where did the concept of the moon being made out of cheese come from. I know where the blue moon phraise came from, and that in 1546 green ment new, but who and when called the moon a wheel of cheese? Cecil answered this question Jul 23 1999 but his answer dosn’t make since, nor does it answer the question fully.
Blessed be Cecil, who bathes us in the light of his knowledge:
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990723a.html
C’mon Beeble, at least read the guys post before sending him on.
If I may be so bold as to interperet Cecil, He meant that the phrase originated in a manner similar to such phrases as “…and monkeys might fly out of my butt” or “as if…”
In other words, a witty comeback to one who claims the fantastic.
YMMV
Well, I too thought Cecil was uncharacteristically unclear with that one (is that a double negative?).
Here’s a usenet post that notes the “underripe” meaning of green. It also explains what that means (well, more than Cecil does).
This thread has a personal opinion that it’s derived from the French “grenue” (granulous) and some talk of a Germanic old woman, with no working clarification (broken link).
So, it seems that it’s probably lost in the mists of time.
Oh jeez, my bad. Please accept my apologies, Mr. McCuan.