fart in a mitten n. something frenetic or very active; something insignificant. Editorial Note: Usually by way of comparison: “like a fart in a mitten.” (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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A listener in Unadilla, New York, says her husband, whose family is French-Canadian, uses the phrase That burns my onions when something irritates him. There are several kitchen-related metaphors used to express anger, including that steams my...
also . . .
“Fart in a Deep Bathtub” ~~~
lotsa sound and fury, but nothing of any lasting value. ‘thrilling at the time, but so what ???
My husband has always used a variation on this, for the first meaning (something frenetic): “like a fart in a skillet.”
Thanks, Deborah! Very useful. I’ll make a cite for it.
In Australia it’s ‘fart in a bottle’.
We moved to Cal 50 years ago, when I was just a kid. My mother still comes up with old Irish – New England stuff that cracks us up. When a pitch or a proposal does not prove to be well received, Mom will comment “Well, that went over like a fart in church!”
Re: Fred Carroll’s comment of 1/14/2007:
My sargeant in the U.S. Marine Corps introduced me to one of his favorite phrases; “That’s as obvious as a turd in a punchbowl”.