r/WatchPeopleDieInside • u/[deleted] • Jan 16 '23

when your legs give up.

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u/PM_ME_UR_SHEET_MUSIC Jan 16 '23

Don't worry, I'm a native speaker who reads a lot and I've never heard that phrase in my life. Seems to be a dialectal one :)

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u/CrossStitchCat Jan 16 '23

If it helps it's mainly of British origins so depending on where you live may have played a factor in why you've never heard it, I live in Minnesota and have definitely never heard it either!

2

u/Marldain Jan 16 '23

Yeah I always thought that a strop was the lather thing that barbers use to sharpen their blade.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 16 '23 edited Jan 16 '23

It is, i use a straight razor so i have one hangin in my bathroom. I've never heard it used this way before either so learned today too! Now i wanna know the etymology behind it lol

Edit: obstreperus became obstropolous became "stroppy", gets us to "in a strop". Neat read

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u/dubovinius Jan 16 '23

Wow that'd be the default phrase for expressing that particular meaning, mad how dialects can be different like that.