2006-06-21 22:55:55 · 6 answers · asked by ~hoyo~ 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
I think of monkeys and squirrels and hamsters whenever I hear someone use that.. heh..
2006-06-22 15:38:07 · update #1
in popular mythology 'nuts' are what you might use to reward a chimpanzee who had done an especially clever trick.
(the idea appears in another common idiom: 'you pay peanuts. you get monkeys).
so: 'i can't skip for nuts'. means: 'i would not be able to skip - even if you offered me a reward.'
....
during the nineteenth century, and into the twentieth, children were regularly rewarded for good performance with toffees (chocolate was considered too soon finished - and hence too expensive).
hence: 'i can't skip for toffee'.
2006-06-22 00:28:12 · answer #1 · answered by synopsis 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because, Nuts is Good for Health (Good Calcium)
2006-06-21 23:02:20 · answer #2 · answered by crownsamir 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had never heard that expression before. I grew up hearing, "I can't ___ for nothin'" or "I can't ___ for sh*t." I guess I come from a profane hillbilly family, lol.
2006-06-26 15:41:36 · answer #3 · answered by Oghma Gem 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I can't sit for nuts
2006-06-27 20:36:34 · answer #4 · answered by GoingNoWhereFast 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I say "I can't (swim, e.g.) for beans."
I think I came from a cheap family!
2006-06-22 01:12:14 · answer #5 · answered by Goddess of Grammar 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I always say: 'I can't__for toffee'.
2006-06-22 00:00:43 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