Semper Ubi Sub Ubi
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Gredly Fornicator:
May 7th, 2010 at 8:40 pm
Stick your spoon in the wall, to die. Where did this saying originate?
It orginated in the Royal Navy and British Army at least by 1825. Then it ment one would have no need of a spoon at mess, that is they were either dead or such.
Interesting:
October 30th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
I’ve been misquoting ‘how the cow ate the cabbage’ for years. I’ve been saying, “I showed him where the cow ate the cabbage,” but the meaning is pretty much the same.
John Pearson:
November 1st, 2010 at 9:51 pm
I have used this phrase all my life in the sense of telling the unvarnished truth. Often times people look at me like I’ve dropped in from another planet and I’ve had to mumble my way through an explanation. It’s great to finally be able to explain it more or less intelligently (with an emphasis on the less?).
bob ferris:
January 14th, 2011 at 5:09 pm
i too have used that expresion for many years, not knowing the real meaning of it. thanks, the day isn’t a total loss.
boogie freeze:
February 13th, 2011 at 8:17 pm
A few years ago,I was in an arguement with my ex. After a couple years of hearing me use this expression,to my suprise she said,”you’re always making up little sayings that you pass off as real!” I started laughing cause i’ve heard it all my life here in Louisiana. i think it’s one of those cliches that alot of people just have never heard. I might add though that she wasn’t the “sharpest tool in the shed”…now that one i made up. Silly girl
0uterj0in:
March 21st, 2011 at 5:07 pm
Go see the elephant also meant go conduct business with a prostitute.
Steve B.:
March 21st, 2011 at 10:19 pm
I wonder if there is any correlation between the phrase “to see the elephant” and the scene in Tolkein’s “The Two Towers” where Frodo & Sam see the “Oliphaunt,” a creature that had been mythical to them previously, like much of the world outside of their native Shire?
texas:
August 26th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
Oops! I’ve been assuming the origin of this saying had to do with the improbability of a cow eating a cabbage because cattle, unlike horses, have no upper front teeth and would not be able to grasp a large spherical object. What’s worse, I’ve been sharing my opinion with older generations of my straigth-laced family for decades. I wonder if any of them were thinking “Sure, thats it!” :)
Stan:
March 3rd, 2012 at 10:23 pm
I have often used a similar saying, “Show ’em how the boar eats the cabbage”, meaning “Let’s get after it and show them how it’s meant to be done.”
Of analogies and how to properly eat cabbages. « RedheadCarol:
March 31st, 2012 at 11:29 am
[…] Anyway, because the post explaining it was long and I had no time at the moment, I just saved the link. Today I opened the link and skipped the first few paragraphs, because that’s the way to read a post explaining something, apparently. Because when you do this, one of two things will happen. Either you’ll get so confused by reading the middle paragraph that you’ll get lost, jump to the last paragraph, get even more lost, then you’ll decide to read the opening paragraph but won’t understand a thing, and you’ll finally leave the blog/site clueless as to why in the heck you even opened that in the first place. Or you’ll read a paragraph that will be intriguing enough to have you read the whole post. So here’s the paragraph I chose to read (from the middle, of course) about how the cow ate the cabbage: […]
A Labor Of Love « Oilpressure:
May 25th, 2012 at 5:04 am
[…] same warped sense of humor. We laughed a lot about “How the cow ate the cabbage” (meaning found here). But I suspect John would have jumped at the chance to attend qualifying even if we had to strap […]
Dexter:
June 5th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
My Maternal Grandmother from Missouri (born 1907)used the phrase “how the cow ate the cabbage” quite frequently, as did my Father’s Texas parents as well. The reason is not the joke, but rather the biology of the cow.
If a cow eats cabbage, they start expanding and it’s not a pretty sight, and quite uncomfortable for the cow. Additionally, ranchers would have to place a large syringe into the cow’s stomach to relieve the pressure. Apparently flatulation is not easy for an animal with 4 stomachs (or one stomach with 4 sections).
Sheila Johnson:
June 20th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
Wow! I have used this phrase for years. A few years ago I said it to a friend in an email. She was from the west coast. She didnt admit til later that she had to google the phrase out of sheer curiosity at my usage. LOL. I knew what it meant and assumed everyone did, but I googled it to see what she found. This is the link, today I’m sharing it with a new friend, who’d never heard it before either. Its ironic how many people have heard me say it that had no idea what it was supposed to mean and never asked or batted an eye. I’m going to print this today and post it in my office. Thanks for the great detective work!
