I'm not sure about this one but my oldest mate used to say to me: Rack back on two, Brick on Edge, Level with the crown of the road. Never understood to this day what it meant - if anything at all.
I learned tight as a duck;'s xxxxx meant someone was mean.Surely "Tight as a duck's a*se" is for something that doesn't leak: the theory being that if ducks' a*ses leaked, they would sink!
"On the skunt" and "Skew-wiff" certainly are things not straight or level.
People or things considered not very good attract a range of sayings involving "About as much use as a..." with many varying unlikely combinations, e.g.:
Handbrake on a canoe:
Ashtray on a motorbike:
Chocolate fireguard:
Pork Chop at a Bar Mitzvah:
and others far too coarse to print here. I'm sure you all get the point!
as much use as a nun in a nockin shop?I learned tight as a duck;'s xxxxx meant someone was mean.
A gnats Knacker was a tenth of a thou. The company I worked for had dealing with a tubing company, one of their products was to manufacture a tube for the insemination of gnats (research?) the bore of the said tube was one tenth of a thou'.I found it was never a precise measure, some 'gnats knackers' were bigger than others.
If something was done not quite right but it'd do I've heard the phrase: "A galloping man on horseback wouldn't notice."... similar to shavedfish49's number 8 bus I s'pose. :redface: