Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Putney n.

In exclamations

go to Putney (on a pig)! (also go to Pettigo!) [Putney S.W. London; Pettigo village, Co. Donegal]

a dismissive excl., as in go to Jericho (till your beard be grown)! under Jericho n.

1860		J. Diprose (ed.) Red, White & Blue Monster Song Book 303/2: ‘Oh. go to Putney on a pig,’ says she. ‘No,’ says I, ‘it isn’t my way; you’ve brought your pigs to the wrong market, wench’.
1863		(ref. to 1845) H. Kingsley Austin Elliot 116: Now, in the year 1845, telling a man to go to Putney, was the same as telling a man to go to the deuce.
1869		De Marsan’s New Comic & Sentimental Singer’s Jrnl 189/1: Go to Putney, go to Putney, / Go to Putney on a pig, go to Putney! / I’ve heard that saying many times, / By clever men and bores.
1877		Salisbury Times 24 Mar. 2/1: The expresion ‘Go to Putney!’ has often been used as comnveying an intimation to an unwelcome visitor that he was at once to take his departure.
1895		E.H. Burrage Island School 460: ‘Go to Putney on a pig,’ growled Dibble. ‘I would go — on anything — if I could,’ sighed Terry.
1902		Swindon Advertiser 5 Dec. 9/2: He then told witness to ‘go to Putney’.
1906		Sevenoaks Chron. 16 Mar. 6/7: The boy [...] threw up that career in a fit [...] by bidding the teacher ‘Go to Putney — on a pig’.
1919		Sheffield Indep. 30 Sept. 8/3: The exasperated ’busman told the crowd to go to Putney.
1933		Taunton Courier 26 Apr. 10/3: The Librarian in [...] Wandsworth public Library [...] suggested that the word ‘pig’ in the expression ‘Go to Putney on a pig’ is an old English equivalent for [...] crockery in general; a pigwoman is a crockery seller.
1997		Share Slanguage.