Where did "You know what thought did!" come from?

This was a common one in our house while I was growing up. The next line was "Followed a muck cart, and thought it was a wedding". I've no source, but a quick googling suggests we weren't the only ones.


The Dictionary of Catch Phrases states that the original form of "You know what thought did?" is:

What did thought do?

and was exemplified in Jonathan Swift's, 'Polite Conversation', 1738

LADY ANSWERALL: I thought you did just now.
LORD SPARKISH: Pray, Madam, what did thought do?

It's also seen in Lincolnshire Traditional Sayings And Proverbial Expressions.

When a child says "I thought so and so" the adult may respond with, "You know what thought did? He only thought he did." A teenager, however, may reply, "Ah, but when he looked he had!" — a riposte which has the effect of counteracting the adult's attempt to control behaviour.