Really? Really, really, is this where the saying comes from or is it an illustration of the saying or is there a poem behind it?
In my family, when I was growing up, people were always being described as 'like patience on a monument'. Occasionally the 'smiling at grief' bit got added but generally not. It meant something like 'hanging around doing nothing'. It was an affectionate term but also suggested you were momentarily dippy and, perhaps, ought to slough off inertia or vagueness and get on with something useful.
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Really? Really, really, is this where the saying comes from or is it an illustration of the saying or is there a poem behind it?
In my family, when I was growing up, people were always being described as 'like patience on a monument'. Occasionally the 'smiling at grief' bit got added but generally not. It meant something like 'hanging around doing nothing'. It was an affectionate term but also suggested you were momentarily dippy and, perhaps, ought to slough off inertia or vagueness and get on with something useful.
Lucy
New to me Lucy but it comes from Twelfth Night, Act 2, Scene 4. I think my (kind) parents had other words for when I was lazy.
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