Saturday, February 24, 2007

A right load of cock

A egregiously stupid use of the bastardised form in this story from the Hackney Gazette:
A HACKNEY artist is asking men to prove they are not all mouth and no trousers by taking part in an exhibition featuring hundreds of pictures of penises.
Lawrence Barraclough, 30, of Chelmer Road, Homerton, wants men to bare all anonymously for his one-off exhibition at the Foundry Gallery in Shoreditch this weekend by sending in pictures of their manhood to go on display.


This literally makes no sense whatsoever - exhibiting your penis proves that you are not 'no trousers'?

It would make sense if the original phrase was used. Maybe the reporter did use 'all mouth and trousers' in his original copy, properly distinguishing between the trousers and their contents - only for a particularly ignorant and incompetent sub-editor to insert that 'no', not only bastardising the phrase but also rendering the whole intro nonsensical. Utter bollocks, either way.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Just not cricket

Another exotic example of the bastardised form, from The Hindu's Sportstar weekly. Ted Corbett, in a review of the England cricket team's recent performance, writes:
most amazing of all, the 36-year-old wicket-keeper Paul Nixon who is as people in his part of the world say, "all mouth and no trousers."
In other words he talks a good game while he iron gloves the ball to the ground and always, but always, seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.


Handy explanation, but given that Nixon is from Carlisle rather than London or environs, that just isn't what 'people in his part of the world' would say.