Hello,
To go around the block
To do the rounds (for street performers)
Beg
No seamstress is involved, directly or indirectly, in the origin of this expression.
And yet, it seems that the meaning of the word “manche” used here does indeed derive from the sleeve of a garment, albeit after a somewhat tortuous path.
Indeed, in the beginning was the ‘sleeve’ of a garment, a very French word. Now, in the Middle Ages, during tournaments, the ladies would give one of their sleeves to the knight who fought for them before the combat ().
It is due to this practice that this French “manche” was adopted into Italian in the 13th century in the word “mancia,” which took on the meaning of “gift” or “gratuity,” before also coming to mean “tip” or “alms” in the early 14th century.
In the mid-16th century, the word re-entered French with this new meaning. The expression itself did not appear until the late 18th century.
And if it first served street performers who solicit a reward for the performance they have just delivered (and not just on Sundays at Arromanches on the coast of the English Channel), it has since extended to begging.
The first evening, I was hanging around the Latin Quarter on Rue Jacob. I came across some guys singing while busking. It has to be said that at that time, in the early 1930s, the streets were full of unemployed people who lived off more or less disguised begging.
Francis Guillo - Little Francis - 1977
Marylena