Art Fruncillo:
October 10th, 2012 at 11:49 am
Just saw this phrase today in relation to the recent (October 2012) presidential debates. Thanks for the great explanation, and by the way, I think the joke is funny!
Molly:
October 16th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
My mom and dad (born 1911 and 1914 in PA and lived there all their lives) and my aunts and uncles used this statement all the time. Having lived in Texas many years and never having heard anyone besides me use the phrase, I have a hard time believing that it migrated east – more likely the opposite.
Gal:
December 23rd, 2012 at 2:50 am
The saying is NOT merely “how the cow ate the cabbage.” The expanded TEXAS version(s) include, but are not limited to, semblances and/or versions of TEXAS DISCIPLINE. For example: the cause and affect of feeding a cow cabbage is very interesting and should be researched to be believed…, all in all – it is not a very smart thing to do. Your research will tell you why. This priceless adage will certainly be used on someone who needs discipline in taking responsibility for his/her own actions and the consequences of them, i.e., cause and affect or Karma baby, Karma.
This priceless Texas knowledge goes on and on to include TEXAS JUSTICE as in, “I am taking his bahonkey behind the barn to show him HOW the COW EATS the cabbage.” Take my advice here and never follow anyone behind the barn to see how the cow eats the cabbage. NOT a good idea for more reasons than I have time to explain.
I wish I had time to go on to explain how this adage also is applied to condolences and sympathies for varying reasons. OR how this adage applies to FAIR WARNINGS or roundabout being fair play.
I think being Texan is the only real way anyone can truly understand what it means to have cows and cabbage. Anyone else trying to find an origin of such a saying is one leaf shy of a fig tree. SMILING BIG HERE.
Paula Marouk:
May 25th, 2013 at 6:51 am
Wow, my family is from Texas and Oklahoma. They have always said, “How the cow eats corn!” ???
Alex Conner:
August 28th, 2013 at 2:02 pm
I am not sure if this had been dealt with, but in 19th century England. A change of residence led to a leather pouch being attached to the wall which held implements, chiefly the spoon. So to stick one’s spoon in the wall means to change residences. And this now means from living to…erm…not so much living.
Nell Cote:
September 8th, 2013 at 10:35 pm
So, I am about to have a come to Jesus meeting to tell employees how the cow eats the cabbage. How many points do I get?
I did it again - InterNACHI Inspection Forum:
October 21st, 2013 at 9:49 am
[…] did it again Got 'cabbage'? Jeffrey R. JonasJRJ ConsultantsCritical Eye Property InspectionsOwatonna, Minnesota, 55060 […]
Darlene Ray:
March 8th, 2014 at 1:42 am
I’m from the hills of southwestern Virginia and grew up hearing numerous sayings from my
mother, my grandmother and my aunt. I’d never heard this saying until several years ago
When I made a new friend who had tons of sayings. She was born in 1919. She, however
said, how the RABBIT ate the cabbage.
Have you ever heard of “dear John, send my saddle home”? I’ve never been able to find that
one.
Lee:
May 28th, 2014 at 1:52 am
I heard an outspoken friend from California’s Central Valley say this a few years ago, and I just loved it. What a colorful expression. I understood it to be used to tell someone off, put them in their place, or let them know they were spouting bullsh**t.I figured if a cow ate a cabbage she would leave a sizable cow pie on the spot. Enjoyed all the explanations posted here. And I also think the joke is funny! Thanks.
Lee:
May 28th, 2014 at 1:56 am
(P.S to my post: The expression I heard was “I’ll show him WHERE the cow ate the cabbage”)
Lee:
May 28th, 2014 at 2:04 am
PPS, I probably mis-remembered, and it WAS “how.”
Dale:
June 17th, 2014 at 12:54 pm
El Presidente g El Generalissimo de el Ejercito de Mexico…El Napolion del Oueste, Antonio Santa Anna was brought before General of the Army of the Provisional Revolutionary Republic of Texas, a defeated and captured fugitive. Santa Anna was full of hubris; a dictator who oppressed and killed many people in order to preserve his perskbal power. This meeting took place on 4-22-1836, the day after the bloody and decisive battle of San Jacinto near Houston, Texas. There, deapite Houston’s grievous leg wound, Santa Anna’s protests amid threats against his life by enraged Texican soldiers, afforded General Houston the distinct and honorable pleasure to tell this tinhorn fascist “how the cow ate the cabbage”. Look up the history; General Houston did a fine job of it, “Texas style”.
