The other day I was in the grocery store and the young butcher was weighing out the salmon that I was buying. I had asked for three-quarters of a pound and the salmon filet on the scale was a bit higher.
"Close enough for government work," I said. He looked at me with a blank expression. Another butcher heard my comment and came over. Neither of them had ever heard the phrase. I explained that while the weight wasn't perfect, it would do. I added that I had been hearing and using the expression for years.
When I got home, I googled the phrase. Wikipedia gave me the most information. I hadn't known that the phase "good enough for government work" originated in WWII and meant the work met rigorous standards. By the 1960s the expression had degenerated to the meaning I had always known -- not quite perfect. Wiki noted that the phrase was mainly used in the South.
This is not the first time that I've used expressions and get asked to explain what I'm saying. My, how the generations do change.
Monday, August 27, 2007
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I have heard that comment all my life and had a vague idea it came from WWII. Just yeaterday I was in on a conversation about such sayings, The one in question was "tore from the frame." Heard it?
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