Monday, September 26, 2016

BLESS HIS COTTON SOCKS

(Not mine, I found it on Pixabay here)

Do you ever use an expression you wonder how it originated?   Recently I used "God Bless his cotton socks."  Gregg asked where did that come from and I answered that I wasn't sure but I had used it my whole life, and had heard it from my family.  These questions usually arise when a certain expression hasn't been used in years, and it suddenly pops in my head.  I went on a search and this is what I came up with.  I found the following information here.

"George Edward Lynch Cotton became Bishop of Calcutta in 1858, and while there established schools for Eurasian children.  A man of great sensitivity, he ordered crates full of sock for the children, to be worn during lessons.  It was the rule of the Bishop to bless all goods which arrived at the schools.  A zealous member of staff one day distributed socks before the blessing, so thereafter every time a shipment arrived, a note was placed on them to the effect: 'Cotton's socks for blessing'.  Cotton's socks soon became corrupted to cotton socks.  When the Bishop was drowned in the Ganges on October 6th, 1866, a dispatch was sent to the Archbishop to ask: 'Who will bless his cotton socks?'

(Mrs.) Jane M. Glossop, Pwllheli, Gwynedd."

And now I know!



With many thanks to our hosts of the following memes, which I am joining in with today.



29 comments:

  1. Hello, the sock puppet is cute. I think I made something similar back when I was a Brownie? But, I am not familiar with the expression. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!

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  2. I never would have guessed that the phrase came about that way. (I grew up with it too).
    Thank you.

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  3. Have never heard that 'saying'. What a delightful history, it has.

    I love such 'sayings'. :-) A random one from my area (upper NYS), is; "Up Fish Creek without a paddle." It means someone is in BIG trouble. :-)

    Luna Crone

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  4. This is a new one to me! I have never heard it. Perhaps it is regional. A sad story.

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  5. "And now I know!" So do I to, thank you...
    It is a saying I use almost every day and had absolutely no idea where it came from, it was a saying my dear mum used a lot to.

    So thank you for doing this research.
    That's why I so love blogging you never know what you are going to find out or discover.

    All the best Jan

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  6. The sock puppet is delightful, Denise! Thanks for sharing how that phrase came about!

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  7. Cute sock puppet! Never heard it used here but it pretty interesting how it came about. Have a full-filled day!

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  8. I've never heard that saying either, but what an interesting story.

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  9. Great story and a fun illustration!

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  10. Oh, that's an awesome backstory.

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  11. Oh wow, all these years I have been using that expression and never knew how it came about. Shame on me. Thanks, Denise, for today's enlightenment.

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  12. Hello Denise!:) Just love the sock puppet. Thank you Denise for revealing how this saying originated. It has a lovely story behind it.

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  13. Hi Denise, again something we say on a regular basis, and with a wonderful story as to how it began. Love the sock puppet. Regards John

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  14. That is interesting! True, sometimes expressions makes you wonder.

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  15. That's a good one! Haven't heard of it before! I thought "stonking" was a good one too. cheers, kid can doodle

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  16. this is all new to me, never heard the saying or of the bishop... when I read the title I thought about the white cotton socks males and females wore with penny loafers way back in the 50's

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  17. that sock made me smile and so did your saying...i have never heard that one before!

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  18. Oh I just loved this, Denise! I've never heard that expression, but it sure was an interesting story about its origins. Great you finding that website. Things like this are so educational and fun!

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  19. Now this one is new to me. There are many saying that we use each day and few of us have any idea of the meaning. Thanks Denise for sharing this week, stop back soon.

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  20. How cute!
    Thanks for linking up at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2016/09/up-up-away.html

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  21. Cute sock puppet. I've never heard that expression.

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  22. An interesting story of how the saying came about. Love the sock puppet photo

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  23. I hadn't heard of this, either. Thanks for sharing.

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  24. This is enriching my knowledge about "God blessing his socks off!" Had no idea! And the sock is cute:) Thank you for going the extra mile for SEASONS - God bless your socks off too and have a great rest of the week:):)

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  25. I have never heard that expression, but love the story, and that sock puppet is just too cute.

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