stable door is open' and sometimes also ' the horse is hanging out'

[mike11111]

Had I been told that, "my horse was hanging out", I think I might have blushed from sheer pride.

[DTCwordfan]

looks like you have something hanging at half mast out of your breeks, mike, in your avatar!

[tiggerblue10]

I've never heard "cats" before but I've heard of "kecks" loads of times.