# If I said I was going to "pinch a loaf", would you know what I was talking about? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 19, 2013, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699 "2013-12-19T06:33:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2013, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/41 "2013-12-20T05:26:18Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > On the other hand you’re probably one of the only people here that would know what “crack a fat” means. That’s an old one, doesn’t everyone know that? Unless you have a very different meaning for it than what I’m used to.😕 pitching a tent, getting an erection, hardon etc ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2013, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/42 "2013-12-20T05:38:25Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > On the other hand you’re probably one of the only people here that would know what “crack a fat” means. Am I the other? Cus I know exactly what you be talkin’ 'bout Willis 😃 ETA - Stui - either you or I are confused…same meaning, but you and I have reversed genders on what it means… ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2013, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/43 "2013-12-20T05:40:51Z")
On the other hand… How many have heard “have a grogan”? I assume “lay a cable” is common enough… Here we also use “bomb China / India” ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2013, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/44 "2013-12-20T06:59:29Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > On the other hand… > > How many have heard “have a grogan”?.. I have. My mate from Glasgow has been staying with me and that’s the euphemism he uses. Is it a Glaswegian thing or more generally Scottish? And what the hell is the etymology of it? ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2013, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/45 "2013-12-20T07:32:17Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Am I the other? > > Cus I know exactly what you be talkin’ 'bout Willis 😃 > > ETA - Stui - either you or I are confused…same meaning, but \*\*you and I have reversed genders \*\*on what it means… Now I’m intrigued. Please explain? ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2013, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/46 "2013-12-20T08:24:56Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > I have. My mate from Glasgow has been staying with me and that’s the euphemism he uses. > > Is it a Glaswegian thing or more generally Scottish? And what the hell is the etymology of it? Buggered if I know, but I’m not Glaswegian, and the closest of been to Scotland is a bottle McClellan’s (which I’ve probably spelt wrong) ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2013, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/47 "2013-12-20T08:38:22Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Buggered if I know, but I’m not Glaswegian, and the closest of been to Scotland is a bottle McClellan’s (which I’ve probably spelt wrong) Hmmm. Well thinking about it he did spend some of his earlier years in New Zealand then California, so it may not be Scottish. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2013, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/48 "2013-12-20T08:39:33Z")
> [@stui\_magpie](#): > > Now I’m intrigued. Please explain? We always used it to refer to the swelling of the labia that can happen during arousal. I do remember one occasion in form 5 when one of our class (wearing adidas track suit) “cracked a fat” which was rather noticable - to which the teacher responded by getting a chubby in his running shorts. His response was not at all pleasant for us. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2013, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/49 "2013-12-20T11:57:17Z")
Dump some mud. Terentii: Yes, “shit” comes from the same PIE root as “scissors” and other words you would know, all referring to “cut” or “cut off.” A “shit” is a little piece of your body which cuts itself off from the rest of you. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2013, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/50 "2013-12-20T12:58:26Z")
> [@Gateway](#): > > Yes thanks to Shawshank Redemption This is where I know it from, too. Never heard it said live. “Lay some cable” is something else I’ve not heard in person, only read (possibly only on the SDMB), but is something that somehow seems like it’d be obvious what it meant in context. Frankly I’ve never seen the need to specify the type of transaction, it seems mostly a funny shock value kind of thing to say among young people. Now that I’m in the “parents over 40” set, statements about needing to use the bathroom are typically couched in kiddie terms - “potty”, “poo-poo”, “number 2”, etc., but in younger days the typical phrases were “take a dump”, “drop a load” or “make a deposit [in the porcelain bank]”. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/51 "2013-12-20T15:54:03Z")
I have taken to say “having a read”, “reading” or “in the reading room”. ---
**Author:** ![vodkalover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/cdc98d/32.png) [@vodkalover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vodkalover)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2013, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/52 "2013-12-20T16:07:49Z")
I think Dom Irrera covers it all - enjoy 😃 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wm8EGiwbvx4/hqdefault.jpg "I Have To Poop, I Have To Pee (from the DVD "Dom Irrera: Is This Thing On?")") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm8EGiwbvx4) ---
**Author:** ![James\_Toothpaste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e56c9b/32.png) [@James\_Toothpaste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James_Toothpaste)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/53 "2013-12-20T22:18:09Z")
I have no idea until I read this thread. ---
**Author:** ![therealyankey27](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@therealyankey27](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/therealyankey27)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/54 "2014-05-13T00:56:37Z")
Knew it meant taking a dump, but never used it in actual conversation. (Freaks out about first post) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/55 "2014-05-13T02:07:23Z")
Yup, heard it in shawshank - never in real real life. I have always hoped I would someday. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/56 "2014-05-13T02:42:35Z")
i just heard it again the other day… when the Knave pinched a loaf of bread from the castle in _Once Upon a Time in Wonderland_. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/57 "2014-05-13T02:48:10Z")
Um, I’ve got to blast a dookie. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/848f3c/32.png) [@The\_Holdsworth\_Effect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Holdsworth_Effect)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/58 "2014-05-13T04:21:37Z")
Been a household term since my marriage to the Once A Week guy. He now mentions a Three or Four flusher, now and then. Some of these had me snorting Sauvignon Blanc out my nose. In my mother’s family, “evacuate” did not mean leaving town, and you were invited to fumigate after. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/59 "2014-05-13T07:43:23Z")
“Talking to a man about a horse” is one way express the same idea. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699/60 "2014-05-13T10:45:25Z")
The phrase alone would mean steal some bread, to me, and if you stood up mid-movie watching at my house or something and said “scuse me, I’ve got to pinch a loaf,” I really wouldn’t know if you meant go to the toilet or grab a snack, unless you were doing the toilet dance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-i-said-i-was-going-to-pinch-a-loaf-would-you-know-what-i-was-talking-about/676699.md?page=4)