"Oh my ears and whiskers"

(Email Removed) had it ...
[nq:1]The phrase comes from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I'm learning English as a foreign language, and I don't know what it means and how to use it. Would you please explain it to me? Thank you in advance![/nq]
Alice in Wonderland is an excellent book, and is very poplar with people here. However, it is not a good place to find standard English words and p

[nq:2]The phrase comes from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I'm learning ... you please explain it to me? Thank you in advance![/nq]
[nq:1]Alice in Wonderland is an excellent book, and is very poplar with people here. However, it is not a good ... obvious from the context and the "Oh" but he could just as well have said "Oh my feet and fingers".[/nq]
If it is convenient for you, look for

don (Email Removed) had it ...
[nq:1]If it is convenient for you, look for a book called The Annotated Alice . It may be a ... It is possible that "my ears and whiskers" echos a now-forgotten catchphrase that was popular in England 150 years ago.[/nq]
Good advice. The book is readable on amazon.com - there doesn't appear to be any annotation relating to the rabbit's various exclamations, w

[nq:1]gnow...@gmail.com had it ...[/nq]
[nq:2]The phrase comes from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I'm learning ... you please explain it to me? Thank you in advance![/nq]
[nq:1]Alice in Wonderland is an excellent book, and is very poplar with people here. However, it is not a good ... context and the "Oh" but he could just as well have said "Oh my feet and fingers". David ==[/nq]
T

[nq:1]The phrase doesn't really mean anything other than "gosh", or "goodness me". This is obvious from the context and the "Oh" but he could just as well have said "Oh my feet and fingers".[/nq]
I think there's a little more to it than that... but only a little.

A dear friend of mine once used the phrase "Oh, my stars and garters!" for a similar purpose. I suspect that "Oh, my s and

Don Tuite filted:
[nq:1]It is possible that "my ears and whiskers" echos a now-forgotten catchphrase that was popular in England 150 years ago.[/nq]
Forgotten?...surely the reference is to "my stars and garters"..r

"You got Schadenfreude on my Weltanschauung!"
"You got Weltanschauung in my Schadenfreude!"

[nq:1]Don Tuite filted:[/nq]
[nq:2]It is possible that "my ears and whiskers" echos a now-forgotten catchphrase that was popular in England 150 years ago.[/nq]
[nq:1]Forgotten?...surely the reference is to "my stars and garters"..r[/nq]
What can one say but, "Honi soit qui mal y pense"?

Don

[nq:1]Don Tuite filted:[/nq]
[nq:2]It is possible that "my ears and whiskers" echos a now-forgotten catchphrase that was popular in England 150 years ago.[/nq]
[nq:1]Forgotten?...surely the reference is to "my stars and garters"..r[/nq]
That's always been my guess. That one dates back at least to Arthur Murphy's 1758 The Upholsterer .

Evan Kirshenbaum + HP Laboratories >Thi

[nq:2]Don Tuite filted: Forgotten?...surely the reference is to "my stars and garters"..r[/nq]
[nq:1]What can one say but, "Honi soit qui mal y pense"?[/nq]
"Honoured are those who pass bad money"?
=20
Robin Bignall
Herts, England=20

[nq:1]The phrase comes from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I'm learning English as a foreign language, and I don't know what it means and how to use it. Would you please explain it to me? Thank you in advance![/nq]
It's what's called a "minced oath," an inoffensive replacement for a possibly offensive exclamation. The White Rabit is frustrated or fightened or angry, and instead of exclaimin