Jane
|
Old sayingsHave you ever wondered where do some of these come from?
To start off - Big Wig
As incredible as it sounds, in olden days men and women took baths only twice a year! (May and October).
Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. The wigs couldn't be washed so to clean them, they could carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term 'big wig.' Today we often use the term 'here comes the Big Wig' because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy
|
SeaCopRimmer
|
HOBSON'S CHOICE?
Hobson owned stables in Cambridge and the university students were frequently hiring horses from Mr Hobson (to go home or visit friends, etc); in order to make sure his horses were not over-worked/ridden, Hobson moved them around the stables - anybody coming in to hire a horse had to take the one nearest the door - hence Hobson's choice!
|
admin
|
Never thought about these before - interesting! 
|
Jane
|
IN THE DOGHOUSE
This expression is a railroad term dating back to the era of steam locomotives. The railroad unions mandated that a head-end (front of the train) brakeman be so positioned. However, there was no room for another person in the engine cab (which housed the engineer and fireman). The railroads then built a small windowed shelter on top of the engine tender (where the coal and water was stored) behind the engine. It was called a doghouse since it was small, cramped, smoky, cold and generally miserable. Thus, the expression 'he's in the doghouse' referred to the brakeman in his uncomfortable moving shack. ''
|
admin
|
Have you got a book on these? 
|
Jane
|
My supply is a secret
but plenty more to still to come
|
Jane
|
BOB’S YOUR UNCLE :
In 1885 Robert (Bob) Cecil, the British Prime Minister caused an outcry when he appointed his far from popular nephew, Arthur Balfour, as Secretary of State for Scotland, giving us a phrase covering something to one's advantage because of special circumstances
|
Jane
|
Haven't put any new ones on for a few days so here are some more
HUMBLE PIE
Servants at 'umble pie' which was made from deer waste while their Master and his guests had the better cuts of meat.
Origin: Humble pie is a derivation of umble pie and refers to the intestines of an animal especially when used for food. The original umbles were the innards of the deer: the liver, heart, entrails and other second-class bits. It was common practice in medieval times to serve a pie made of these parts of the animal to the servants and others that would be sitting at the lower tables in the lord's hall.
To eat humble pie is to accept your position at the lower table.
|
Jane
|
Frog in your throatFROG IN YOUR THROAT
Medieval physicians believed that the secretions of a frog could cure a cough if they were coated on the throat of the patient. The frog was placed in the mouth of the sufferer and remained there until the physician decided that the treatment was complete.
|
admin
|
Thats disgusting!!!
|
SeaCopRimmer
|
BLACK MARIA - The police van used to transport prisoners; named after Maria Lee, a Boston negress, who kept a lodging house, she was so big that when the police required help they would call for "Black Maria" (who soon collared the miscreant and led him/her to the lock-up). The term was definitely in use in Boston in the 1840's!
|
Jane
|
LOAD OF COBBLERS
Something is rubbish or nonsense.
Origin: The origin is in rhyming slang for 'cobbler's awl'. An awl is a pointed tool for making holes in things; it is an essential part of a shoemaker's (cobbler's) kit. The rhyming linked 'cobbler's awls' with 'balls', ie slang for testicles. 'Cobblers' then came to be used in the same way as 'balls'. 'A load of old cobblers' is an extension of the saying. ''
|
Jane
|
USE YOUR LOAF
The phrase comes from the Napoleonic wars when British sharpshooters placed their hat on top of a loaf of bread in order to deceive the opposite numbers on the French side of the front line. By using his loaf, the British soldier could deflect enemy fire.
|
Jane
|
TO TURN A BLIND EYE:
This saying reportedly goes back to the days of Admiral Lord Nelson.
During the Battle of Trafalgar one of Nelsons' advisors pointed out something that the French ships were doing that posed a threat to the British fleet. Nelson, not wishing to have to change his battle plan, put his telescope to his blind eye and claimed that he could see nothing untoward happening. So if we choose to ignore something we ' turn a blind eye ' to it”
|
Jane
|
A bit of hows your father
Harry Tate (1872-1940) was a music hall performer. One of his sketches had him on a couch trying to take advantage of his girlfriend but, whenever the young lady was about to yield to him, her father would appear and Tate would nonchalantly lean back and enquire: "Tell me, how is your father?"
|
Jane
|
GIVING SOMEONE THE COLD SHOULDER
When a guests would over stay their welcome as house guests, the hosts would (instead of feeding them good, warm meals) give their too-long staying guests the worst part of the animal, not warmed, but the COLD SHOULDER
|
Jane
|
YOUR NAME IS MUD
This phrase comes from an 1823 slang dictionary - 'And his name is mud!', used at the conclusion of a silly oration, or of a leader. The phrase appears to be one of the many that, when a news story arises, match the jist of a story and later become associated with it.
