Hello Chris,Caroline & all found this.... at http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxcutthe.html "cut the mustard" by Mark Israel [This is a <A HREF="http://alt-usage-english.org/fast_faq.shtml#notes">fast-access FAQ</A> excerpt.]This expression meaning "to achieve the required standard" isfirst recorded in an O. Henry story of 1902: "So I looked aroundand found a proposition [a woman] that exactly cut the mustard."It may come from a cowboy expression, "the proper mustard",meaning "the genuine thing", and a resulting use of "mustard" todenote the best of anything. O. Henry in Cabbages and Kings(1894) called mustard "the main attraction": "I'm not headlinedin the bills, but I'm the mustard in the salad dressing, just thesame." Figurative use of "mustard" as a positive superlative datesfrom 1659 in the phrase "keen as mustard", and use of "cut" todenote rank (as in "a cut above") dates from the 18th century.Other theories are that it is a corruption of the military phrase"to pass muster" ("muster", from Latin monstrare="to show", means"to assemble (troops), as for inspection"); that it refers to thepractice of adding vinegar to ground-up mustard seed to "cut" thebitter taste; that it literally means "cut mustard" as an example ofa difficult task, mustard being a relatively tough crop that growsclose to the ground; and that it literally means "cut mustard" asan example of an easy task (via the negative expression "can'teven cut the mustard"), mustard being easier to cut at the tablethan butter.The more-or-less synonymous expression "cut it" (as in "'Sorry'doesn't cut it") seems to be more recent and may derive from"cut the mustard". Linda & Tony

Thanks Both Have made a note of this website as could prove useful!! Chris ----- Original Message ----- From: <Knightroots@aol.com> To: <HAMPSHIRE-LIFE-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, February 09, 2003 1:20 PM Subject: Re: [HantsLife] Sayings Hello Chris,Caroline & all found this.... at http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxcutthe.html "cut the mustard" by Mark Israel [This is a <A HREF="http://alt-usage-english.org/fast_faq.shtml#notes">fast-access FAQ</A> excerpt.]This expression meaning "to achieve the required standard" isfirst recorded in an O. Henry story of 1902: "So I looked aroundand found a proposition [a woman] that exactly cut the mustard."It may come from a cowboy expression, "the proper mustard",meaning "the genuine thing", and a resulting use of "mustard" todenote the best of anything. O. Henry in Cabbages and Kings(1894) called mustard "the main attraction": "I'm not headlinedin the bills, but I'm the mustard in the salad dressing, just thesame." Figurative use of "mustard" as a positive superlative datesfrom 1659 in the phrase "keen as mustard", and use of "cut" todenote rank (as in "a cut above") dates from the 18th century.Other theories are that it is a corruption of the military phrase"to pass muster" ("muster", from Latin monstrare="to show", means"to assemble (troops), as for inspection"); that it refers to thepractice of adding vinegar to ground-up mustard seed to "cut" thebitter taste; that it literally means "cut mustard" as an example ofa difficult task, mustard being a relatively tough crop that growsclose to the ground; and that it literally means "cut mustard" asan example of an easy task (via the negative expression "can'teven cut the mustard"), mustard being easier to cut at the tablethan butter.The more-or-less synonymous expression "cut it" (as in "'Sorry'doesn't cut it") seems to be more recent and may derive from"cut the mustard". Linda & Tony ==== HAMPSHIRE-LIFE Mailing List ==== Please use common sense when sending or replying to messages on the list. What may not offend you may offend others. Please do not send virus warnings, or other matetial not relevant to Hampshire and its history. ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 --- All of our Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. And attachments are also scanned before being added. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.449 / Virus Database: 251 - Release Date: 27/01/2003 --- All of our Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. And attachments are also scanned before being added. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.449 / Virus Database: 251 - Release Date: 27/01/2003