Go Sit on a Tack!

Tricia in Chesapeake, Virginia, says if her father was annoyed with her mother, he used to jokingly tell her: Go sit on a tack! It’s another way of saying “Leave me alone!” Similar phrases include go fly a kite, go climb a tree, go chase yourself, and go run in traffic. Go sit on a tack is one of the more polite ones, and goes back at least to the 1880s. Etymologist Barry Popik has unearthed a joke that goes “What time is it when you sit on a tack? Springtime!” This is part of a complete episode.