Quizzes & Puzzles23 mins ago
As Dead As Mutton......
10 Answers
Sure, I know what it means but why 'Mutton' ?
Answers
Why not? If it's alive it's a sheep. If it's dead it's mutton. (i.e. saying that something is 'mutton' must mean that it's dead; you can't have live mutton!) OK, I suppose you could say 'As dead as beef' (which, for similar reasons, would mean the same thing) but the phrase originates in times when the meat found in most households would have been mutton....
21:22 Wed 26th Dec 2012
Why not?
If it's alive it's a sheep. If it's dead it's mutton. (i.e. saying that something is 'mutton' must mean that it's dead; you can't have live mutton!)
OK, I suppose you could say 'As dead as beef' (which, for similar reasons, would mean the same thing) but the phrase originates in times when the meat found in most households would have been mutton. (Indeed, apart from the very rich, few people probably tasted any other sort of meat).
BTW: Mutton, properly cooked, tastes vastly better than lamb; it's simply not fashionable to eat it.
If it's alive it's a sheep. If it's dead it's mutton. (i.e. saying that something is 'mutton' must mean that it's dead; you can't have live mutton!)
OK, I suppose you could say 'As dead as beef' (which, for similar reasons, would mean the same thing) but the phrase originates in times when the meat found in most households would have been mutton. (Indeed, apart from the very rich, few people probably tasted any other sort of meat).
BTW: Mutton, properly cooked, tastes vastly better than lamb; it's simply not fashionable to eat it.
Dead as a doornail is the oldest of these 'dead as...' phrases, dating back to the 14th century. Another supposedly very dead thing was a herring. The mutton one is late 18th century and the dodo one is early 20th century. It seems that each age has its own version of what best represents 'deadness'.
An interesting point from GY.
The phrase 'as deaf as mutton' (or 'mutton deaf') is probably now far more common than 'as dead as mutton':
http:// www.phr ases.or g.uk/me anings/ 252125. html
The phrase 'as deaf as mutton' (or 'mutton deaf') is probably now far more common than 'as dead as mutton':
http://