Post by Chicago Jake on Oct 20, 2010 9:09:23 GMT -6
This came across my desk today. I don't know if the explanations are all true or not, but they sound plausible, and I thought they were interesting:
ACHILLES HEEL
In Greek mythology Thetis dipped her son in the mythical River Styx. Anyone who was immersed in the river became invulnerable. However Thetis held Achilles by his heel. Since her hand covered
this part of his body the water did not touch it and so it remained vulnerable. Achilles was eventually killed when an arrow hit his heel.
BAKERS DOZEN
A bakers dozen means thirteen. This old saying is said to come from the days when bakers were severely punished for baking underweight loaves. Some added a loaf to a batch of a dozen to be
above suspicion.
BEAT ABOUT THE BUSH
When hunting birds some people would beat about the bush to drive them out into the open. Other people would than catch the birds. 'I won't beat about the bush' came to mean 'I will go straight to the point without any delay'.
BIG WIG
In the 18th century when many men wore wigs, the most important men wore the biggest wigs. Hence today important people are called big wigs.
BITE THE BULLET
This old saying means to grin and bear a painful situation. It comes from the days before anesthetics. A soldier about to undergo an
operation was given a bullet to bite.
BITES THE DUST
This phrase comes from a translation of the epic Ancient Greek poem the Iliad about the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. It was poetic way of describing the death of a warrior.
BLUE-BLOOD
This means aristocratic. For centuries the Arabs occupied Spain but they were gradually forced out during the Middle Ages. The upper class in Spain had paler skin than most of the population as their ancestors had not inter-married with the Arabs. As they had pale skin the 'blue' blood running through their veins was more visible. (Of course all blood is red but it sometimes looks blue when running
through veins). So blue-blooded came to mean upper class.
BORN WITH A SILVER SPOON IN YOUR MOUTH
Once when a child was christened it was traditional for the godparents to give a silver spoon as a gift (if they could afford it!). However a child born in a rich family did not have to wait. He or she had it all from the start. They were 'born with a silver spoon in their mouth'.
CROCODILE TEARS
These are an insincere display of grief or sadness. It comes from the old belief that a crocodile wept (insincerely!) if it killed and ate a man.
CUT AND RUN
In an emergency rather than haul up an anchor the sailors would cut the anchor cable then run with the wind.
THE DEVIL TO PAY
Originally this old saying was 'the devil to pay and no hot pitch'. In a sailing ship a devil was the seam between planks. This had to be made waterproof. Fibers from old ropes were first hammered into the seam and then pitch (a tar-like substance) was poured (or paid) onto it. If you had the devil to pay and no hot pitch you were n trouble.
DON'T LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH
This old saying means don't examine a gift too closely! You can tell a horse’s age by looking at its teeth, which is why people 'looked a horse in the mouth'.
EARMARKED
This comes from the days when livestock had their ears marked so their owner could be easily identified.
FLASH IN THE PAN
Muskets had a priming pan, which was filled with gunpowder. When flint hit steel it ignited the powder in the pan, which in turn ignited the main charge of gunpowder and fired the musket ball. However sometimes the powder in the pan failed to light the main charge. In that case you had a flash in the pan.
FREELANCE
In the Middle Ages freelances were soldiers who fought for anyone who would hire them. They were literally free lances.
FROM THE HORSES'S MOUTH
You can tell a horse’s age by examining its teeth. A horse dealer may lie to you but you can always find out the truth 'from the orse’s mouth'.
GET THE SACK
This comes from the days when workmen carried their tools in sacks. If your employer gave you the sack it was time to collect your tools and go.
GIVE SOMEBODY THE COLD SHOULDER
When an unwanted visitor came you gave them cold shoulder of mutton instead of hot meat as a hint that they were not to call again.
GO TO POT
Any farm animal that had outlived its usefulness such as a hen that no longer laid eggs would literally go to pot. It was cooked and eaten.
HONEYMOON
This is derived from honey month. It was an old tradition that newly weds drank mead (which is made from honey) for a month after the wedding.
HUMBLE PIE
The expression to eat humble pie was once to eat umble pie. The umbles were the intestines or less appetizing parts of an animal and servants and other lower class people ate them. So if a deer
was killed the rich ate venison and those of low status ate umble pie. In time it became corrupted to eat humble pie and came to mean to debase yourself or act with humility.
KICK THE BUCKET
When slaughtering a pig you tied its back legs to a wooden beam (in French buquet). As the animal died it kicked the buquet.
LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG
This old saying is probably derived from the days when people who sold piglets in bags sometimes put a cat in the bag instead. If you let the cat out of the bag you exposed the trick.
LICK INTO SHAPE
In the Middle Ages people thought that bear cubs were born shapeless and their mother literally licked them into shape.
A LONG SHOT
A long shot is an option with only a small chance of success. In the past guns were only accurate at short range. So a 'long shot' (fired over a long distance) only had a small chance of hitting its target.
MAD AS A HATTER
Some people say the phrase comes from the fact that in the 18th and 19th centuries hat makers used mercury nitrate in their work. Exposure to this chemical does indeed send you mad. However according to some people the origin of this phrase is much older. Hatter is a corruption of the Saxon word 'atter', which meant adder or viper. Furthermore 'mad' originally meant poisonous. So if you were mad as an atter you were as 'poisonous' (bad tempered or aggressive) as an atter (adder). It goes to show that often it is impossible to be certain where old sayings come from.
A PIG IN A POKE
This is something bought without checking it first. A poke was a bag. If you bought a pig in a poke it might turn out the 'pig' was actually a puppy or a cat. (See Sold A Pup).
READ THE RIOT ACT
Following a law of 1715 if a rowdy group of 12 or more people gathered, a magistrate would read an official statement ordering them to disperse. Anyone who did not, after one hour, could be arrested and punished.
RED TAPE
This phrase comes from the days when official documents were bound with red tape.
RULE OF THUMB
This comes from the days when brewers estimated the temperature of a brew by dipping their thumb in it.
SCAPEGOAT
In the Old Testament (Leviticus 16: 7-10) two goats were selected. One was sacrificed. The other was spared but the High Priest laid his hands on it and confessed the sins of his people. The goat was then driven into the wilderness. He was a symbolic 'scapegoat' for the people's sins.
TO SEE A MAN ABOUT A DOG
This old saying first appeared in 1866 in a play by Dion Boucicault (1820-1890) called the Flying Scud in which a character makes the excuse that he is going 'to see a man about a dog' to get away.
SHAMBLES
Originally a shamble was a bench. Butchers used to set up benches to sell meat from. In time the street where meat was sold often became known as the Shambles. (This street name survives in many towns today). However because butchers used to throw offal into the street shambles came to mean a mess or something very untidy or disorganized.
SHOW YOUR TRUE COLOURS
Pirate ships would approach their intended victim showing a false flag to lure them into a false sense of security. When it was too late for the victim to escape they would show their true colours-the Jolly Roger!
SPINNING A YARN
Rope was made in ports everywhere. The rope makers chatted while they worked. They told each other stories while they were spinning a yarn.
SPINSTER
A Spinster is an unmarried woman. Originally a spinster was simply a woman who made her living by spinning wool on a spinning wheel. However it was so common for single women to support themselves that way that by the 18th century 'spinster' was a synonym for a middle-aged unmarried woman.
START FROM SCRATCH
This phrase comes from the days when a line was scratched in the ground for a race. The racers would start from the scratch.
STRAIGHT LACED
This phrase was originally STRAIT laces. The old English word strait meant tight or narrow. In Tudor times buttons were mostly for decoration. Laces were used to hold clothes together. If a woman was STRAIT laced she was prim and proper.
SWAN SONG
This comes from an old belief that swans, who are usually silent, burst into beautiful song when they are dying.
SWASHBUCKLER
A buckle was a kind of small shield. When men wanted to impress people they would stride around town with a sword and buckler on their belts. The buckler would 'swash' against their clothes. So they became known as swashbucklers.
TOUCH AND GO
This old saying probably comes from ships sailing in shallow waters where they might touch the seabed then go. If so, they were obviously in a dangerous and uncertain situation.
TURN OVER A NEW LEAF
This means to make a fresh start. It means a leaf of page of a book.
TURNED THE CORNER
Ships that had sailed past the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn were said to have 'turned the corner'.
WEAR YOUR HEART ON YOUR SLEEVE
In the Middle Ages knights who fought at tournaments wore a token of their lady on their sleeves. Today if you make your feelings obvious to everybody you wear your heart on your sleeve.
WIN HANDS DOWN
This old saying comes from horse racing. If a jockey was a long way ahead of his competitors and sure to win the race he could relax and put his hands down at his sides.
WHITE ELEPHANT
In Siam (modern day Thailand) white or pale elephants were very valuable. The king sometimes gave white elephant to a person he disliked. It might seem a wonderful gift but it was actually a punishment because it cost so much to keep!
