#35744
07/18/2001 7:44 AM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
Hot on the heels of cheminations comes this hearthful hearsay:
Yesterday, I spoke to an elderly English lady. She told me immigrants entering England want the top brick off the chimney. I assume this means that they want the best of everything. I found a slightly different use: 'they could have had the top brick off the chimney'.
Anyone familiar with this dying relic?
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#35745
07/18/2001 10:35 AM
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Anyone familiar with this dying relic?
No, but it sure is intriguing. My only guess as to its significance is that maybe that top brick is the last step
in building a house, so it might have something to do with having a secure place to live?
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#35746
07/18/2001 3:03 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
Yes - it really takes me back to my youth, as I haven't heard the expression in thirty years.
The usage that my mother favoured was to describe anyone who was overindulgent (usually to a child) as being ready, "to give him the top brick off the chimney."
In other words, no effort would be too great to keep the object of affection pleased, satisfied, happy.
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#35747
07/19/2001 8:23 AM
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,055 |
"to give him the top brick off the chimney."
meaning: no effort would be too great to keep the object of affection pleased, satisfied, happy.
Rightio. Now it makes much more sense - I guess she understood it as such too, but just reversed things a bit, to mean that they expect to be kept happy, and satisfied at all costs.
Thanks for the explanation there RC :-)
Here some proposed modernisations:
'to give him the best tracks of their mp3 collection'
'to give him their top-level domain in the internet'
'to give him the last megabyte on their hard drive'
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#35748
07/19/2001 11:26 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,204 |
I guess she understood it as such too, but just reversed things a bit, to mean that they expect to be kept happy, and satisfied at all costs.
This was, indeed, how I understood it, in your first post. And I love your modernisations of the phrase! May I suggest one that includes the same physical effort as the original, combining with the self-demial of your: "She would travel Virgin from London to Edinburgh to get him a bap" 
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