Idiom's Delight: Feeling Your Oats
Pick the correct derivation of this idiom.
One of these derivations is true, the others sprung, full born, from my imagination. Scroll to the bottom for answer.
1. A randy expression from Cambridge college, referring to college students who were enjoying the pleasures of female company. First recorded in 1876, OATS is an acronym standing for Over At Throckton Street, a street where one could easily find prostitutes.
2. Oats are considered a high energy food for horses and are the typical pre race feed for thoroughbreds. It was hoped that a horse who was "feeling his oats," had additional pep in his step.
3. The original advertising slogan of Quaker Oats was:
"Quaker Oats will make you strong, there's no doubt
You'll feel our oats working from the inside out."
4. Cowboys used to carry a small bag of oats which, when not used to feed the horse, was used to create a comfortable wedge between the horn of the saddle and the rider's genitalia. "Feeling your oats" then evolved to campfire expression for masturbation.
The missing words in the following poem are a set of anagrams (i.e. like post, spot, stop, etc). The number of asterisks equals the number of letters. Your challenge is to solve the missing words based on the context of the poem. (The answers are provided in this example:
One of the tales of the French Revolution
Was Marie Antoinettes clever solution.
When the peasants were starving and had to steal
The least little crumb to make a meal.
She said, forget stale bread, lthey can eat cake instead,
The peasants revolted and she lost her head.
Answers to Idioms Delight
No 2 is correct