What is the meaning of Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin?

Johnny nailed it–men used to swear “by their beards”, as in “I won’t let him have it, no, not by my beard!”. And people who make up nursery rhymes made it cuter by saying “not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin”.

Just means “no way”.

Back in Bible times, having a beard was a sign of manhood, of adulthood. Swearing “by your beard” was a mighty oath, because it involved your entire manhood, your social status. Having your beard removed was a great humiliation, or a sign of grief and/or penitence, or a punishment.

The odd part is that pigs do not have much in the way of a beard, but perhaps that only serves to make the rhyme more memorable. Another possibility is that the pig was speaking Japanese, in which case the phrase takes on a rather different meaning...

A nodeshell rescue! w00t!

CharmYou What does"not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!" mean??
I swear that whatever action is under consideration will not happen.

It's related to expressions like "to swear by one's beard" or "to swear by one's hair", which I believe are Biblical in origin.

While the Biblical usage is serious, this one is more frivolous because of its context in a child's story.

If you know the expression "over my dead body", then you have a good idea of what the expression you cited means.

CJ

Sep 17 2013 06:47:49

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The speaker blurted this beauty out when she was describing a really close baseball game in which the Pittsburgh Pirates ultimately prevailed.  It is a mash up of “by the skin of their teeth” (just barely, narrowly) and “not by the hair on my chinny chin chin” (outright refusal to allow something).  Of course, the latter phrase is a line from the nursery rhyme “The Three Little Pigs”, where the pig will not allow the wolf to come into the house.  Skin and chin rhyme, and teeth, skin, and chin are all in the same general vicinity, hence the mix up I suppose.  I think I will use this one for now on when there is a close call.  A big thanks to Dan Fornadel who heard his wife utter this gem and passed it on.

I found a site with several versions of "The Three Little Pigs." www.pitt.edu/ ~dash/type0124.html#halliwellOne says:

"Then along came the wolf, and said, Little pig, little pig, let me come in.'

'No, no, by the hair of my chiny chin chin.'"

It sounds like an oath to me, along the lines of: "No, by God." A strong "no." Meaning, "It's not going to happen. No way."

M mtMember

"No, no, not by the hair of my chinny chin chin" is a famous phrase from The Three Little Pigs. Does anyone know where this phrase comes from? It seems to mean "absolutely not" but where does it originate?

Apple.

7/16/058:13 PM

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Original Post

GE Grammar Exchange 2 (Guest)

To set the scene for the story:

The Wolf stands at the door of the third little pig's house and says

"Little pig, little pig, let me come in."

The little pig answers, "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin."

The pig appears to invoke the ancient custom of swearing on the beard of a god, of a revered holy man, or even of the speaker himself. I've found an old traditional English or Scottish song that uses the phrase "I swear by the beard upon my chin":

"[...] O Black Jack Davey came riding by
A whistling so merrily
He made the woods all around him ring
And he charmed the heart of a lady

O come with me my pretty little one
O come with me my honey
I swear by the beard upon my chin
That you'll never want for money"

http://highlandregiment.org/documentation/SongLyrics.pdf

In saying "Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin" the little pig is saying, in effect,

"” I swear by my beard that I will NOT open my door!"

Zoological note: Most pigs don't have beards, but there is one kind of wild pig in Southeast Asia called "bearded pig."

Marilyn

7/17/059:03 PM

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