Daft sayings

DH1 is an organist. I believe it depends on the organ and is possible on small mechanical action organs. Not likely to happen on big church ones.

But, in any case, the expression is clearly used as a figure of speech to express extreme output, usually of effort.

Re suffering foold gladly, yes, at least one person does. Tolerance, it's called.

fools

Gladly? Really?

Daft parental question : Do you want another smack?
(Not that my mother ever said it!)

Yes, gladly. I'm truly glad that I can tolerate fools.

Difficult to define foolishness anyway. One person's fool is another person's wise person. Is there a single word for "wise person"?

But are you tolerating them gladly – which is positively saintly – or just glad that you can tolerate them – which is still good but not exceptional?

Why is cleanliness next to godliness?

It isn't. My dad used to say "Cleanliness is next to nothing."

Thinking on your previous post.....

Probably the second, since I'm not saintly, nor do I wish to be, but really, absent, you are being too literal. Have you no poesy in you? Do you not think there is something to be said for good, non-literal imagery?

Okay. What is daft about a brush? And does drunk as a lord contradict sober as a judge?

Check out daft as a brush here. Besom is used for something akin to a witch in
scotland too, as in "you glaikit besom" said to the sister of a friend of mine when she tipped over a dustbin onto the patio to find something her mother had thrown out.

Without checking, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Bill Bryson and other writers on linguistic idiosyncracies had lots to say about such phrases. Why don't you do some research? Then you can tell us what you've found

absent my mother would have said you have got it on you this morning.
What anyone had on them was never specified.
Are you hair-splitting for England?
I agree with bags that if you are glad you can tolerate fools, you are indeed tolerating them gladly. What has saintliness got to do with it?
bags that saying of your dad's is an example, is it not, of that thing that phoenix posted about, where the second half of a sentence is unexpected, compared to the first. It begins with a P and I can't remember what it is! Senior moment! Someone remind me please!

Because it was just a passing thought and I'm a lazybones – only the bones, many other parts of the brain and body are reasonably active.

If someone was in a bad mood my DH used to say they had a cob on - never did know what he meant!

Janeainsworth - oxymoron? Like compassionate conservatism.
Or bathos? 'She came in triumph and a black cab'.

My dearly-loved sister often does foolish things, like missing planes, trains and coaches. I just sigh internally and sort things out for her. On the other hand, when a sales assistant in a shoe shop tells me they don't have size 7 but they do have size 5, I find it hard not to make a sarcastic retort. So, I suppose it depends how much I like/love the fool.

no Greatnan I've found it now by googling 'sentence with an unexpected ending' and got this
I think the reason I couldn't remember it is because I'm not sure how to pronounce it and so hadn't built a picture of the word in my mind, if that makes sense
Probably not

Ah, that's a new one since I left teaching!

There was a whole thread on this back in September, thanks to phoenix.

That thread must have completely passed me by....I have no recollection of it whatsoever!

I felt a bit immediatley put down when I started what I thought was a quite light-hearted thread, so thank you everyone who is still contributing jolly postings.