Name: 'One sandwich short of a picnic' - the meaning and origin of this phrase
Brand: phrases.org.uk
SKU: phrases-org-uk-4
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

'One sandwich short of a picnic' - the meaning and origin of this phrase

preview

&nbsp;Browse phrases beginning with:&nbsp;A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T UV W XYZ Full&nbsp;ListOther phrases about:A jokey, colloquial term for stupid.There are many phrases of the form 'an X short of a Y'. These all mean the same thing, that is, the person being spoken of is stupid. The 'short of' insult began in Australia and New Zealand in the mid 19th century; for example, Colonel Godfrey Mundy's Our Antipodes, 1852:"The climate is productive of chronic diseases rather than acute ones. Let no man having, in colonial phrase, 'a shingle short' try this country. He will pass his days in Tarban Creek Asylum."Of course, shingles are wooden tiles and many of these phrases refer to having something loose or missing 'up top' - 'a few slates missing', 'a screw loose' etc.'A sandwich short of a picnic' is fairly recent. The first citation of it that has been documented is from the BBC's Lenny Henry Christmas Special, December 1987. In that, Henry performed I'm Mad, a spoof song and dance routine written by Kim Fuller and others. This aped Michael Jackson's 1983 hit Bad. Henry, in a straitjacket, sings 'I'm mad, I'm mad', while the backing vocalists sing:He's mad, mad, one brick short of a loadHe's mad, mad, one sandwich short of a picnicI have been informed by a correspondent that the 'two sandwiches short of a picnic' version of the phrase also occurs in the March 1987 film Walk Like A Man. with Mandell from early 1987. Christopher Lloyd's character is said to have uttered it, referring to the character played by Howie Mandell. Unfortunately, the film was such a turkey that it is now unavailable for sale and consequently I've not been able to confirm that report.Other 'One' phrases:One-hit wonderOne fell swoop - AtOne for the roadOne foot in the graveOne over the eightOne small step for manOne stop shopOne swallow doesn't make a summer

&nbsp;Browse phrases beginning with:&nbsp;A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T UV W XYZ Full&nbsp;ListOther phrases about:A jokey, colloquial term for stupid.There are many phrases of the form 'an X short of a Y'. These all mean the same thing, that is, the person being spoken of is stupid. The 'short of' insult began in Australia and New Zealand in the mid 19th century; for example, Colonel Godfrey Mundy's Our Antipodes, 1852:"The climate is productive of chronic diseases rather than acute ones. Let no man having, in colonial phrase, 'a shingle short' try this country. He will pass his...

public

Gary Martin

phrases.org.uk

Credible

Speculation

Anecdotal Evidence

Generalization

Stacking the Deck

Appeal to Authority

Straw Man

Slippery Slope

Emotional Appeal

Red Herring

False Dilemma

Illogical

Moral Equivalency

Ad Hominem

Correlation w/o Causation

Semantics

Begging the Question

Faulty Analogy

Non Sequitur

Bandwagon

Dogmatism

Failing Occam's Razor

Biased

Pure Opinion

Hit Piece

Racial Bias

National Bias

Religious Bias

Financial Incentive

Political Agenda

Gender Bias

Misused Image/Video

Study Misinterpreted

Mistake

Misused Term

Science Misrepresented

Factual Error

Satire

Surface Level

Lack of Reliable Sources

Sensational

Not Credible

Investigative

Balanced

Well Sourced

Great Context

sports

entertainment

U.S.

international

business

technology

science

culture

politics

media

health

'One sandwich short of a picnic' - the meaning and origin of this phrase

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS