Narrows to catch metal toes

[Michael Quinion]

A subscriber has written in with a most intriguing question:

> Have you heard the expression "narrows to catch metal toes" said in
> mockingly warning way to mean "mind your own business." The person
> asking me recalls being told this when trying to pry into Christmas
> presents. Where does this come from? The grandparents who said it were
> of English ancestry. This expression has been maintained in the Upper
> Peninsula of Michigan.

Any thoughts, anyone?

--
Michael Quinion
Editor, World Wide Words
E-mail: <TheEditor at worldwidewords.org>
Web: <http://www.worldwidewords.org/>