"I've got a massive 'tatie in my sock"

I said this today in the office, on discovering a large hole in one of my socks.  No-one had a clue what I was on about.  I've been saying this phrase for years, meaning "i've got a hole in my sock" (tatie being the local dialect for potato), but I was beginning to question whether I had made the phrase up.  I couldn't be -  I can clearly remember laughing with my school mates about calling them taties - but it did make me think whether it was one of those phrases we had made up at the time.

According to the Imperial War Museum's "Make and Spend" website, the term "potato in your sock" refers to a sock that needs to be mended.  The origin of the phrase is the process of repairing a sock hole by darning, which the use of a round object, such as a pototo or a specialized darning egg, to stretch the whole over the object so that the person repairing the sock finds it easier see what they are doing.

I don't know how to darn.  It's a good job I got some new socks for Christmas.

I've always thought novelty socks are for losers; unfortunately, I got a box full.  Mr Benn socks! I might be a loser wearing them, but I am a sucker for nostalgia, and they came in a great box.