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English is full of crazy sayings.
From “don’t cry over spilled milk” to “the bottom of my heart,” the majority of these phrases have become so commonly and widely accepted that we don’t even stop to think where they come from. Others at first glance appear logical, though after closer examination it becomes clear there is much more to them than meets the eye.
The ideal example of that is the often-used phrase “dumb as a doorknob,” usually used to describe a person who is moronic and lacks intelligence. (Some great public examples include Glenn Beck, Ron Artest, or Paris Hilton) The phrase seems to make sense. After all, doorknobs aren’t all that smart. Regardless of whether it’s an Amerock cabinet knob or a Belwith Keeler knob, it doesn’t really matter what company produced the doorknob, it likely doesn’t have a very high IQ.
But what you probably don’t know is the phrase was initially “dumb as a doornail,” which was referencing the actual nail behind a door knocker. After being used several times, this nail would get beaten and destroyed… making it the ‘dumbest’ of nails.
It’s probably due to the fact that very few doors have knockers these days that the phrase has been changed. It could also be credited to the British slang term, “nob,” which is used to describe the male genitalia.
For the perfect example of “dumb as a doorknob,” view the video below:
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You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.Posted on: Monday, July 12th, 2010 at 9:00 am
Posted in: Uncategorized
Tags: Amerock cabinet knobs, Belwith keeler knobs
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