something short

[Romel Panzer]

Shall be grateful for the meaning of the following (which I think have similar meanings) : (1) Two sandwiches short of the/a picnic, (2) Two bricks short of the/a load asnd (3) kiss me hardy.

[rewboss]

The first two mean the same, and are humorous ways of saying that someone is slightly insane. There are endless versions of the basic theme of not being a complete set: A pepperoni short of a pizza, not the full shilling (a shilling was an old British coin worth twelve pence), one beer short of a six-pack, and many, many others.

The third is a famous quote by a British hero, Horatio Nelson. As Admiral, he helped England win the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, but at the cost of his own life. The famous words "Kiss me, Hardy," were addressed to Thomas Hardy, the captain of the ship he was on at the time (not the famous author with the same name). Most people think these were Nelson's last words, but they weren't quite: his true last words were, "Thank God I have done my duty." Admiral Nelson is the man whose statue stands on top of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, London.