Daddy Longlegs

[MarillionFan]

Why is a Daddy Longlegs called a Daddy Longlegs?

Massive one buzzing around the office. Then wondered where the name came from.

Googling I havent found anything yet?!!!

Brucie Bonus for the first one to find the accepted meaning!

 

[MarillionFan]

Jeez. That makes you itchy!

 

[shaunbhoy]

Why is a Daddy Longlegs called a Daddy Longlegs?

Massive one buzzing around the office. Then wondered where the name came from.

Googling I havent found anything yet?!!!

Brucie Bonus for the first one to find the accepted meaning!

Never mind how they got their name? Why do they even exist? They seem to be absolutely pointless creatures, no use for anything whatsoever. A kind of flying AtW!!

 

[Incognito]

They're not daddy long legs, daddy long legs have wings and huge teeth man.

 

[MarillionFan]

They're not daddy long legs, daddy long legs have wings and huge teeth man.

What like this?

 

[MarillionFan]

Wow! The Internet has Failed! I cannot find where the term comes from.

That's it everyone. The internet is broken. Obviously it's a secret never to be told.

 

[Zippy]

They could poison you if their 'teeth' were not so short. Allegedly. The larvae are called caddis fly and they eat roots.

I'd guess the name Daddy Long Legs comes from the length of their legs?

 

[MarillionFan]

They could poison you if their 'teeth' were not so short. Allegedly. The larvae are called caddis fly and they eat roots.

I'd guess the name Daddy Long Legs comes from the length of their legs?

Do you reckon it's some sort of homage to the film Scum with Ray Winstone. Do you reckon there was a larvae style borstal for young Long Legs. Then one hard bastard came along, tried to take over the gaff. Placing a couple of pool balls in a sock he proceeded to beat down his opponents one after the other, eventually buzzing 'Who's the Daddy Long Legs now'!!!!!

I'll get me coat.

 

[cnch]

Why is a Daddy Longlegs called a Daddy Longlegs?

Massive one buzzing around the office. Then wondered where the name came from.

Googling I havent found anything yet?!!!

Brucie Bonus for the first one to find the accepted meaning!

Excerpt from Britannica,
any insect of the family Tipulidae (order Diptera). In English-speaking countries other than the United States, the crane fly is popularly called daddy longlegs because it has a slender, mosquito-like body and extremely long legs. (In the United States, “daddy longlegs” generally refers to an arachnid.) Ranging in size from tiny to almost 3 cm (1.2 inches) long, these harmless, slow-flying insects are usually found around water or among abundant vegetation.

crane fly (insect) Daddy Long Legs

..... but it doesn't explain where the daddy part came from...

Although if you follow the 'daddy long legs' link within the link... it writes about 'two eyes located on a central knob'

 

[Incognito]

Or perhaps a colloquial term adopted by a children’s poet?

Edward Lear, The Daddy Long-legs and the Fly