Narrows to catch metal toes

[Mark A Mandel]

On Tue, 11 Nov 2003, Michael Quinion wrote:

#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?

If "metal" was a mishearing of "meddle"... it still makes no sense to
me. Anyone else?

-- Mark A. Mandel