Monday, November 11, 2013

Three little pigs

Little pig, little pig, let me come in.
No, no, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin.
Then I'll huff, puff and I'll blow your house in.

Paul said that the wicked wolf was wrong to say "blow your house in", it should be "blow your house down". I didn't believe it and check the story book again. It's really "blow your house in" but "blow in" is a slang for "arrive at a place suddenly". Anyway, it shows that Paul's English is excellent now.

The hair on one's chin is one's beard. In folklore, the beard was always considered special, or magical, or sacred, and taking an oath by one's beard was a standard practice. Notice, by the way, how in Act 4, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's Two Gentleman of Verona the Third Outlaw says (in response to the Second Outlaw's statement that they will listen to Valentine):
Ay, by my beard, will we, for he's a proper man.

Pigs do not have beards, of course, but they may have stray hairs on their chin that can at least serve the purpose for taking an oath.

Blow in: to arrive at a place suddenly, or surprisingly, or with a casual air.

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