ACHILLES HEEL
In Greek mythology Thetis dipped her son in the mythical River Styx. Anyone who was immersed in the river became invulnerable. However Thetis held Achilles by his heel. Since her hand covered
this part of his body the water did not touch it and so it remained vulnerable. Achilles was eventually killed when an arrow hit his heel.
BAKERS DOZEN
A bakers dozen means thirteen. This old saying is said to come from the days when bakers were severely punished for baking underweight loaves. Some added a loaf to a batch of a dozen to be
above suspicion.
BEAT ABOUT THE BUSH
When hunting birds some people would beat about the bush to drive them out into the open. Other people would than catch the birds. 'I won't beat about the bush' came to mean 'I will go straight to the point without any delay'.
BIG WIG
In the 18th century when many men wore wigs, the most important men wore the biggest wigs. Hence today important people are called big wigs.
BITE THE BULLET
This old saying means to grin and bear a painful situation. It comes from the days before anesthetics. A soldier about to undergo an
operation was given a bullet to bite.
BITES THE DUST
This phrase comes from a translation of the epic Ancient Greek poem the Iliad about the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. It was poetic way of describing the death of a warrior.
BLUE-BLOOD
This means aristocratic. For centuries the Arabs occupied Spain but they were gradually forced out during the Middle Ages. The upper class in Spain had paler skin than most of the population as their ancestors had not inter-married with the Arabs. As they had pale skin the 'blue' blood running through their veins was more visible. (Of course all blood is red but it sometimes looks blue when running
through veins). So blue-blooded came to mean upper class.
BORN WITH A SILVER SPOON IN YOUR MOUTH
Once when a child was christened it was traditional for the godparents to give a silver spoon as a gift (if they could afford it!). However a child born in a rich family did not have to wait. He or she had it all from the start. They were 'born with a silver spoon in their mouth'.
CROCODILE TEARS
These are an insincere display of grief or sadness. It comes from the old belief that a crocodile wept (insincerely!) if it killed and ate a man.
CUT AND RUN
In an emergency rather than haul up an anchor the sailors would cut the anchor cable then run with the wind.
THE DEVIL TO PAY
Originally this old saying was 'the devil to pay and no hot pitch'. In a sailing ship a devil was the seam between planks. This had to be made waterproof. Fibers from old ropes were first hammered into the seam and then pitch (a tar-like substance) was poured (or paid) onto it. If you had the devil to pay and no hot pitch you were n trouble.
DON'T LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH
This old saying means don't examine a gift too closely! You can tell a horse’s age by looking at its teeth, which is why people 'looked a horse in the mouth'.
EARMARKED
This comes from the days when livestock had their ears marked so their owner could be easily identified.
FLASH IN THE PAN
Muskets had a priming pan, which was filled with gunpowder. When flint hit steel it ignited the powder in the pan, which in turn ignited the main charge of gunpowder and fired the musket ball. However sometimes the powder in the pan failed to light the main charge. In that case you had a flash in the pan.
FREELANCE
In the Middle Ages freelances were soldiers who fought for anyone who would hire them. They were literally free lances.
FROM THE HORSES'S MOUTH
You can tell a horse’s age by examining its teeth. A horse dealer may lie to you but you can always find out the truth 'from the orse’s mouth'.
GET THE SACK
This comes from the days when workmen carried their tools in sacks. If your employer gave you the sack it was time to collect your tools and go.
GIVE SOMEBODY THE COLD SHOULDER
When an unwanted visitor came you gave them cold shoulder of mutton instead of hot meat as a hint that they were not to call again.
GO TO POT
Any farm animal that had outlived its usefulness such as a hen that no longer laid eggs would literally go to pot. It was cooked and eaten.
HONEYMOON
This is derived from honey month. It was an old tradition that newly weds drank mead (which is made from honey) for a month after the wedding.
HUMBLE PIE
The expression to eat humble pie was once to eat umble pie. The umbles were the intestines or less appetizing parts of an animal and servants and other lower class people ate them. So if a deer
was killed the rich ate venison and those of low status ate umble pie. In time it became corrupted to eat humble pie and came to mean to debase yourself or act with humility.
KICK THE BUCKET
When slaughtering a pig you tied its back legs to a wooden beam (in French buquet). As the animal died it kicked the buquet.
LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG
This old saying is probably derived from the days when people who sold piglets in bags sometimes put a cat in the bag instead. If you let the cat out of the bag you exposed the trick.
LICK INTO SHAPE
In the Middle Ages people thought that bear cubs were born shapeless and their mother literally licked them into shape.
A LONG SHOT
A long shot is an option with only a small chance of success. In the past guns were only accurate at short range. So a 'long shot' (fired over a long distance) only had a small chance of hitting its target.
MAD AS A HATTER
Some people say the phrase comes from the fact that in the 18th and 19th centuries hat makers used mercury nitrate in their work. Exposure to this chemical does indeed send you mad. However according to some people the origin of this phrase is much older. Hatter is a corruption of the Saxon word 'atter', which meant adder or viper. Furthermore 'mad' originally meant poisonous. So if you were mad as an atter you were as 'poisonous' (bad tempered or aggressive) as an atter (adder). It goes to show that often it is impossible to be certain where old sayings come from.
A PIG IN A POKE
This is something bought without checking it first. A poke was a bag. If you bought a pig in a poke it might turn out the 'pig' was actually a puppy or a cat. (See Sold A Pup).
READ THE RIOT ACT
Following a law of 1715 if a rowdy group of 12 or more people gathered, a magistrate would read an official statement ordering them to disperse. Anyone who did not, after one hour, could be arrested and punished.
RED TAPE
This phrase comes from the days when official documents were bound with red tape.
RULE OF THUMB
This comes from the days when brewers estimated the temperature of a brew by dipping their thumb in it.
SCAPEGOAT
In the Old Testament (Leviticus 16: 7-10) two goats were selected. One was sacrificed. The other was spared but the High Priest laid his hands on it and confessed the sins of his people. The goat was then driven into the wilderness. He was a symbolic 'scapegoat' for the people's sins.
TO SEE A MAN ABOUT A DOG
This old saying first appeared in 1866 in a play by Dion Boucicault (1820-1890) called the Flying Scud in which a character makes the excuse that he is going 'to see a man about a dog' to get away.
SHAMBLES
Originally a shamble was a bench. Butchers used to set up benches to sell meat from. In time the street where meat was sold often became known as the Shambles. (This street name survives in many towns today). However because butchers used to throw offal into the street shambles came to mean a mess or something very untidy or disorganized.
SHOW YOUR TRUE COLOURS
Pirate ships would approach their intended victim showing a false flag to lure them into a false sense of security. When it was too late for the victim to escape they would show their true colours-the Jolly Roger!
SPINNING A YARN
Rope was made in ports everywhere. The rope makers chatted while they worked. They told each other stories while they were spinning a yarn.
SPINSTER
A Spinster is an unmarried woman. Originally a spinster was simply a woman who made her living by spinning wool on a spinning wheel. However it was so common for single women to support themselves that way that by the 18th century 'spinster' was a synonym for a middle-aged unmarried woman.
START FROM SCRATCH
This phrase comes from the days when a line was scratched in the ground for a race. The racers would start from the scratch.
STRAIGHT LACED
This phrase was originally STRAIT laces. The old English word strait meant tight or narrow. In Tudor times buttons were mostly for decoration. Laces were used to hold clothes together. If a woman was STRAIT laced she was prim and proper.
SWAN SONG
This comes from an old belief that swans, who are usually silent, burst into beautiful song when they are dying.
SWASHBUCKLER
A buckle was a kind of small shield. When men wanted to impress people they would stride around town with a sword and buckler on their belts. The buckler would 'swash' against their clothes. So they became known as swashbucklers.
TOUCH AND GO
This old saying probably comes from ships sailing in shallow waters where they might touch the seabed then go. If so, they were obviously in a dangerous and uncertain situation.
TURN OVER A NEW LEAF
This means to make a fresh start. It means a leaf of page of a book.
TURNED THE CORNER
Ships that had sailed past the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn were said to have 'turned the corner'.
WEAR YOUR HEART ON YOUR SLEEVE
In the Middle Ages knights who fought at tournaments wore a token of their lady on their sleeves. Today if you make your feelings obvious to everybody you wear your heart on your sleeve.
WIN HANDS DOWN
This old saying comes from horse racing. If a jockey was a long way ahead of his competitors and sure to win the race he could relax and put his hands down at his sides.
WHITE ELEPHANT
In Siam (modern day Thailand) white or pale elephants were very valuable. The king sometimes gave white elephant to a person he disliked. It might seem a wonderful gift but it was actually a punishment because it cost so much to keep!