Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

[robbiej]

Posted: 8/5/05 at 2:51pm

Where the hell did this phrase come from?

Do liars' pants actually burst into flames?

Or is it some oblique reference to a venereal disease )which we know all liars get at some point)?

Any information is greatly appreciated.

[RobbO]

Posted: 8/5/05 at 2:54pm

from google (don't know how true it is though...)

Origin of the phrase "Liar,Liar pants on fire."

LIAR, LIAR - "Liar, liar, pants on fire, hang them up on telephone wire. (Said to a lying child)" This is a "derisive rhyme" used by children. "Tradition teaches the child to use sayings in certain situations to make a point emphatically. Such sayings can provide a quick and easy response to the taunt of another child, or a powerful demonstration of the child's stand. The sayings contain a collective wisdom that exerts a certain amount of pressure on children. In other cases, sayings offer a form of play with words; children use the traditional structure of such sayings to play with the rhythm, rhyme, and meaning of words to draw attention to themselves."

From "American Children's Folklore: A Book of Rhymes, Games, Jokes, Stories, Secret Languages, Beliefs and Camp Legends for Parents, Grandparents, Teachers, Counselors and All Adults Who Were Once Children" by Simon J. Bronner (August House Inc., Little Rock, Ark., 198.

[robbiej]

Posted: 8/5/05 at 3:00pm

Now THAT is helpful!

[RobbO]

Posted: 8/5/05 at 3:00pm

[DoogieB]

Posted: 8/5/05 at 3:02pm

Pantsonfire.net

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 8/5/05 at 7:24pm

Many commonly accepted phrases make absolutely no sense when thought about literally.

[grizzabella]

Posted: 8/6/05 at 12:30am

"Liar, Liar pants on fire..."
Oh, don't you wish? It would certainly save time!

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 8/6/05 at 12:40am

Does anyones mother really wear army boots? Why did we get so pissed when mean kids would say that to us anyway?

[DoogieB]

Posted: 8/6/05 at 12:59am

hahaha. My dad used to tell me that was the insult back in his day, I think that's hilarious. What on earth does it mean?

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 8/6/05 at 1:16am

Here's what I found DoogieB.....

: I remember the phrase being "Your mother wears army boots" and I have a vague impression that Bugs Bunny said it once or twice. It has the feeling of being from the WWII-era when almost everyone knew someone in the armed forces. I'd take it to mean "your mother is frumpy", or something like that.

*your mother wears army boots* is a US exclamatory c.p. -- at first, i.e. during WW2, very derisive, then jocularly derisive. An occ[asional] var[iant]: _your sister wears army shoes_, of which Norris M. Davidson, 1969, has written. 'I dimly remember having heard some nineteen or twenty years ago. It must be a catch phrase, as it makes no sense.' R[obert] C[laiborne], 1978, comments, 'like *your fadder's mustache*, (to which it was a frequent counter), usually spoken with a heavy Brooklyn accent, approximating *ya mudda weahs ahmy boots!*'; and A[nthony] B[rown], 1979, adds the variants _shoes_ for _boots_; _your mother drives a tank_ or _eats K rations_ or _works in a dime store_ or _ah, yer mother wears cotton drawers_ (the _ah_ may precede the other forms also). 'All derisive, of course; there are many other variants'.
From _A Dictionary of Catch Phrases, Second Edition_ (1985) by Eric Partridge & Paul Beale

[DoogieB]

Posted: 8/6/05 at 1:20am

Aha. Thanks, Bwayboobs.

[Broadwayboobs]

Posted: 8/6/05 at 1:25am

Anytime Doogie and please...call me Boobs...everyone else does.

[DoogieB]

Posted: 8/6/05 at 11:30am

All right...Boobs.
that felt good.