Dogsbody c. 1930, referring to people who were stuck with rough work. The term dogsbody has not always been derogatory, with a number of people deliberately using it as their callsign or handle. The most famous of these is probably Douglas Bader, who was an RAF fighter pilot during the Second World War. Dogsbody A dogsbody, or less commonly dog robber in the Royal Navy, is a junior officer, or more generally someone who does drudge work. A rough American equivalent would be a "gofer," "grunt" or "lackey". The Royal Navy used dried peas and eggs boiled in a bag (pease
There was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe six children of her own and ten stepchildren. Albert Jack has proposed a political origin for the rhyme. George II was nicknamed the "old woman", because it was widely believed that Queen Caroline was the real power behind the throne. According to this explanation, the children are the Members of Parliament (MPs) that George was unable to control, the whip refers to the political office of that name – the MP whose role is to ensure that members of his party vote according to the party line – and the bed is the House of Commons, which MPs were required