Alternative: John Wilkes Booth broke his leg while escaping after shooting Abraham Lincoln. He was given medical help by Dr Samuel Mudd, who didn't then know about the assassination. Mudd was wrongly convicted of being Booth's conspirator. Actually the phrase was in wide circulation before Mudd was defamed (Mudd was born in 1830).''
|
Jane
|
SHAKE A LEG
This phrase originated in the Royal Navy of Nelsons' time. Seaman were often allowed to have their wives and lady friends on board to spend some ' quality time ' with them. Not surprisingly they would find themselves in a hammock doing what comes naturally. ( Don't ask me how they managed it but apparently they did ). Last thing at night the Bosun would go to the crews' sleeping quarters to make sure that all women were off the ship. He would call out ' Shake a leg '. This would be the order for all seamen to hang their legs out off the hammock and shake them. Any leg that looked remotely feminine would be grabbed and the lady concerned would be escorted off the ship. This phrase seems to have a different meaning these days but that is where it is supposed to have come from. (Good job Danny La Rue wasn't in the navy in those days. That could have been very confusing).
|
chuck
|
"Three jumps of the cupboard door"
My father used to say this, when I asked what's for tea?
Any ideas 
|
Jane
|
Not heard that before. My Mum used to say iffit - I soon worked that one out
|
thingy
|
old sayings...Jane
You're amazing with the old sayings. I particularly liked 'a load of old cobblers' facinating.
Using your loaf...now that was a good one too.
You're no slouch either Sea Cop!
Dotty
|
SeaCopRimmer
|
Weathercock - why are they on churches everywhere?
By a Papal enactment made in the middle of the 19th Century, the figure of a cock was set up on every church steeple as the emblem of St Peter. This was an allusion to his denial of our Lord thrice before the cock crew twice. On the second crowing of the cock, the warning of his Master flashed across his memory and the repentent apostle "went out and wept bitterly".
A person who is always changing his/her mind is, figuratively, a weathercock!
|
Jane
|
Oh yes those weathercocks!!
Anyone wishing to know the joke will have to speak to Gladys
|
mother
|
I'm not too sure what is classified as an old saying, but I know a few liitle old rhymes.
e.g.
Columbus sailed the ocean blue,
In fourteen hundred and ninety two
Let me know if you want more
|
Jane
|
That sounds good idea. Why not start a new thread just for rhymes.
|
Jane
|
AN ARM AND A LEG
In George Washington's days, one's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are 'limbs' therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression
|
Jane
|
MAD AS A HATTER
Origin: In olden days, felt and other hats were prepared with the aid of mercurous nitrate, a highly toxic substance which can produce a tremoring disease similar to Parkinson's disease. Such people were assumed to be mad. The most famous Mad Hatter is in Lewis Caroll's 'Alice in Wonderland', but the original is thought to be the 17th century Robert Crab, an eccentric who lived in Chesham, who gave away all his worldly goods to the poor and lived on dock leaves and grass.''
|
Jane
|
STRAIGHT LACED:
Ladies wore corsets that would lace up in the front. A tightly tied lace was worn by a proper and dignified lady as in 'straight laced.'
|
Jane
|
MIND YOUR OWN BEESWAX
Needless to say, personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions.
When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told 'mind your own bee's wax.' Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term 'crack a smile.' Also, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt and therefore the expression 'losing face.'
|
Jane
|
GOSSIP
Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what was considered important to the people. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs and bars who were told to 'go sip some ale' and listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times.
'You go sip here' and 'You go sip there..' The two words 'go sip' were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and thus, we have the term 'gossip.'
|
Guest
|
Well I've got a saying that I picked up from my boss at work 40 years ago....."the rough end of a ragman's trumpet".
Where does it come from and what does it mean please?
Dotty
|
Dotty
|
I forgot to log in...silly me!
