wigwam for a goose's bridle
English
Noun
wigwam for a goose's bridle
- (Australia) A notional object put forward as an explanation when asked about something one does not want to tell.
- 1954, Moore Raymond, Smiley (page 41)
- "Where you goin'?" he called.
"To git a wigwam for a goose's bridle!" yelled Smiley insolently, recalling one of the sayings of Granny McKinley, the oldest inhabitant.
- "Where you goin'?" he called.
- 1989, Di Brown, Angry Women: An Anthology of Australian Women's Writing (page 44)
- When he wasn't at work he was usually off to see a man about a horse or to buy a wigwam for a goose's bridle. But he never brought the horse home like I asked him to, though we had a big enough backyard.
- 2003, Gwenda Davey, Graham Seal, A Guide to Australian Folklore (page 62)
- A well known 'family saying' is the mysterious 'Wigwam for a goose's bridle', said by adults to curious children who ask once too often 'What are you making?'
- 1954, Moore Raymond, Smiley (page 41)
See also
- see a man / see a man about a dog / see a man about a horse