Whenever it happens that I completely lose the logical progression of something that someone is attempting to explain to me, I will often say “Hold on. I lost you at the bakery.”
I vaguely recall it being used in a comedy sketch on television long, long ago. Perhaps in response to a long set of directions where a bakery was involved? This could all be imaginary because I’m not at all confident of this recollection.
A Google search only turns up message-board usages in the same type of context that I use the phrase.
A long, long time ago, I saw Rowan and Martin (this was even before Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In) doing a sketch about a meeting between two spies. The Dan Rowan spy gave incredibly complicated directions to start at the bakery across the street, go somewhere, ask someone for an envelope, give a code phrase, take the envelope, go somewhere else, etc. etc. The Dick Martin spy repeated every word as fast as Rowan could say it.
At the end, Rowan asked “is all that clear?” and Martin said…
I don’t know whether it was their sketch or they were performing someone else’s.
