"Put to the pin of your collar"

[dahamsta]

Anyone know the origin of this phrase?

The wife keeps coming out with phrases I've never heard before, and I'm never sure how legit they are since she told me her old man used to think "head the ball" was "heatherball"*. But no, "put to the pin of your collar" looks legit, so I'm wondering what it originally meant. Anyone?


* Still makes me laugh several years down the line.

[Eminence Grise]

I always assumed it referred to collar pins that pass under a tie, push it up a little and hold the collars in place. That would plausibly give it the meaning of being put in a tight spot. But afaik it's a uniquely Irish phrase, so it might be a direct translation into English. I'm meeting a friend tomorrow who teaches Irish - if nobody comes up with an answer for you, I'll ask him if he knows anything about it.

[Eminence Grise]

Nothing further to add after asking my friend. But he's intrigued now and will ask some university lecturers in Irish he knows.

[Wolfie]

I recall a school teacher had a tendency to utter the phrase "There'll be wigs on the green" , which as a kid I always thought was an odd concept.

Its origins explained here:

http://http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-wig1.htm