The proof is in the Pudding. . .

[GraceKrispy]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

...but is it?

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-cut1.htm

AHA!

ok.

[Enkidu of Abydos]

Originally Posted by GraceKrispy

I love pudding!

Make me some, and I"ll give you proof.

I don't think I want to see that kind of smelly proof.

[Enkidu of Abydos]

Originally Posted by GraceKrispy

No, but I wonder about "cut the cheese" too... as in "who cut the cheese?" I mean, I can guess it has something to do with the nasty smell of some cheeses....

Well that one is obvious at least - if a cheese smells foul than the one who first cuts it releases a foul odor into the air.
Here we say who released the pigeon...

[DixieGal]

To confuse matters even more, until I finally encountered it in writing, I thought it was "the proof is in the putting."

[Enkidu of Abydos]

Originally Posted by TGS

Kit and caboodle

I always thought it was "kitchen caboodle", because I heard it in some older movies but never saw it written.

Originally Posted by montsnmags

...but is it?

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-cut1.htm

This reminds me of "cum grano salis". Showing that salt is not the only spice to be used in idioms and proverbs. There's an idiom here - not having a grain of salt in the head = being stupid. Peppered with grenades also comes to mind. It seems spicy idioms can show what spices have been most important to people through the ages. Salt and pepper at the top, mustard too in the 19th century it seems... Can anyone remember an idiom with olive oil in any language ? That's probably been the most important spice besides salt in the Mediterranean for a couple thousand years, so it should have left some traces in language...

[orlok]

Originally Posted by carld

The Proof is in the Pudding, comes from the saying, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating," which at least makes some sense, though why you'd need to prove that you have pudding I don't know.

It means that you will only know if the pudding is any good once you try it.

[TGS]

Originally Posted by Enkidu of Abydos

Can anyone remember an idiom with olive oil in any language ?

Not olive oil specifically, but one can "pour oil on troubled waters", which means to de-fuse a situation.

[Ea]

Originally Posted by wodin

Fourteenth century puddings were gutsy! What they were, essentially, were sausages - mixtures of meat, cereal, spices, and often blood, stuffed into intestines or stomach, and boiled.

Sounds like blood sausage except for the meat. It's rather nice in fried slices with apple sauce and cinnamon-sugar. No, I'm not kidding

[Enkidu of Abydos]

Originally Posted by TGS

Not olive oil specifically, but one can "pour oil on troubled waters", which means to de-fuse a situation.

Or "mix like oil and water".

Originally Posted by orlok

It means that you will only know if the pudding is any good once you try it.

I still vote for a mass spectrometer. May not be able to tell you if it's any good but neither will your tongue tell you what it's made of...