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They Were 'Mad For It' Years Ago














It has been aimed at public figures from former footballer Paul Gascoigne to comedian Johnny Vegas. But the terrace chant "who ate all the pies?" was first sung more than a century ago, new research has found.

The phrase was first coined by Sheffield United fans in 1894 to honour goalkeeper William "Fatty" Foulke.

He weighed an imposing 24st and even made it into the Guinness Book of Records as the heaviest-ever footballer.

But it is not just sports fans who are recycling catchphrases. Researchers have also found that "mad for it" - an expression associated with Manchester and Noel and Liam Gallagher of rock band Oasis - dates from documents published in 1670.

It was used in much the same context as today, to convey excitement, according to Dr Julia Cresswell, author of The Cat's Pyjamas: The Penguin Book of Cliches.

The academic sifted through documents and records at Oxford University, where she teaches, in a bid to find the first recorded use for many phrases.

Source: www.theherald.co.uk

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