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The question was one of origin. I'm not saying that people who use the phrase today necessarily know of this origin when they use the phrase "give a fig", but the Elizabethans and the Jacobeans knew its obscene meaning (as did D H Lawrence -- of troy, I, too, remember that scene about how to eat figs). And they associated with the Mediterrranean (fig of Spain, etc.) There are other scatological and carnal words that plug into the phrase "give a ____" with similar meaning of 'not caring much or at all'. Jazz used to be an obscenity, and only a few people today know what it meant. Gives new meaning to "all that jazz".
Entire Thread Subject Posted By Posted Fig giving Father Steve 03/24/04 09:28 PM Re: Fig giving wwh 03/24/04 09:50 PM Re: Fig giving Father Steve 03/24/04 09:56 PM Re: Fig giving grapho 03/25/04 12:37 PM Re: Fig giving jheem 03/24/04 10:06 PM Re: Fig giving of troy 03/25/04 12:20 PM Re: Fig giving Buffalo Shrdlu 03/25/04 12:31 PM Re: Fig giving wwh 03/25/04 12:37 PM Re: Fig giving jheem 03/25/04 02:16 PM "I don't give a fig" grapho 03/25/04 08:27 PM Re: "I don't give a fig" inselpeter 03/25/04 09:07 PM Re: "I don't give a fig" TEd Remington 03/26/04 02:52 PM Re: fresh chin jheem 03/26/04 02:58 PM Re: mentula/mons Faldage 03/26/04 03:01 PM Re: mentula/mons grapho 03/26/04 03:03 PM Re: mentula/mons wwh 03/26/04 04:06 PM Re: mentula/mons grapho 03/26/04 04:15 PM Re: mentula/mons jheem 03/26/04 04:22 PM Re: mentula/mons grapho 03/26/04 06:29 PM Re: "I don't give a fig" grapho 03/26/04 03:01 PM
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