|
|
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636
Carpal Tunnel
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,636 |
Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526
veteran
|
|
veteran
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 1,526 |
It sounds very like a much more polite variation of what I've heard said about a woman who is believed to be cold or aloof. http://www.bartleby.com/63/62/6162.html shows a usage along these lines. http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/meanings/81900.html is mildly interesting. I note the word "prissy" is often used to convey a cute display of dignity in pets, so maybe the actual usage is similar. The phrase sounds ambiguous -perhaps context and tone carry some of the meaning. I'm guessing this could convey an affectionate verbal expression or a cutting barb, depending on circumstance. k
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
I'll elaborate on what's already been said.
First of all: Butter will melt in anybody's mouth--eventually. If the person is alive and kickin', butter will melt in anybody's mouth.
But the expression is an exaggeration to make a point. The person in question is so very cold, unsociable, frigid that butter, a very melting substance in warm mouths, won't melt in her mouth (even though we know that since she's alive butter actually would melt).
As a child, the expression confused me. I heard my mom apply it to someone in our neighborhood. I puzzled and puzzled over the expression. I thought to myself, "But butter will melt in her mouth! And yet my mother says it wouldn't melt in her mouth. Why? Why? Why!!! This doesn't make any sense. Why is it that butter won't melt in her mouth? What is it about her mouth that keeps butter from melting? I know my mom wouldn't lie to me. I think my mom is incorrect. Butter MUST melt in her mouth! I need to take a close look at her mouth...." And so on. Eventually the real meaning of the phrase hit me later on in life. Oh, what a sense of relief I felt! I melted!
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
You're so cool you can lie and get away with it.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
wwh,
I don't think the expression has anything to do with lying, does it?
WW
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
I have heard it used to describe a bare-faced liar with so much gall, he could keep on
telling lies even when challenged. "He's so cool, butter wouldn't melt in his mouth."
From the Internet:
he is very calm and clear, he has an air of innocence, cool, smooth talker
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
Yes, Bill - I have also heard it used in this fashion. But perhaps more often about someone who dissembles rather than tells direct lies. Someone who has committed acts that are (for want of a better phrase) anti-social, yet tries to pass themself off as being social. Another phrase that springs to mind is, "Too good to be true."
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 261
enthusiast
|
|
enthusiast
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 261 |
I've usually heard it as someone who appears to be very sweet and innocent, but is in fact scheming and plotting behind everyone's backs.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692
Pooh-Bah
|
|
Pooh-Bah
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 1,692 |
Yes, I agree. Often used about children:
"Look at him, sitting there as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth, and all the while he was the one that started it".
It indicates an often false "goody - goody" attitude by someone.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
I honestly think the phrase really means:
She's cold.
That's the point of the phrase.
I think these other offerings--lying, scheming, all those related (perhaps) actions--are by-products of a cold temperament. But I think the expression means she is cold.
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,351
Members9,182
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
775
guests, and
0
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