Dotty
|
Jane
|
Oh Dotty - you do make me laugh. Sorry but I couldn't put that on a site like this!!! I will have a word when we next meet.
|
Jane
|
SLEEP TIGHT - meaning Sleep Well:
In olden days beds were not fitted with springs as they are today but used ropes that were tied from one side of the bed to the other. If these ropes were allowed to become loose it would cause the mattress to sag and become very uncomfortable for the person trying to sleep. So the ropes had to be kept taut or tight so that the mattress didn’t sag and you would then get a good nights sleep. Hence the phrase “Sleep Tight”.
|
Jane
|
TO HAVE OR TO EAT A SQUARE MEAL:
This too has origins in the Royal Navy of the 18th century. Conditions were often pretty Spartan on British warships of the time and this also included the quality of the food. Attempts were made, however, to make sure that the crews had at least one good meal a day that included meat. These meals were often so large that they had to be served on square trays that were in common use at the time. Hence the phrase “to have a square meal”.
|
Jane
|
PIG IN A POKE/LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG
A ‘poke’ was the name for a small sack. At market a piglet would often be purchased, unseen, tied up in a poke / sack. When the buyer arrived home and opened the ‘poke’, a cat- which had been substituted for the piglet - would jump out. Hence another associated saying “Let the cat out of the bag”. Dead as a door nail:
Nails were once hand made and expensive. When old doors, timbers etc were salvaged the nails were removed for further use. Carpenters when making new doors often drove nails in and bent them over on the other end so that they couldn’t work their way out. When it came time to salvage these bent nails were considered useless or “dead” … hence “dead as a door nail”.
|
Jane
|
TO PAINT THE TOWN RED:
Originates from Ancient Rome. After a battle, Roman soldiers would paint the walls of a captured city with the blood of vanquished.
|
Jane
|
TO GET THE BOOT:
We all know that means to get the sack (which means the bag that workers used to keep their tools in, hence that saying),
The Order of the Boot was really a little bit of sarcasm. If someone was honoured they might be awarded the Order of the Garter. If the opposite was true then it was said that they got the Order of the Boot instead.
|
Jane
|
BACK TO SQUARE ONE:
One version : the Romans used chequer boards for tallies of wages, tithes and fines. The pegs moved forward for wages and backwards for tithes and fines. Thus, Square One represented the minimum wage to be paid.
|
Jane
|
WILLY NILLY
This phrase arose in the early 17th century as a contraction of the much earlier phrase “Will I, nill I” While ‘will’ expresses the desire to do something, ‘nill’ long obsolete, expresses unwillingness
|
SeaCopRimmer
|
NOT WORTH HIS SALT! This originated in the Roman days when soldiers were paid in Salt (being a very expensive commodity at the time); if a soldier didn't pull his weight he was "not worth his salt"
|
Jane
|
UPSET THE APPLE CART
Origin: In the early to late 1800s 'apple cart' was wrestlers' slang for the body and 'down with his apple cart' was to throw a man down.
Alternative: The Romans had a similar expression 'Perii, plaustrum perculi' - 'I am undone, I have upset my cart'.''
|
Jane
|
CLEAN AS A WHISTLE
Origin – the phrase appeared at the beginning of the 19th century, describing the whistling noise made as a sword tears through the air to decapitate a victim cleanly, in a single stroke.
|
Jane
|
HAVE A SCREW LOOSE
Origin: This phrase comes from the cotton industry and dates back as far as the 1780s, when the industrial revolution made mass production of textiles possible for the first time. Huge mills sprang up to take advantage of the new technology (and cheap labour), but it was difficult to keep all the machines running properly. Any machine that broke down or produced defective cloth was said to have 'a screw loose' somewhere
|
Jane
|
MUMBO JUMBO
Nonsense, something that has no meaning.
In July 1734, Francis Moore left England for West Africa as a writer in the service of the Royal African Company which traded in commodities such as gold, beeswax, ivory and slaves. In his Travels Into The Inland Parts of Africa, he tells of Mumbo Jumbo, a spirit invented by men of the villages along the Gambia river to keep womenfolk in order.
|
Jane
|
SENT TO COVENTRY
The origin of the phrase is connected with the English Civil Wat when Coventry was a stronghold of Cromwell's forces, but it is not clear whether being 'sent to Coventry' was a reference to captured Royalist troops being held in the town, or to the distaste of the locals at having Parliamentarian troops billeted among them.
|
Jane
|
READ BETWEEN THE LINES
Meaning: Listen to what is implied, not what is explicitly stated.
