Limelight Thomas Drummond in 1816 devised a lighting

source for theatres. It was a cylinder of lime heated

by an incandescence flame and placed behind a lens
or in front of a reflector. These "lime lights" were
very bright. Thus the star performer was very
visible as long as he stood in it. Soon, actors were
competing to be in the easily seen limelight. And so
any location where many can see you today is called
being in the limelight.

Robot
Karl Capek, a Czech playwright was a pioneer in
science fiction. He wrote a play during WWI called
"R.U.R., which was a group of mechanized
monsters revolting against their maker. The Czech
term for work or drudgery was robota, and so
Capek shortened his characters to be robots.

Benjamin Franklin published a lot of stories, one of

which he was the central character. Franklin was
Axe to Grind approached by a stranger who stopped to admire
the family grindstone. He asked to be shown how it
worked and offered Ben Franklin an ax to
demonstrate. Once his ax was sharp the stranger
walked off laughing. Today "having an ax to
grind" means that someone has a selfish or mean
motive behind their actions. It also means to have a
grudge or dispute with someone in which that
person seeks some confrontation, justice or
reciprocated action. This can be openly known or a
hidden agenda, also.

Jaywalker
Jay Birds who ventured out of their rural forests
and into the urban areas often got confused. They
often endangered their lives walking anywhere
where they wanted, including into traffic.
Sophisticated city people laughed at their erratic
behavior. So, now anyone who crosses the street in
a reckless or illegal way is called a Jay Walker (and
sometimes fined).
 New England chicken farmers discovered that
No Spring Chicken chickens born in the Spring bought better prices,
rather than old birds that had gone through the
winter etc. Sometimes farmers tried to sell the old
birds as a new spring born chicken. Smart buyers
often complained that a tough fowl was "no spring
chicken" and so the term now is used to represent
birds (and even people) past their plump and
tender years.

Break the Ice

All cities that grew as a result of being on rivers
(for trade) suffered during bitter cold times when
the river froze. Even large ships got stuck, making
them icebound for weeks. Little small sturdy ships
known as "icebreakers" were develop to precede
the ships breaking ice and making a path. This was
important for the ships to get the goods to market.
And so every boatman knew that in order to get
down to business, you first had to break the ice.
Today it represents any sort of start to a project.

This basically means to score a victory without

Hands Down much work.
One version is with horse racing the jockey doesn't
even have to lift his hands to guide his horse if he's
way out in front. Another one is for boxing in
which the opponent is a pushover and so the winner
doesn't even have to raise his hands to protect
himself.

Pass the Buck Anyone who avoids making decisions or accepting

responsibility is said to pass the buck. This all
starts from the old days of card playing in which
piece of buckshot is placed before someone who
has the deal. The dealer has a lot of responsibility
on determining the game's format. If a cautious
player doesn't want to take on this responsibility,
he's allowed to "pass the buck" to the next player
who will be the dealer.
 Rodeo
In 1882 a Pecos, Texas rancher offered $100 prizes
for bronco riding, bulldogging and roping. A
promoter in 1916 suddenly decided to use the
Spanish term for roundup - 'rodeo' to sell tickets to
the competition. As the popularity grew, so has the
prize money and the crowds.

In old boxing days many bruised fighters couldn't

Throw in the Towel
get to their feet when the bell for the new round
began. Their managers new they could do nothing
but give up since they were took weak to continue.
As a signal, one of them would toss in an article
used to soak up blood -- a towel or sponge. Today's
boxing regulations are meant to limit the brutality
of the past. But the saying today meaning when you
are forced to give up of "throwing in the towel"
still remains.

Bikini The first teensy weensy swimsuit known as the

"bikini" went on sale in 1947. But how did it get its
name? The male reaction to this was often
described to be like an atomic bomb. Since a year
prior, 1946, the Marshall Islands were used for the
atomic bomb test. 167 natives were moved to
Rongerik under "Operation Crossroads" by
William H.R. Blandy. Later more commonly
referred to as "Bikini Island Bomb Tests." Since
this skimpy swimsuit created about the same earth
shattering reactions as the bomb, it was explosively
named the Bikini. After a few years, it was no
longer capitalized and became bikini to represent a
fashion style that showed a lot of skin, not
necessarily for swimwear. I.E. A bikini-style top.

