Ever Wonder Where Common Sayings Come From?
I don’t know if you’re like me, but everytime someone says something that doesn’t make any sense but everyone says it anyway, I wonder where it came from. Well, now thanks to the deligent and dedicated efforts of our Blog4Brains investigative staff, we will reveal some of the most common ones. Some of these are really funny. So, here goes…
1. In the old days, bath tubs were filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the fresh clean water, then the women used it, then the children, and then the baby being the last to be bathed in it. By then, the water was so dirty that you could actually lose someone in it.
Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.
2. People used to sleep on beds that were made of bundled up straw. The tighter the bundle, the better the sleep. A loose bundle would cause you to fall through the straw to the floor. So, when it’s time to go to bed, we say…
Sleep tight.
3. In the 1500s when houses had thatched roofs, the roofs were the only place for animals to get warm, so all the dogs, cats and other small rodents lived in the roof. When it rained the straw would become slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall through the roof. So, when it rains really hard we say…
It’s raining cats and dogs.
4. In old England at one point folks starting running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and take the bones to a bone-house and reuse the grave. When they reopened the coffins, one out of every twenty five were found to have scratch marks made by fingernails on the inside cover. They realized that they had been burying some people alive. In order to prevent this, they tied a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin, up through the ground and tied it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night and listen for any bells. So, when someone works all night, we say…
He works the graveyard shift.
Also, someone could be…
saved by the bell.
Or, could be considered a…
dead ringer.
5. In olden times, the floor was dirt. Only the weathly had something other than dirt for a floor. Hence the saying that someone is…
dirt poor.
6. In the past, bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and the guests got the top part. So, the best of society is considered the…
upper crust.
7. When people were privileged enough to obtain pork, they would feel really special. So, when company came over, they would bring out some bacon and hang it to show it off. So, when a man works and comes home, he is said to…
bring home the bacon.
Also, they would cut off a little of the bacon to share with their guests and everyone would sit around the table and…
chew the fat.
8. The .50 calibre machine gun ammunition belts in an aircraft in WWII measured exactly 27 feet. If the pilots fired all their ammo at a target, they would say that it got…
the whole nine yards.
9. Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. This combination would sometimes knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of
holding a wake.
10. 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. So, if you have a sore throat, you have…
a frog in your throat.
I hope you enjoyed these origins of common sayings. I am amazed at reading about their history. Some of these sayings just never die and what’s even funnier is we don’t even know what they mean. Now maybe you will.
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New Scientist
The Onion
Media Matters
Newsvine
Associated Press
I, too, always found this to be an interesting subject. May I share a few?
In 18th century taverns, drinks were sold in pints and quarts, and last call before closing was “Mind your pints and quarts” which became shortened to “Mind your Ps and Qs.”
In Nelson’s Navy, (Britain, late 1700s-early 1800s) there were often prostitutes aboard ship, whom the officers pretended not to know about. During long sea voyages, these women would give birth while laying under the ships’ cannons. The child was then referred to as a “son of a gun.”
During the Age of Sail, new crewmen had to learn all about the rigging, and how to work the sails. When they finally had it all figured out, it was said that they “know the ropes.”
Fun stuff, thanks!
Thanks for the breather from serious articles. I enjoyed these and Vera’s. Some seemed so logical, they had that ring of truth. But others I found too hilarious and questioned their derivative source. But then, wny not?
Vera, I liked the “son of a gun”. That’s a good one.
And, Stan — “the whole nine yards” was one that I always wondered about. But it’s really funny how we use all these crazy sayings every day not knowing where they came from or what they orginally meant.
We’ll try to give you a breather from time to time from all the serious stuff. It’s just that there’s so much serious stuff going on right now.
Thanks for the comments guys.
Does anyone know where “Getting it off my chest” originated? Thanks much.
Any idea where “you cant teach an old dog new tricks” orginated from and why?
Hey Larry and Lisa, I have no clue! I have always wondered where ‘in one fell swoop’ came from. That one has always bothered me.
In the early days of England, when a ship would go out to see, the rich people would have their quarters on the Port side of the ship, having the warm sun and good view. Then on the return trip, they would move their rooms to the Starboard side, to continue this pampered treatment. This is why someone may be called “POSH” if they are rich or fancy. (Port side Out, Starboard side Home).
Any idea where, “Silly little goose” comes from?
That is really interesting about POSH; I would have never guessed that. As far as ‘Silly Little Goose’, I have no clue, but thanks for your additions to our list.
Okay, I finally was told where scape goat came from. Back in the day when ranchers were trying to keep wolves or coyotes away from there cows, they used to utilize these special smaller goats that had a condition that paralyzed their muscles when they got scared. So, when a pack of wolves tried to attack the herd, the smaller goats always were the first to get attacked since they could not run away due to their ‘paralyzing condition’. Hence, they were coined scape goats.