Mums words

[supergran]

my mum uses words like " I dont care a fishes doodle" , when we are making excuses for something and "what a daffy" when she has a large portion of food. Can anyone tell me what's a fishes doodle and obviously a daffy is something large but where do these words come from.

[Quizmonster]

Strangely enough, both 'doodle' and 'daffy' have been used in the past to suggest something idiotic, though I cannot quite see what that would have to do with your mother's sayings.

[Quizmonster]

It occurs to me that you may have misheard 'doodle' when your mother was actually saying 'doodah'. That is just another variety of 'thingamy', a word coined to suggest something of little importance...and so ideal for use in dismissing a feeble excuse.

[Quizmonkey]

I would think that a fish's doodle (or doodah) is identical, anatomically speaking, to a man's doodle (or doodah). The usage here focuses on its size surely, ie. a fish's is extremely small. Analagous to not caring 'a gnat's chuff'?