Selling your child to the Gypsies

[randym431]

This is really a strange one. In the old 1937 Shirley Temple movie Heidi, they often refer to selling children to the Gypsies. Was this really ever done? And what would the Gypsies do with bought children? If not, then how did this expression ever come about?

All I could find on this was

this

 

[MisterJackson]

We don't speak of Gypsies here.....they'll curse us.....

 

[SampSon]

My parents used to tell me they were going to see me to the gypsies.
Goddamned hippies.

 

[SSP]

Originally posted by: SampSon
My parents used to tell me they were going to see me to the gypsies.
Goddamned hippies.

Maybe your parents are the gypsies. Ever thought of that? 😉

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: randym431
This is really a strange one. In the old 1937 Shirley Temple movie Heidi, they often refer to selling children to the Gypsies. Was this really ever done? And what would the Gypsies do with bought children? If not, then how did this expression ever come about?

All I could find on this was

this

probably just a scare tactic to make them behave?

 

[kranky]

It was never done. Just a threat. Gypsies were considered the lowest of the low as a culture, so the thought of having to live with them would have been repulsive.

 

[mrkun]

Wow, I thought everyone knew what they did with the bought children. They EAT THEM!

 

[IronWing]

No, since hospitals started buying children for medical experiments the Gypsies have been priced out of the market. Though, I understand that in Nevada the skeet shooters are starting to outbid the doctors.