Origin: Early in the days of sending secret messages people would write in substances that would only be revealed on plain paper with the use of a re-agent. For instance, lemon juice is normally transparent on paper, but when heated (say over a candle flame) it becomes discolored. Many people will probably remember the 'Secret Agent' pens, which had a writing tip at one end and a revealer at the other.
Obviously a courier delivering a blank piece of paper was a bit of a give-away, so the author of the message would write a seemingly innocuous letter in ink and then write the secret message in the spaces in between. The recipient would then have to treat the letter and read between the lines of the letter to get to the real message
|
Jane
|
TO BEAT/SCARE THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF SOMEONE
In the mid 18th century, daylights was a slang term for eyes. The word may have originated in boxing circles, for the phrase ‘to darken his daylights’ meant to punch a man’s eyes closed during a bout. By the middle of the 19th century, daylights referred not just to the eyes but to any vital organ and was invariably found coupled with a verb of violence such as beat, belt, scare, thrash.
|
Dotty
|
wowUghh, how gruesome....
Dotty 
|
SeaCopRimmer
|
Know your onions! A Dutch bulb grower was very proud of his new strains and, before going to the market, had kept the biggest and best bulbs in the house so that they were safe; he came home one evening to a wonderful stew that his wife had cooked and asked where she's got the onions from (as he knew she hadn't been to the town in the last few weeks)? She told him that she'd found some very large onions in a bag in the corner and had used one for the stew! The one she'd used had been the biggest tulip bulb he'd ever produced and it was of a very special colour - hence know your onions!
However, there is another definition of the saying: Charles Talbut ONIONS was recruited to the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary in 1895. His last great work was the Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (1966) - so he knew his onions 
|
Jane
|
TO PULL THE WOOL OVER SOMEONE’S EYES.
The phrase refers to the time when gentlemen wore wigs, wool being a humorous term for hair. But why would someone want to tip a gentleman’s wig over his eyes? To prevent him from seeing something, presumably a pickpocket perhaps or a prank.
|
Jane
|
A WILD GOOSE CHASE
There was in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, a horseback sport in which a rider would set out on a random course, changing direction at will, while the other participants came behind at measured intervals as possible to follow in his tracks. The sport, said to mimic the flight of wild geese behind the leading bird, was a wild goose chase.
|
Jane
|
TO GET OFF SCOT-FREE
To escape punishment
Scot means ‘payment’. It was the name given to municipal taxes as early as the 13th century. People paid according to their means. The very poor were exempt from payment and went ‘Scot-free’.
|
Jane
|
TO LICK INTO SHAPE
To make presentable
The ancients believed that bears gave birth to nothing more than formless lumps of flesh which they then licked into a cub shape. Pliny the Elder describes this in his Naturalis Historia. (AD77)
|
Jane
|
TO STEAL SOMEONE’S THUNDER
This expression is attributed to playwright and critic John Dennis (1657-1734) who discovered that by rattling a sheet of tin, he could make the sound of thunder for dramatic effect in his play Appius & Virginia. The play was not well received and closed after a short time. The sound effects were more successful and Dennis was infuriated to hear his thunder reproduced in a production of Macbeth, when it is reported he leapt to his feet, crying; “See how the rascals use me! They will not let my play run, and yet they steal my thunder.”
|
Dotty
|
sayingsThese sayings are really good.
Dotty 
|
Jane
|
Glad you like them dotty. Sadly I am running out so if anyone wants the answer to others I will do my best
|
Jane
|
Where does the origin of Scouse or Scouser come from?
It's down to Liverpool's great tradition as a sea port. 'Scouse' is short for 'lobscouse', which was a type of thick meat and vegetable stew often served to sailors in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.
Nobody is quite sure where the word 'lobscouse' came from, but it starts with 'lob' which meant 'to bubble while boiling.'
|
Jane
|
I've found some more. Hope these haven't already been on!