nick:
June 18th, 2014 at 11:24 pm
Dear John (I’ve Sent Your Saddle Home) – Lyrics http://www.lyricsbox.com/hank-williams-sr-lyrics-dear-john-ive-sent-your-sad... Hank Williams Sr. – Dear John (I’ve Sent Your Saddle Home) Lyrics and Video: well when i woke up this mornin’, there was a note upon my door, said don’t …
Fred:
August 28th, 2014 at 9:40 pm
I just heard Gov. Mike Huckabee use this term “tell them how the cow ate the cabbage” on Megan Kelly’s show. I have never heard anyone use it in conversation before even thought I grew up in Louisiana. I did not realize that it originated in the joke about the elephant eating cabbage which my fun loving aunt told me back in the 1940s.
fathers rights lawyer:
August 28th, 2014 at 10:49 pm
Just heard Mike Huckabee say this in an interview. SO that’s what it means. Great website!
joe:
August 28th, 2014 at 11:35 pm
You are totally mistaken in saying cows have no upper front teeth…..how in the world do you think they eat grass….with a law mower…… in texas every thing is bigger…..so i guess that goes for not know too…..so…i guess ya family has been giving you the ‘mercy overlook’….
Kenneth Mclaws:
August 29th, 2014 at 2:31 am
Thank you for posting this and for the research. I don’t mean to be critical but just check your spelling of alternative. Please don’t hold this against me, I just don’t know how else to say it. Again thank you. Kenneth McLaws
Rusty Armor:
August 29th, 2014 at 5:28 pm
I am a bit late to this thread. Today, to say someone had met the elephant is to say that they have been in combat, and that their testimony can be trusted.
Phil:
September 1st, 2014 at 2:31 pm
I wonder, does “Meet the Elephant” have any relation to “The Elephant in the room”?
Sarah:
September 1st, 2014 at 3:01 pm
Excellent insight! Sounds right on the mark, too!
Dennis:
September 10th, 2014 at 5:11 pm
In Indiana in the ’50s, it was “show ’em how the boar ate the cabbage” and it did NOT mean tell someone the truth. Never. It meant something more like “show ’em how it’s done.” You might say it when a teammate goes to the plate to bat.
Melanie:
September 21st, 2014 at 2:49 am
I am so relieved that I am not the only one who grew up with this saying. My mother was from Oklahoma and born in 1914. She moved to California in the 30’s, so I suspect this saying came about before the 40’s. A few years ago I had friends at work as me about it and I thought it was from my “era.” Someone my age said “nope.” So then I thought it must be from where I was born and raised. Asked my husband who was also from there, but “nope.” That’s when I figured out it was from my mother’s upbringing. Used it as “telling someone off.” I think I will start saying it more. Love the phrase and it reminds me of my awesome mother who passed away a few years ago. Fond memories.
Kevin:
January 2nd, 2015 at 4:54 pm
Don’t know if you’ve seen this related to “sticking one’s spoon in the wall”. http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/59/messages/801.html
John:
February 11th, 2015 at 8:38 am
I grew up in Texas, the product of farm and ranching families. I heard that phrase often and usually in the context of looming trouble for the recipient. Now living in NY, I use the phrase to befuddle Brooklynites and Manhattan dwellers much to my delight. My grandmother used the phrase, my father used the phrase and my mother too. My kids now have it in their lexicon. The turn of a good phrase is better than the turn of a sharp knife.
WA:
February 20th, 2015 at 11:55 am
Joe, they really don’t have upper front teeth. Did you considering looking for some info before posting your knee-jerk comment?
WA:
February 20th, 2015 at 12:02 pm
I grew up with sheep. The gas buildup becomes a problem because it’s nowhere near the point in the system where it could be released that way. They can’t burp it up either, really. If it is severe, you have to puncture from the outside to save the animal, but it puts them at risk of abdominal infection. There really aren’t many happy endings for the situation, so you do the best you can to prevent it.
Ralph:
February 25th, 2015 at 5:55 pm
I grew up in Arkansas, and heard this expression used often by the older generation in the 1950s and ’60s. Very funny back story about the elephant in the garden!
Ron:
May 4th, 2015 at 3:02 pm
I was born in 1936 and grew up in Kansas, Arkansas, and Missouri and heard variants of this, but our family used it as “I’ll tell you how the Bull ate the cabbage” meaning I’ll tell it like it is. Whether you like it or not, that’s the unvarnished truth.
Mesa, Arizona:
September 26th, 2015 at 3:06 pm
Not just cattle, sheep and goats, but all 192 living species of ruminants — antelopes, giraffes, pronghorn antelopes, deer, musk deer and tiny chevrotains (mouse deer) have no upper front teeth….