Bushed When you are totally exhausted you are often say
you are "bushed." The term came from the Dutch
settlers for the wilderness, but modified by the
English to "bush." Clearing away forests was hard
work and they often proclaimed after carving out a
trail that they were bushed (exhausted). Today the
word means to be exhausted from anything and not
just physical outdoor labor.
 Lock, Stock and
In old days, a rifle (or musket) had 3 major parts:
A lock, a stock of wood and a metal barrel. Each
Barrel part was totally useless without the other one.
They had to all work together or well, you got
nothing. But when they were all in sync, what a
BLAST! Thus, when a person chose to put
everything 100% into an decision, action or
commitment and not just half-heartedly, he is said
to be doing it "lock, stock and barrel."

Alternate origin: lock stock and barrel also referred

to when you bought a farm. Lock meant the house ,
stock was all the animals and barrel was the rain
barrel meaning all the trivial junk, so that it was
absolutely everything at the time of sale that was on
the land that was sold If the previous owner left
something valuable behind it was yours (too bad for
them) as it had all been sold lock stock and barrel.

This saying means to deal with someone

insensitively, whether on purpose or by accident.
Rub The Wrong Way The term goes back to colonial times and wide oak-
board floors. Once a week, servants had to wet-rub
and then dry-rub these floors. Seems simple? Well,
if it wasn't done with the grain, it looked awful
because streaks were made. To the owner, this was
worse than not doing it at all! And a real
embarrassment to any company that came. So a
servant was called clumsy or inept by their
employer. Today the term means anyone (floors or
not) who irritates others by a clumsy word or
action.

Another version: To "Rub [someone] the wrong

way" also refers to animals. Take a cat for
instance: if you rub it along the way its fur grows
(head to tail), it's fine, but if you rub it the wrong
way (from tail to head), it gets extraordinarily
angry and irritated.
(Submitted by Jade Tibbals)
 Blue Jeans Many years ago a heavy cloth was created in Janua
(modernly known as Genoa today) and shortened
to the term "jean." In 1495, King Henry VIII of
England bought 262 bolts it because it didn't wear
out quickly and was very prized. It remained its
natural shade for years and years until one day a
batch was dyed blue and turned over to tailors.
For many years, the pants made from this fabric
was for men only. Only until women wearing pants
became socially acceptable (around WWII?) and
later in the 50's and 60's have jeans become a
fashion garment for women as well as men. They
are no longer worn for their durability, since today
mean blue jeans are promoted for being softer and
even include spandex for stretch blue jeans.

In ancient Greece, voting for membership into

Spill the Beans some of their organizations was done via beans.
White beans were dropped into a container who
favored the candidate and brown or black beans if
you didn't. Apparently the jar was not clear and (I
assume) when you went to vote you kept your
hands folded so no one knew if you dropped a white
or black bean? Only the officials knew the actual
vote results of black vs. white beans. However....on
a few occasions a clumsy voter would knock over
the jar and revealed all the beans! This is how the
phrase got to refer to someone who reveals the
truth or hidden secrets.

Beat Around the This comes from boar hunting in which the
noblemen hired workers to walk through the woods
Bush beating the branches and making noises to get the
animals to run towards the hunters. Boars were
dangerous animals with razor-sharp teeth (you
really did not want to meet one-to-one, esp. with no
weapon). So the unarmed workers workers
avoided the dense undergrowth where the boar
might be and beat around it, rather than going into
it. Thus, this evasive technique was termed
"beating around the bush" and today represents
anyone who avoids approaching anything directly.
 Blackball
Along the lines of voting by dropping beans into a
jar (See above), many exclusive clubs voted on their
new members by dropping white or black balls into
a hat or box. A white means Yes and a black
means No. After all the votes were cast, if a
candidate had so much as one more black ball than
white, well he wasn't accepted and the term "he got
black balled" came into being.

Unlike when a chicken lays and egg and is praised

Lay an Egg for such a wonderful accomplishment, in the
human world that's not the case at all. The term
goes back to the game of Cricket in which "a
duck's egg" if you had no runs, because a ZERO
looked like an EGG. So rather than saying a team
had no score, they would say, "They laid an egg."
Today, any type of failure in any adventure (sports
or not) means to lay an egg.

Red Letter Day

Back in the old days, calendars were only made (or
seen) by monks and made by hand in monasteries
or convents. Scribes often emphasized days of
Saints or other important events by using a reddish
ink made from ocher (a mineral of oxide of iron).
A quick look at the calendar instantly showed all
there red marks from the black, so that
preparation or anticipation of those days could be
acted upon. Today, we consider a "red letter day"
as any important day to us in our lives such as
birthdays, weddings, anniversaries or the beginning
of vacations or ending of school years. Some even
have them mark special emotional times such as
first dates, births of babies, pay raises, etc.

