ext_76136 ([identity profile] calzephyr77.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] 1word1day2021-06-18 05:18 pm

Friday Phrase: Mother Hubbard

If you have heard this old nursery rhyme, you probably didn't think too much about Mother Hubbard:


Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the Cupboard,
To give the poor Dog a bone;
When she came there,
The Cupboard was bare,
And so the poor Dog had none.


But, did you know that a Mother Hubbard is also a piece of clothing inspired by the nursery rhyme? Mother Hubbards are long, wide and loose-fitting dresses with long sleeves and a high neck. They are extremely modest and developed during Victorian times.

Alas, the Mother Hubbard has a negative connotation as well--colonizers and missionaries introduced the style to "civilize" BIPOC people, so aghast were they at nudity. The Mother Hubbard lives on in various designs, however, mostly notably the Hawaiian muumuu.

[identity profile] sallymn.livejournal.com 2021-06-19 05:40 am (UTC)(link)
I have a lowering feeling some of the confy clothes I live in, especially since the operation, could be called hubbards....

[identity profile] full-metal-ox.livejournal.com 2021-06-19 04:29 pm (UTC)(link)
“Mother Hubbard” is also a term I’ve seen Penn and Teller swap for something bleepable.