DONKEY'S YEARS
Believed to have originated in the 19th century as a pun on ears and years. Donkeys were known for the size of their ears, so the phrase became popular to describe anything lasting a very long time.
|
Jane
|
FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH
When ice-cream parlours became popular in the US in the forties, the marketing men promoted a different flavour every month to try to woo customers. Eventually it came to mean anything that was fashionable for a short time.
|
Jane
|
BRASS MONKEY WEATHER
The brass racks on which a ship's cannonballs were stored, during the Napoleonic wars, were known as monkeys. In cold weather the balls shrank and fell off!
|
SeaCopRimmer
|
Well, they'd be safe this week wouldn't they
|
Bez
|
Sorry, Jane but I need to correct you on this one. Unfortunately I can't give you the exact quote as my copy of E Cobham Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable is a later addition and has been "brought up to date" with the inclusion of many "recent" phrases. This has meant that some older ones have been omitted. Happens all the time - this is the reason I kept my original Nurses Dictionary from the early 60's as the later addition doesn't have the older terminology.
This was confirmed to me by an old sailor who started his naval career at HMS Ganges in 1926.
The original phrase is "Cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey".
Note that the word is "of" and NOT "off".
The brass monkey was a small brass cannon situated on the poop deck.
The cannonballs were made of iron.
Brass and iron contract at different rates in freezing weather, so that in extreme temperatures it is impossible to load the balls into the cannon because they just won't fit.
|
Jane
|
Okay. I stand corrected. i really should stop copying things from magazines
|
Bez
|
Not your fault at all - I have just been doing some research on the web and have only found references to your version with the comments that it wasn't feasible. I think that the saying is so old, and so debased - it was my ex-husband that the old sailor was correcting for going around talking about "brass monkey weather" and using the word "off" instead of "of".
I will have to aske my sister if she can root out my grandparents copy of the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable" (which contains a photo of E Cobham Brewer himself) so that I can write it down exactly.
That book was invaluable when I was at school.
|
Jane
|
Now that sounds like a good book. Maybe it will contain other useful information
I like reading these kind of things. I also like it when I can prove someone is wrong.
by the way they are taken from the Sunday Express magazine - adapted from The Book of Firsts by Ian Harrison
Shall we write in Bez? You never know where letters get you 
|
Bez
|
There's a thousand websites out there that need to be corrected as well!!!
I told my cousin in Michigan about John Cotterall and what he wrote about the Hootons and that he'd accepted that he was mistaken. The question cousin Tom posed was "Is he going to correct it?"
The answer would be "not unless it runs to a 2nd edition". Just because we had one little local success with the Southport Visiter (I wonder if anyone entered the competition), I doubt anyone on the big newspapers would bother. They wouldn't be guaranteed to even print a letter, but you could try.
When I bought my copy of the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable there were several copies to choose from. You may still find a copy - Broadhursts - top floor if I remember correctly. It would keep you going on the forum for years and years.
|
Dotty
|
I'll say it again...I'll say it again....how interesting!
Keep it up Jane,
Dotty 
|
Jane
|
NOT ON YOUR NELLIE
I looked it up on the internet and got -
NOT ON YOUR NELLIE! (OR NELLY) - " 'Not on your life!' An intensive tag, dating since the late 1930s. Used by, e.g., Frank Norman in his very readable 'Bang to Rights,' 1958. Short for 'not on your Nellie Duff!'; and 'Nellie Duff' rhymes on 'puff,' breath, breath of life, life itself." From "A Dictionary of Catchphrases" by Eric Partridge
|
Jane
|
COCK-A-HOOP
In the 16th century, during times of celebration, it was customary to remove the cock (tap) from a cask of beer and place it on another part of the container - called the hoop. This allowed the contents to flow freely, prompting cries of elation.
|
Jane
|
WELL HEELED
In the American wild west, 'heeled' was a slang term for armed. A gunfighter was said to be 'well heeled' if he had a pair of pistols. Later the term came to be associated with power and money
|
Jane
|
THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL
In biblical times, the impending fall of Babylon was said to have been predicted by the appearance of a disembodied hand which wrote a message on a wall warning the city would fall to the Persians.
|
Jane
|
WHEN THE FAT LADY SINGS
The phrase, meaning when everything is finally over, is thought to have its roots in the deep south of the US, where the original words were - "Church aint's out 'til the fat lady sings".
A sports reporter in Texas borrowed the saying in 1978 to describe the climax of a rodeo event and it captured the public imagination.
