There's an old expression "I haven't seen you since Hector was a pup." I guess that at one point, someone had a dog by that name and he or she went around all the time comparing lengths of time to the age of the dog, sort of like the way we all use our 30th birthdays as touchstones of who-knows-what.
So, I'm on the phone one day at work, returning a call to the Public Defender's office, and I say to the person I'm speaking with, "I haven't heard from you since Hector was a pup." And we talk for 10 or 15 minutes, work-related, and then she says, "So how long have you had this dog?" And, slow on the uptake as ever, I ask, what dog?, and she replies, "Hector!"
Which is why I was so sad to see this sign yesterday. I was in Dundalk when I saw it, and if you have any info about this Hector, let me know and I will call the number that's on the picture from before I blurred it.
Also, "Great balls of fire" is only a colloquial expression as well. "Jam up and jelly tight" might be, or it might be a recipe.
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