2007-01-25 22:19:29 · 13 answers · asked by Madam Rosmerta 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
now i actually know this!!
i was asking my dad about how car manufacturers know how fast one horse power is - so they can say a car is ten brake horse power or whatever and he told me the following:
there was a horse called neddy - and he was chosen to be the standard for brake horse power cos he was neither the fastest horse nor the slowest
they timed him running over various distances and over various gradients
and that is how they got brake horse power
now to come to larry and who he was and why he was so happy
neddy belonged to larry - and the people who were using neddy as their standard gave larry a great big hug and a cheque for an amount which was enough to keep larry in rice pudding for all his days
that is why larry was so happy!
2007-01-26 02:12:49 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are two commonly repeated contenders for the derivation. One is that it refers to the Australian boxer Larry Foley (1847 - 1917). Foley was a successful boxer who never lost a fight. He retired at 32 and collected a purse of £1,000 for his final fight. So, we can expect that he was known to be happy with his lot in the 1870s - just when the phrase is first cited.
The alternative explanation is that it relates to the Cornish and later Australian/New Zealand slang term larrikin, meaning a rough type or hooligan, i.e. one predisposed to larking about. Larrikin would also have been a term that Meredith would have known.
2007-01-25 22:29:01 · answer #2 · answered by webponce 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Larry Adler one off the worlds greatest showman
2007-01-25 22:27:15 · answer #3 · answered by man with the golden gun 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Larry the happy springy lamb
2007-01-25 22:24:51 · answer #4 · answered by Alicat 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I can't believe you don't know Larry. He's a great chap, always up for a laugh.
2007-01-25 22:25:22 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
A happy man. I get a pic of a 1930's silent film star walking down a street smiling at everyone. Good to hear your happy!!
2007-01-25 22:28:49 · answer #6 · answered by A . Z . 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Larry is my friend!
2007-01-25 22:33:30 · answer #7 · answered by Benvenuto 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Maybe Larry Grayson he was always gay!!
2007-01-25 22:24:50 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Larry Flint - the porn king. (maybe)
2007-01-25 22:24:55 · answer #9 · answered by jg655 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I believe he was one of the Three Stooges.
2007-01-25 22:25:52 · answer #10 · answered by texasjewboy12 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