I didn't know it was such a new saying
|
Jane
|
KEEP UNDER WRAPS
In the early 20th century the coverings used for the first motor cars to keep them secret until they were officially launched were known as wraps.
|
Jane
|
DOUBLE WHAMMY
In fifties America a whammy was an evil influence. The phrase "putting the whammy on someone" appeared in comic strips but was adopted by the Conservative politician Ian Lang in the 1992 general election, when he risked losing both his Cabinet post and his seat to Labour. He referred to the threat as a 'double whammy'.
|
Jane
|
THE HAIR OF THE DOG
In the 16th century it was thought that the best cure for a bite from a mad dog was a remedy made from the dog's own hair. Eventually it came to stand for a small alcoholic drink taken to cure a hangover.
|
Jane
|
SPICK AND SPAN
The phrase comes from the linking of words, both meaning new, from 2 languages. In Old Norse, ‘spannyr’ meant new, while spick is from the Dutch ‘spik-splinternieuw’, which means literally splinter-new. The original phrase ‘spick-and-span new’ was later shortened
|
Jane
|
MUMS THE WORD
The phrase has nothing to do with the shortened term for mother but, instead, refers to the sound that is made when someone tries to talk when the lips are pursed firmly shut. In Shakespeare’s Henry VI, the speaker commands: “Seal up your lips and give no words but Mum.”
|
Jane
|
SAVED BY THE BELL
Although commonly believed to refer to the bell in a boxing match, a more dubious explanation has its origins in Medieval times when there was a risk of burying people when they were still alive. To prevent this, it is said, a string was tied to the arm of the corpe and attached to a bell above ground.
|
Jane
|
POT LUCK
In the 16th century, it was traditional for every house to have a pot of food on the stove but visitors were never sure what was cooking. Whether they dined on a choice cut of meat or something less appetising was a matter of chance.
|
Jane
|
SPITTING IMAGE
In the 17th century, the bizarre belief existed that an identical twin could actually be spat from the mouth of a living person.
|
Jane
|
HEAD OVER HEELS
The original form of the phrase typically used to describe strong feelings. It comes from an old children’s custom of performing somersaults to show great joy.
|
Jane
|
JUST THE TICKET
One of many explanations for this phrase, meaning exactly what is needed, or just right, claims that it is a corruption of the French, ‘C’est l’etiquette’, referring to the appropriate manners.
|
Jane
|
BREAKING THE ICE
Before a ship could pass through frozen water, the difficult task of cutting a passage through the ice had to be completed. The phrase was borrowed from seafaring language to mean making the first move in a challenging social situation.
|
Jane
|
GET THE SACK
Derives from the French phrase, ‘Donner le sac’ (give the bag) and linked to the practice of workmen carrying their own tools in a bag, which they took away when they were dismissed or finished a job.
|
Dotty
|
Good ones ...I particularly liked the French ones...just the ticket and the sack...I can actually see and hear how they came about.
Dotty
|
Jane
|
BACK TO SQUARE ONE
Until the 1930’s, football pitches were divided into notional squares to help radio listeners understand commentaries. A simpler explanation is that the phrase refers to the first square on a board game, such as snakes and ladders.
|
Jane
|
CURRY FAVOUR
In the 17th century a favel was a horse and curry was part of the grooming process. The term curry favel – later favour – became a byword for cunning or duplicity when it was used in a French novel about a scheming stallion which used flattery to gain an advantage.
|
Jane
|
ON CLOUD NINE
In US meteorological terminology, cloud types are given numbers. Cloud nine refers to cumulonimbus, the largest, most elaborate clouds which reach highest into the atmosphere and have come to be associated with soaring spirits or elation.
|
Jane
|
MAY AS WELL GO THE WHOLE HOG
Butchers in 19th century Virginia sold a whole hog more cheaply than individual cuts, so it was a much better proposition to buy the whole animal.
|
Bez
|
COLD ENOUGH TO FREEZE THE BALLS OF A BRASS MONKEY
This is an update to my reply of last summer.
I was chatting to a retired sub mariner after a funeral on Wednesday and mentioned this saying.
He said that the brass cannon (2 of them) were right at the rear of the ship on the highest deck (so they covered all of the decks) and the cabin boys had the responsibility of firing them because they were only small. To be exact, they were "9 pounders". The big cannon below deck could only be handled by the men.
They are known as Brass Monkeys because the cabin boys were called monkeys - compare this to the "powder monkeys" who were always children and some women as well.
|
|
|
