carry corn

present singular third person carries corn · participle present carrying corn · participle past carried corn · past carried corn

1. colloquialdatedTo (be able to) handle success or prosperity in an equable manner.

   That man can't carry corn. He evidently gets a heap too loose tongue if you offer him just a little civility.

   2019, Charles John Cutcliffe Wright Hyne, Kate Meredith, Financier

   1 more example

   'A bad workman blames his tools' is widely taken as an accepted classic truth […] Perhaps French also contains its exasperated partner: 'If you want a thing done well, do it yourself'. One of my relatives had a favourite image for men who failed such tests: 'He can't carry corn'. He wasn't literally expected to, either, not in those parts, but the image fitted well enough. In fact, it seemed to carry a great charge of rejection.

   2003, Richard Hoggart, Everyday Language and Everyday Life, page 95