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From: Wayne Carroll <>
Subject: [MOMILLER-L] I'll swan
Date: Tue, 03 Feb 2004 08:59:09 -0800

I'll swan to goodness. A lot of my relatives use the phrase which means "
We'll I'll be". Any ideas as to what it refers to?

Ultimately, it's a minced oath (a way of suggesting a curse without
actually cursing) meaning "I swear to God."

The Oxford English Dictionary has "swan" as a verb, labeled U.S. slang,
derived probably (it says) from northern England dialectal "Is' wan,"
literally "I shall warrant" = I'll be bound; later taken as a mincing
substitute for "swear." The first use in print recorded in the dictionary
is from the year 1823.

A bit of a do: A party

A dead ringer: An exact duplicate. A ringer is a horse substituted for
another to defraud the bookies. Dead here means exact rather than lifeless.
The Victorian practise of fitting wires and bells into coffins to allow
people who were buried alive to call for rescue is unrelated. Such devices
certainly did exist but weren't the source of the phrase.

A lick and a promise: A cursory effort. An allusion to the perfunctory
washing performed by children.

A sorry sight: From Shakespeare's Macbeth.

As fit as a fiddle: Originally 'as fit as a fiddler'. The allusion is to
street fiddlers who gave energetic performances.

At his wits end: From The Bible. Psalms 107:27. 'They reel to and fro, and
stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits' end.'

I found these and a lot of other sayings that are very interesting. If
anyone has a phrase they would like to know the meaning of, I can take a
look and see what I can find out about it.

Yours truly,

Wayne

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• [MOMILLER-L] I'll swan by Wayne Carroll <>