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07 Apr 13 - 11:36 AM (#3500052) Subject: Folklore: Meaning of phrase 'play on his/her lips' From: GUEST,False Lankum I have always thought the phrase 'play on his/her/their lips', as found in songs such as 'The Ballad of O'Bruadair' and 'What will we do when we have no money', meant nothing more than a bit of smooching, but recently somebody attempted to convince me that there must be more to it cf. the line: 'but yet I stuffed my pockets by playing on their lips', in O'Bruadair. I'm still quite sure that there's nothing more to it, and have always imagined that particular line as referring to the narrator seducing women in order to rob their valuables. I thought I would throw it up here to see if anyone else had any ideas about the phrase. All the best, Ian |