Old Stamping
The prairie chicken was often observed by early settlers
dancing around at dawn with their fancy mating steps,
Ground making noises and strutting as part of their courtship
with the females. They were so intense on this, they
actually wore some areas of the ground bare! Soon,
 settlers could just tell by looking at some bare land that it
was the mating spots for those frisky prairie chickens,
and soon got called their "old stomping grounds." Today
the term is used both for areas when males and females
gather to meet each other, or for any place in which a
group of people just go to have fun and kick up their
heels etc.

On Cloud Nine For some odd reason, the number 9 has always been
considered by mathematicians to have some super power?
Some say it goes back to the Holy Trinity since 3 x 3 = 9.
And later in Victorian times, a person who was all dressed
up was said to be "dressed to the nines." So what does
this have to do with clouds?

It was believed that clouds existed on a successful level of

layers, and the ultimate high layer was 9. So anyone who
is suddenly super happy was said to be soaring in the
clouds and naturally the level of the cloud they were
assumed to be on was the highest...level 9. Today another
way of saying you are very happy and even in some cases,
in love, is to say that you are on cloud 9.

Redneck
To be a redneck isn't because anger makes your neck red
at all. The term comes from the South, but it refers to
anyone who works outdoors, especially in the farm fields,
where after a while all that sun exposure gives you a very
red neck (from bending over a lot in the fields). Since
many wore hats that sheltered their faces, that left them
all with red necks. After years of having sun-burned
necks, skin just got darker, reddish and more crusty. So
the term today, although termed for Southern farmers,
can be another who works outdoors rather than in an
office.

PS: Along this line, there is a term called a "farmer's tan"

which means you have a sun tan from your elbows down,
since being outdoors in a T-shirt covers the rest of your
body. It's a common phrase in California to tease
outsiders (esp. from the Midwest) that they have a
 "farmer's tan" when in California people pride
themselves on having overall tans.

Another version is said that the term originated in the coal

mines of Kentucky and West Virginia at The Battle of Blair
Mountain, which was the largest civil uprising in US history. In
1921 WVa miners clashed with lawmen and hired hands of the
coal companies when they tried to stop the miners from forming a
union. Approximately, 13,000 miners with red bandanas tied
around their necks (to identify them as a separate group from the
others) marched on Logan county. This uprising helped showcase
the conditions faced by the minors and helped shape the way
unions operated. It also turned union tactics into political battles to
get the law on the side of labor. All these miners with red
bandanas on their necks is said to be the origin of "red necks."

Submitted 5/19/12

There is also a different version of the origin of this word

from a Scottish website. Since this is rather long, I'll just put the link
up:
http://www.electricscotland.com/history/world/scottish_hillbillies.htm
(They also explain the phrase Hillbilly and Gringo at this link.)

Henpeck
Biologist W.C. Allee gained fame when he discovered the
pecking order of hens, and the female's habit of using her
beak as a weapon among other females. The hens never
peck the male roosters. And yet the term today is often
referred to represent the verbal attacks females put upon
males. Go figure!

Know Beans This phrase comes from an old riddle often told in
old rural country stores. The question: How many
blue beans does it take to make 7 white beans? Do
you know? If you don't then you are said to "not
know beans." The answer is: 7 blue make 7 white.
Why? When you peel 7 blue you get 7 white. The
term today about "you don't know beans" refers to
anyone who doesn't know anything that should be
common sense or general knowledge.

Double-cross
Illiteracy was common in the old days and so when
a person was asked to sign his name to a document,
he would put an "X" or a cross and it was perfectly
 legal. Now, many times this was done under
pressure and the party making the "X" had no
intention of observing the terms of the contract.
Oral lore stated that if a cross was doubled = one
was written over the other one, then the second one
voided out the first. The contract was then null. So
a double-cross was often referred to someone who
promised in word or writing, but changed their
minds, or never even intended to obey the rules
they agreed to.

All companies that work around the clock have a

Graveyard Shift graveyard shift. It really has nothing to do with
graveyards or burial places. Actually, any thick
liquid was termed "gravy." So if you laughed till
you cried you were called "gravy-eyed." And lack
of sleep lead to bleary eyes, and sailors who had to
stay up on deck all night were often "gravy-eyed"
from weariness. When the term was said in pubs
and other places on land, these people did not quite
get it. Because superstitions were so rampid in
those days, they assumed it had to do with graves,
being dead tired, etc. So the seafaring phrase go
reformed by the landlubbers to mean "graveyard
shift."

