Never assume nothing!
Here's a question for you: have you ever been totally sure that you knew the meaning of a well-known phrase and then discovered it actually meant something very different? It's all over bar the shouting. That's what my mum used to say on the 2nd of January. Going by the grim tone of her voice, I took it to mean that we'd all had our fun and now it was time to pay the piper. Since Hogmanay (New Year's Eve to sassenachs), in the Scotland of those days, involved the consumption of a great deal of alcohol, nicotine, and black bun (very, very rich fruitcake), the 'shouting' seemed to mean a lot of grey faces, bleary eyes, 'bangin' heids' and muttered promises of 'never again'. The excesses of Hogmanay (31st Dec) were repeated on 'New Year's Night' (1st Jan); and so, it was the 2nd before the full consequences struck, the miraculous effects of the 'hair o' the dog' (a wee bit more alcohol) having enabled the secon...