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Pulled Through a Knothole Backwards

Mary Judy in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, says when her mom was particularly frazzled or disheveled, she’d say she felt as if she’d been pulled through a knothole backwards. The expression goes back to the early 19th century. Variants include dragged through forty knotholes and pulled down a knothole and the knothole pulled in after. Similar phrases include drawn through a hedge backward or drawn through a keyhole backwards. This is part of a complete episode.

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