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Origin of Phrases - I
I Wouldn't Touch It With A Ten-Foot Pole
Actually, the original expression is "Not to be handled with tongs." In 1639, John Clarke included that line in Paroemiologia Anglo-Latino when he was expressing something that shouldn't be touched. The use of a ten-foot pole came about as a figure of speech sometime in 1758. There's also a variation using a barge pole instead of a ten-foot pole. That one came about sometime around 1877.
