“Pour the cobs on” or “Put the cobs to it”

cheekygeek

cheekygeek

New member
Saw this in a FB post & thought it was good:

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"Pour on the cobs" or "Put the cobs to it". I haven't thought of this expression for a while but I remember my grandfather saying it and CLEARLY understanding what he meant. But, given its roots in CORN harvesting (the cob is what is left after you eat or shell and ear of corn) it is probably an expression that originated in farm country and (if it spread at all) spread out from here. People younger than about 50 may have never even heard the expression.

Way back when...most farmers had plenty of corn cobs after shelling corn, so the wives would use them for heat in the big kitchen cook stove instead of "high-priced coal". Corn cobs gave off LOTS of heat, & old-timers remember seeing them in the stove gleaming RED.

"Put the cobs to it" would be a good expression to bring back and use in association with Cornhusker athletics programs (as fans or coaches). :D  “

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Too corny?

 
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Did your grandfather live in Nebraska? Or somewhere in the Midwest?

I've never heard this phrase and my Nebraskan grandpa and uncle both farmed.

 
I've heard similar sayings with "coals" in place of "cobs". I suppose it depends on what people were using for fuel back in the day. They also used corn cobs before toilet paper. Seems like an antiquated saying that would make Nebraska appear hickish.

 
I've heard "pour on the cobs" growing up.  Corn cobs do burn hot and I seem to recall it was a way to temporarily get more power out of a steam engine.  It's part of our history and applying it to the football program would keep the expression alive.  Since we rarely blow teams out anymore, it wouldn't be rude to make it a 4th qtr rallying cry.  A few "pour on the cobs" signs would get attention from those unfamiliar with the expression and it could add to the corn mystique.

Old timers would burn about anything to stay warm on our treeless prairies including dried cow manure or buffalo chips.   I was told they used corn cobs as toilet paper too.  As a kid I wondered if it was not wasted by then drying and burning the toilet paper cobs.  I never asked.

 
DevoHusker said:
everybody already thinks we are hicks...i say embrace it!  Remember:

"Nebraska...It's NOT for everyone"  :D
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Having grown up in small town Nebraska and venturing out into the world I've evolved from being somewhat embarrassed of, to definitely being proud of where I came from.  It makes a person different from most other people- in a good way.  Yes, I'm a proud hick!  Pour on the cobs!

 
I can see the eye rolls from recruits now...  remember, our future success is directly tied to convincing 17 and 18 year old future stars to play football here.  Big nope from me...  

 
JJ Husker said:
I've heard similar sayings with "coals" in place of "cobs". I suppose it depends on what people were using for fuel back in the day. They also used corn cobs before toilet paper. Seems like an antiquated saying that would make Nebraska appear hickish.
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Now that you say that, I've heard that as well.  Never "cobs" but "coals" has been used here and there.

 
4skers89 said:
Having grown up in small town Nebraska and venturing out into the world I've evolved from being somewhat embarrassed of, to definitely being proud of where I came from.  It makes a person different from most other people- in a good way.  Yes, I'm a proud hick!  Pour on the cobs!
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I grew up in small town, moved away to a larger city and then moved back.  I've always been proud of where I grew up and there's a big part of me that's proud of whatever redneck I have in me.

But, like @Hilltop said.  This isn't just about us.  It's about convincing 17-18 year old kids from all across the country to want to come here.  We already have this stigma that it's all corn fields out here.  Just last week we had a recruit that came to visit and then said...they were surprised it wasn't all corn fields.  How many don't even come to visit to find that out because of the stereotype?

For me?  I think the saying is ok.  But, we don't need to promote that stereotype to the world for recruiting purposes.

 
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