It'll put hair on your chest. Can it be said to a lady?

No

plus, that wouldn't even be the thing you would say to a man.

That'll put hair on your chest means it'll make you stronger if you can get through it....not wake you up.

some women might just laugh at you

some might slap you

some might walk away from you without saying anything


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it also doesn't fit in the context you've provided - offering coffee to a sleepy person

The idiom refers to masculinity/toughness, not degree of alertness. It's specific to drinking alcohol.


http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Put+hair+on+your+chest

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/put-hair-on-one's-chest

link to google book of catchphrases

traditionally it is an invitation to drink alcohol

Okay, so the expression never goes with 'coffee'.
It's only restricted to alcohol then.

Thank you Chai2.

I was just wondering if this could be used to women.
But the thing is, now I realize, it has nothing to do with sleepiness.

I got this expression from a blog which , it says, provides useful expressions,
and I even jotted it down to memorize it.
Maybe I should forget the weird expression then.

Without your comment, I would've considered it a very good and useful expression and tried to use it often.

Thank you so much ehBeth.

You can say anything you like to a lady. You are the one who will suffer the consequences, not us.

That's an American expression and I doubt it translates well in Korea. When I was a kid, I heard people my dad's age say it to coax kids to drink or eat something they were reluctant to try. I suspect it was a phrase used by soldiers in WWII, but maybe it's only acceptible in certain parts of the US. I've noticed that phrases used in Maryland are never used in South Carolina and vice versa. And when it's not familiar to the listener, they might not know if it is funny or rude.

And it doesn't have anything to do with sleepiness, I've always thought it meant it would make you strong, or speed your growth to make you more manly. That's why it struck me funny, because my Dad would say it to me.

If you look at the third link I dropped, you'll see it's actually of Australian origin, with an American variant.

Thanks Beth, I only heard it from Americans, I didn't know any Austrailians when I was 8 years old. Just a bunch of WWII vets like my Dad. Oh I left out the French people who fought in the French Resistance who lived across the street, The huge Polish, Greek, Italian, Irish and Jewish enclaves in Baltimore, I learned unusual phrases from all of them. We were bereft of Australian immigrants. Fortunately, the Austrailians didn't have to move to the US to avoid poverty or oppression. By that I mean, the Austrailians knew they could return to a Democracy after WWII, they were able to prosper right at home. Americans have emigrated to Australia, and some Austrailians to the US. Possibly there was some cross pollination between the Aussies and Yanks who were stationed together during the War.

Yes, but then you would be no gentleman.