Another version: The "Graveyard Shift" is

actually tied to the term "Saved by the Bell." First,
to explain "Saved by the Bell": at one point, being
buried alive was a common occurrence, so some
people who were paranoid about such a fate were
buried in special coffins that had a rope to pull
from the inside that attached to a bell above
ground. At night a guard was set to watch the
graveyard and to listen for any bells to ring, and
thereby dig up the living person
from underground, saving them "by the bell." The
guard that sat watch overnight was said to work
the "Graveyard Shift": the night shift at a
graveyard.
(Submitted by Jade Tibbals)
 In 1748, the fourth Earl of Sandwich was John
Sandwich Montagu who loved to gamble. Anytime he could
get a game in, he would. Since his time was limited,
and he couldn't formally eat, he told his servants to
give him a slice of roast beef between two pieces of
bread, so he could eat at the table (did not need
utensils). He might not be the first to come up with
this, but he was the first to do it in public and
often. As a result, this concoction of meat between
two slices of bread soon became known as 'the
sandwich.'

The term goes back to sailors who brought it to

Pooped land. The stern of a boat is called the poop. During
strong winds and storms, smashed against it
repeatedly. Any ship's stern that showed damage
from all of this was called "pooped" and lucky to
still be floating after days of battering waves. So
when the sailors got ashore, in their descriptive way
they would often say that they felt as tired and
battered and as "pooped" as their ship. People
took hold of this phrase and soon used it to describe
themselves even when on land as being totally
pooped out when they were really tired, fatigued
and exhausted from anything.

Sidekick
The term comes from the days of notorious
pickpocket activities in London. They had their
own language for different pockets that were the
style of the day. For example: Jerve as a vest
pocket. And Kick was a pocket on the side in a pair
of pants. And the Pratt was the back pocket. Of all
the pockets, the most difficult to pick was the
KICK, because it was close to the victim's leg and
was always moving. After a while, smart people
discovered that the safest spot to keep your money
was in his "side kick" or side pocket of his pants.
Today the term now means a faithful partner or pet
that is by ones side, often even helpful and
protective.
 The French painter Paul Gauguin is the source for
this saying. Rumor has it that admirers loved his
painting but had problems pronouncing his name.
So they shortened their admiration to saying that
To go GaGa they were just "Ga Ga." Others claim that's just
nonsense. And that the word comes from the
French origin for "fool" and so the word
represents the sounds a mindless person makes.

Alternate: The word 'gaga' originates from the French

word 'gateux' (with a circumflex accent on the 'a'). 'Se
gater' which means to spoil or go rotten. Soo 'gateux'
or 'gaga' could translate as ' soft in the head' as in
senile.
(Submitted by: Harry Globus)

Hoodlum
There are two versions of where this word began in
American culture. (1) One of the most notorious
criminals of the Barbary Coast was Muldoon, who
had so much muscle he was hard to arrest. The
San Franciso newspaper led a campaign to help
clean up the town. But rather than printing his
name they put it in backwards = Noodlum. A bit
obvious, the reported then changed the N to H =
Hoodlum. So every time this criminal's activities
were written up, it was as Hoodlum. Soon the
name was synonymous with crime and illegal
activities. (2) Another theory is it is a derivative of
the German word 'huddellump' which means
miserable fellow, wretch, and scoundrel."

Sirloin
Once upon a time, some king came upon an inn and
was served beef not quite like he'd ever eaten
before. He was also drinking alot with this meal
and after a while (being a bit drunk) he pulled out
his sword and knighted the meat "Sir Loin." And
so in today's society a good sir loin steak is sold in
the fine restaurants only fit for kings! Or...the word
smiths feel that it really comes from the word
'surlonge' in French which means beef just above
the loin.
 Before the days of the electric or mechanical
doorbells, anyone coming to your house just had to
pound a metal knocker that was nailed to the front
door. Sometimes it took a lot of heavy smacks to
get attention. This meant that the nails holding this
metal plate on the door got a lot of wear, eventually
Dead as a Doornail having the life pounded out of it and it fell out.
Today anything that is totally withered or a failed
project or situation that is hopeless is considered to
be as dead as a doornail.

