Many old-fashioned sayings are confusing to the average Brit, according to a new study carried out by the research agency Perspectus Global. More than 2,000 people aged 18 to 50 were given a list of quintessential British phrases and asked whether they understood or used them. Researchers discovered that almost 80% of respondents had never used or did not understand the phrase “casting pearls before swine”, while 71% had never heard the phrase “colder than a witch’s tit”. On the flip side, 73% of those surveyed said that it was a shame when such phrases died out.
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