Suffering Handcarts!

[DianeJ69]

My great uncle used to use the phrase "Suffering handcarts" to express his annoyance over something, like an alternative to "bloody hell". Anyone heard it before. If so what's the origin? Thanks in advance

[merciasounds]

Never heard of that one Diane, what part of the country was he from? The only saying I can think of with handcart in it is : 'Going to hell on a handcart', and for suffering, well the only one I can think of there is, Warner Bros cat Sylvester, he used to say 'Suffering Succotash!'

[Count-A-Strong]

Thufferin thuccotash surely

[RATTER15]

I mentioned on here a couple of weeks ago a Devonian saying, mad as a handcart. We would actually "maize as handcart" in Devon.

[RATTER15]

*say

[boxtops]

I never knew what Sylvester was saying, we interpreted it as "Suffering Sockersags" and we still say that today.

[merciasounds]

Succotash is a dish of corn kernals and lima or other shell beans. It's from the
Narragansett (an Algonquian language ) once Spoken in New England and Long Island, and literally means, 'boiled corn kernals' to the beans and corn sweet bell peppers are added, then topped with lard or butter. Any dish of Lima beans prepared with vegetables is called succotash there.

[alexanderd]

I remember people saying "going to hell in a handcart"

[jno]

I suspect he invented this one himself, possibly a combination of the other sayings people have mentioned.

[boxtops]

You could be right, jno - when we were little, my dad used to use expressions where an everyday word was inserted instead of a profanity (we still knew what he meant though).

[DianeJ69]

Thanks everyone, I'm guessing Uncle ron was doing half an impression of Sylvester and making the rest up himself!

[wolfie1878]

my mother used to say this for the same reason so I doubt uncle Rob made it up!

[wolfie1878]

My mother said "Suffering Handcarts!!" as well for the same reason as your Uncle Ron. Her family were originally from Newcastle but moved to Liverpool area in the 50s