In Finnish we have “kissanristiäiset” (literally means a cat’s christening), which means some trivial and meaningless celebration/event.
In Finnish we have “kissanristiäiset” (literally means a cat’s christening), which means some trivial and meaningless celebration/event.
Language is alive and I can’t see anyone requesting origins specifically. Phrases like this can be part of 2 cultures at once. You even share the same base language, and don’t even have hard proof one way or the other but still took the time to say ‘nay’. Pretty boring…
Where did I say it wasn’t? But language being alive doesn’t change history – the phrase was used by British writers before the USA even existed.
So? I offered the origin as it was presented alongside a number of phrases that are of American origin, and that one stands out as not (also as being suspected far older in origin than the others). I’ve simply added some additional information to the discussion. If you find it “boring”, you are free to ignore it.
I didn’t request your reply, yet you still wrote it.
Where did I say it couldn’t? I merely stated that the phrase was not of American origin. I didn’t say it wasn’t used in the US, or that the UK somehow has some special exclusive licence to it.
I didn’t post sources because I was short on time, but here, have some… (as I apparently now have time to waste…)
You will note that these are all British works by British authors. I can provide even more if you need them.
While the ultimate origin is unknown (there are many theories), any claim to it being American in origin is surely nonsense. There is no evidence for this at all. If you have some, please provide it.
What proof have you provided? Indeed, what has your comment added at all to the discussion? You could have looked up those sources and extensive etymological research on Google with less effort than you took to write your comment.
And what about your own comment? It adds absolutely zero additional information to the conversation, is rude, and you clearly misconstrued and misinterpreted my comment (apparently with the most negative interpretation possible), without even bothering to research anything for yourself.
Personally, I think some may find it interesting that a phrase they might have thought was of modern American origin is actually from another country and of far more ancient origins they expect. To me, that is interesting. If it isn’t to you, why do you bother to read and comment?
In the future, I suggest you simply ignore comments you find boring and move on instead of posting insulting low-effort replies.