Go greased lightin'...

Q. ...You're burning up the quarter mile

A. Etc. Grease was one of the biggest hits of stage and screen of the 1970s - and it still won't go away. Even if you hated the film, you can probably still hum a couple of the hits. A story of dodgy greasers and nice girls, the original stage play was somewhat harder than the cleaned-up film version, but somwhow it touched the hearts of millions of teenagers of all ages.

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Q. Greasers

A. Rockers with a penchant for slippery hair products and oily cars and motorbikes.

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Q. What about elbow grease

A. Vigorous physical work. So if someone tells you to put some elbow grease into something, they're suggesting you put in a little more effort. If, however, someone asks you to go out and buy them a tin of elbow grease, you'd be justified in feeling patronised. It's one of those amusing - and rather hackneyed - little pranks people will try on the greenhorn in a job. Something like being told to go out and buy some striped paint. Ho, ho!

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Q. And other greasy things

A.

Greased lightning: not just the song, it's also a well-established phrase for describing something moving very, very fast - for obvious reasons

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Grease monkey: a mechanic

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Grease somebody's palm: to bribe them

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Q. Grease may be the word, but what exactly is it

A. It's lovely stuff. Traditionally it was - and still often is - made from animal products, though synthetic greases are becoming increasingly common. Greases made from animal fats are categorised as follows: white grease is made from inedible pig fat; yellow grease is made from darker parts of the pig; brown grease contains beef and mutton fats as well as pig fats; fleshing grease is the fatty material trimmed from hides and pelts; bone grease, hide grease and garbage grease are named according to their origin. Mmmm.

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Synthetic and mineral greases are made of a thickening agent - often soap - dispersed in a liquid lubricant such as petroleum oil.

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For more on Phrases & Sayings click here

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By Simon Smith