Join FunTrivia for Free: Hourly trivia games, quizzes, community, and more!
Fun Trivia
Ask FunTrivia: Questions and Answers
Answers to 100,000 Fascinating Questions
Welcome to FunTrivia's Question & Answer forum!

Search All Questions


Please cite any factual claims with citation links or references from authoritative sources. Editors continuously recheck submissions and claims.

Archived Questions

Goto Qn #


From where comes the saying "Stop pulling my chain"?

Question #116326. Asked by star_gazer.
Last updated Jun 01 2021.

avatar
star_gazer star
Answer has 17 votes
star_gazer star
22 year member
5236 replies avatar

Answer has 17 votes.
In the olden days of mining they had a one hole potty wagon. Every miner carried a small length of chain to lay across the track on each side of the wheel to keep the potty wagon still and keep the wagon from being sent through the total darkness to wherever down the line as the miner did his bizzness. Hence came the phrase, "Don't pull my chain" or "Don't jerk my chain." or "Who pulled your chain?"

link http://historyasis.blogspot.com/2011/05/etymology-dont-pull-my-chain.html




Response last updated by gtho4 on Jun 01 2021.
Jul 28 2010, 6:58 PM
gmackematix
Answer has 21 votes
Currently Best Answer
gmackematix
21 year member
3194 replies

Answer has 21 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
Miners from the "olden days" might well asked each other not to pull their chains, and I'm sure prisoners in chain gangs would have asked the same.

However, the phrase "don't yank my chain" became a popular idiom in the 1980s and is just a way of saying "if you annoy me I am liable to snap as though you'd pulled the chain of a wild animal".
link http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=pull

Jul 28 2010, 7:34 PM
free email trivia FREE! Get a new mixed Fun Trivia quiz each day in your email. It's a fun way to start your day!


arrow Your Email Address:

Sign in or Create Free User ID to participate in the discussion