MovieChat Forums > On Borrowed Time (1939) Discussion > Where twineth the woodbine?

Where twineth the woodbine?


Did you guys notice a phrase he used many time "Where the woodbine twineth"? I think that refers to where dead people go, but anyway. I saw an Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode called "Where the Woodbine Twineth". I thought he invented the term there, but OBT is like 20 years earlier so the phrase did not originate in the Hitchcock episode. Google searches show just the Hitchcock episode.

So where did the phrase originate?

reply

It might be construed to mean in the woods or a garden... woodbine is a climbing vine, twine can mean to twist around something. I dunno, but I sure love it.

reply

http://www.campbellmgold.com/archive_ponder/where_the_woodbine_twineth.pdf

Some interesting information on this phrase.

reply

^^^ Saved to my folder of 'interesting stuff'.

reply

Enjoy! 😊

reply

I believe the phrase originated to refer to a cemetery. Many cemeteries used to be adjacent to churches; and woodbine and ivy typically crawled and twisted up the stone walls of the church.

The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.–J.B. Haldane

reply