What does the saying "x pounds soaking wet" actually mean?

Question

I know it's a descriptive saying to show how light someone is. But does it mean soaking wet with no clothes on, as in 'just out of the shower', or is it more of an over-exaggeration, meaning 'with all clothes on and soaking wet, John is x pounds'?

Can anyone find me a link that describes the origin?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

I'm not sure we're supposed to read that much into it. I always took it to mean, "Even with extra water weight, John still only weighs x pounds." So yeah, if you want to picture John with his clothes on, by all means do so. Nobody actually weighed him soaking wet, so you have no need to duplicate the test. Just know that if John weighs 100 pounds soaking wet, he's not a very heavy guy.

Answer 2

Soaking wet clothing adds a lot of weight to a person.

She is 80 pounds soaking wet means the girl with water-soaked clothes would weight 80 pounds.

People say this to say the person is underweight or small.

Answer 3

yes, you got it, it means that this person is soo light that even with their clothes on, soaking wet, they are still at a low weight =]
i couldnt find a link, but my father used to tell me that i was 90 pounds soaking wet all the time, and when i asked him about it, he explained it to me, just as how i explained it to you. even with wet clothes on [which tend to weight ALOT] a person is still very light weighted

Source(s):

my father