The phrase 'where the woodbine twineth' is a less common expression that is found in the English language, and the saying is usually used to refer to a pawn shop – or the act of going to one. This post unpacks the meaning, origin, and proper use of the saying.
Meaning
The phrase 'where the woodbine twineth' is a type of figurative English saying.
'Where the woodbine twineth' is used to mean or imply that someone has gone to the pawn shop, or to refer to the pawn shop itself.
The phrase may or may not have negative implications and this should be apparent either from the context of the discussion or from the tone of the speaker.
The phrase is adapted from a longer saying, though the shorter phrase 'where the woodbine twineth' is the one which made it into popular use.
The phrase is perhaps more common as an older phrase, and is more likely to lead to confusion and then need to look it up when it is said in modern times.
The phrase is not common in the denial form, since this would not render a valid saying.
Example Usage
“He wanted to know where the engagement ring was, and I told him that he should go and take a look where the woodbine twineth. He shouldn't have given his secretary that vacation last year.”
“My mother used to spend most of her time between the casino floor playing blackjack and where the woodbine twineth so that she had more money to go back to the casino and play more blackjack.”
“If you want to get rid of that necklace real fast, you have to try downtown where the woodbine twineth. If you go further downtown, then you'll find a few places that won't even ask where you found it.”
“If you want to find some cheap guitars that might have had famous owners, try some of the places where the woodbine twineth. It worked for the kid in that movie when he bought a guitar and played it against the devil.”
Origin
The origin of the phrase 'where the woodbine twineth' is given by most online language resources as a phrase that comes from the work of famous writer Mark Twain.
According to most resources, the phrase was first used in Life on the Mississippi that was published in 1883.
When the work of Mark Twain became more popular in the 1900s, the phrase would become a common sentence in popular, everyday speech for the early part of the 1900s.
By the 1950s use of the phrase would become less common, with occasional rises in the use of the phrase.
The saying is an adaptation of a longer one, and the full saying as it appears in Twain's text is ' where the woodbine twineth and the wangdoodle mourneth'.
As in the first or earliest documented use, the phrase continues to mean a pawn shop or broker (and sometimes the act of going to one).
Phrases Similar to Where the Woodbine Twineth
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Phrases Opposite to Where the Woodbine Twineth
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What is the Correct Saying?
- [Going/to go] where the woodbine twineth
Ways People May Say Where the Woodbine Twineth Incorrectly
There are several way in which someone can use the phrase 'where the woodbine twineth' in the wrong way, or misunderstand the meaning of the saying.
The phrase can be used with a misspelling of the 'woodbine' or 'twineth', or the phrase can be misunderstood completely by the audience.
As it is a phrase with origins in English, it might not translate well as a direct saying to another.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Where the Woodbine Twineth
There are several ways to use the phrase 'where the woodbine twineth' in the right way.