Lisa:
October 19th, 2015 at 11:48 pm
Dear Kenneth,
Interesting that you check spelling and not grammar. In the sentence you wrote below it should have been “checked” not “check”.
On August 29, 2014Kenneth McLaws wrote:
I don’t mean to be critical but just check your spelling of alternative.
I guess you are just “Practically Perfect in Every Way” like Mary Poppins and the rest of us.
Best,
lk
Lisa:
October 19th, 2015 at 11:50 pm
Roger all of that!
Best,
lk
Thom Childress:
October 29th, 2015 at 8:57 am
Came from Robert Bakewell. The man who fed the industrial revolution.
linda:
September 19th, 2017 at 7:48 pm
I always heard it as “how the pig ate the cabbage”. I learned it very young from my grandpa who was from southern Missouri.
aeolius:
December 30th, 2017 at 3:56 pm
If you go back to what the old lady thought she saw was an animal using its tail to eat the cabbage. If she thought it was a cow tail, then just where do you think she had to imagine the cabbage was going? Which she could not allow herself to describe.
Monica McCarthy:
February 24th, 2018 at 1:57 am
My granny was from Alabama and I’ve heard her say that since I was a child. (I’m 64 now and granny passed in 1986.) I have said that all of my adult life! People look at me like I’m nuts! I knew what it meant…but I never knew the story behind it until you fine folk we’re kind enough to let all of us know! Thank you!
Jan Blankenship:
April 29th, 2019 at 11:23 pm
I, too, grew up from a Texas heritage and often heard the phrase when growing up. However, punch line is “how” the cow ate the cabbage when asked by the sheriff and the nearsighted farmer said “If I told you where he is stuffing that cabbage, you’ll never believe me!” Assuming the trunk was a tail, you can imagine where he thought it was being “ stuffed.”
Lauren:
August 8th, 2019 at 8:09 pm
To say “that’s how the cow ate the cabbage” is to say how someone speaks frankly; there are no mincing of words.It is a description of one speaking clearly, as we would say now, transparent. But most people , in general, don’t like it. I love it
Mark Myers:
February 3rd, 2021 at 2:41 pm
“Go see the elephant also meant go conduct business with a prostitute.”
Actually the phrase dates back to at least the Mexican-American War, where “he’s seen the elephant” meant a new soldier had finally experienced battle for the first time. The phrase originates from when traveling circuses used to travel around the country, much to the anticipation of young children in rural towns. They had heard about the circus from older people who remembered the last time the circus came, especially about the elephants, which would have been the biggest attraction. Once they had “seen the elephant,” they felt more worldy. Similarly, having been in battle, even if just once, was enough to separate a battle veteran from a new recruit.
Mark Myers:
February 3rd, 2021 at 2:46 pm
Joe, Texas is right, you are wrong, cattle do not have upper incisors, instead, they have a dental pad or browsing pad, a feature of ruminant dental anatomy that results from a lack of upper incisors and helps them gather large quantities of grass and other plant matter. This feature can be found in ruminants such as cattle and sheep. In cattle, the tongue is used to grasp food and pinch it off between the dental pad and the lower incisors. However, since they cannot bite grass off, they are inefficient at grazing more closely than 6 inches (15 cm) from the ground.
James M. Shelby:
June 6th, 2021 at 1:58 pm
A cow has to stomp a cabbage before they can eat it because their mouth will not open wide enough.
James M. Shelby:
June 6th, 2021 at 2:18 pm
Take a head of cabbage and feed it to a cow, and see what the cow does with it before it puts it in its mouth..
Anonymous:
August 2nd, 2021 at 1:21 pm
Cows do eat short grass very well. The Buffalo grass common to most remaining grazing areas is normally less than 4″ (it can grow taller). The buffalo grazed millions of acres of this grass, which grows well in the hot, drier plains. I’m sure they appreciated the patches of taller bluestem, but that wasn’t the dominant one.
D:
February 26th, 2022 at 3:54 pm
I am so thrilled to have finally found someone who has not only heard this phrase, but actually knows the meaning and origin of it. My father used to say it, and I’ve never met anyone else who had even heard it. Thanks so much Word Detective!
Barb Arthur:
April 21st, 2022 at 8:27 pm
My parents are from the Adirondacks, a huge National Park in Upstate N.Y. My father’s family is from the UK, and my mother is from France. They both used the expressed in the early 1900s and when I was born, in 1944, and I use it today. I knew what it meant all this time, but it was nice to see it in print. It’s the perfect statement to say when you want someone to ‘back off or watch out!