Alternate origin: Nails were in short supply and high

demand in colonial times. People would go out in the
night and steal the nails from their neighbors doors.
To prevent this from happening, the ends of the nails
inside, were bent and hammered down to prevent
them from being pulled out, from the outside. The
nail was said to be dead and the act was deadening
the nail. It could not be removed and all other uses
were of that nail were eliminated....i.e. the nail was
dead.
(Submitted by David Salls)

Horticulturist learnt years ago that in order to

Nip it in the Bud produce good fruit, a plant had to have a lot of
buds snipped off. This improved garden produce,
but was disastrous to individual buds. It became
proverbial that when a bud was nipped off, it
would definitely no longer produce any fruit.
Today the word is used to refer to a sudden halt in
any plans or project in which no further progress
will result.

Bring Home The The term comes from the prize money a contestant
Bacon would win at many county fairs for catching the
greased pig. Since it was a pig that was the target,
the winner then "brought home the bacon" or the
winnings. Today the term is used to mean bringing
home money that's earned by having done a
difficult task or after a lot of running around.
 Early jugglers altered a Latin phrase used during
Holy Communion. They took the word "hocus"
which means "here is the body..." and just formed
a rhyming word go to with it for their magical
presentations resulting in "hocus-pocus." The
pocus added to it assumedly meant to play close
Hocus-pocus attention to the object.

Alternate origin: In the Middle Ages, most people were

illiterate and certainly didn't understand Latin, the language of
the Catholic mass. During the Eucharist in the mass, the priest
would turn away from the congregation and look at the cross,
making his words hard to hear and/or understand. When he
raised the host (bread), he uttered the words "Hoc est corpus
mei......", or "This is my body....", in Latin. The congregation
didn't understand the meaning of the words, but they did know
that, somehow through some magic, these words turned the bread
into the actual body of Christ, the fantastic magical event of
transubstantiation. So, words that sounded like "hocus pocus" to
the illiterate and uneducated masses would enable a magical and
miraculous event to transpire, and, presumably, these words were
a facilitator or enabler of a magical act or event. (Submitted by
Jon Dill )

Shindig Maggie Valley, North Carolina is the Square Dance

capital of the world. And the term comes from the
fact that many rookies who try to square dance end
up swinging their foot wildly, often digging into the
shins of their partners or other dancers. So
naturally any dancing event that marks on its
participants became known as a shindig.

The general store often had a cracker barrel in

Cracked Up which citizens of the town would gather to play
games, and tell stories. Often listeners did not
crack a smile at all. At other times, a lot of laughter
was created. If a teller of a tall tail evoked a lot of
laughter it was like hitting a bulls eye and so faces
with cracked smiles mean "first class." Today the
term now signifies anything that isn't first class is
well..."not what it is cracked up to be."

Another version: "Cracked Up" also refers to a

Civil War time makeup. At this time the makeup
mostly consisted of beeswax, ladies had to partially
melt the makeup beside the fire before applying it,
 and after application it would harden. If the lady
laughed or smiled it would crack the makeup, and
thereby look like her face was "Cracking Up."
(Submitted by Jade Tibbals)

Over a barrel
Punishment in the old days often meant that a
person often deserved more than just tar and
feathers, and deserved a public whipping. In order
to prevent him from escaping during this whip
lashing, he was tied over-turned barrel (top body
bent to the curve of the barrel while feet remained
on the ground.) Thus there was no way this person
could escape his punishment. Today the term "to
have over a barrel" means that someone is in a
position in which there is just no way for them to
escape their punishment or whatever other
dreadful outcome is coming to them.

Sweetheart
In the old days the pumping action of the heart was
considered to be the seat of a person's personality.
Doctors knew little else about our circulatory
system back then. So figurative words often were
attached to the heart regarding people's
personalities, like hard-hearted, soft-hearted,
heavy-hearted, light-hearted, and cold-hearted.
Since love makes us all giddy, often our hearts beat
faster. So the term "swete hert" meant a fast
beating heart. The term slowly grew into the term
"sweetheart" and is today referred to as someone
who makes your heart throb.

Wrong Side of the We live in a right-handed world, let's face it. In

the ancient world, the left-side of the body or
Bed anything "left" was considered sinister, mysterious,
dangerous or evil. So, innkeepers pushed the left
sides of the bed against the walls so that a guest
HAD to get up on the right side. Today, with queen
and king side beds, most people get up on either
side and don't bother to think about it. But the
term today of "getting up on the wrong side of the
bed" refers to when someone is irritable or clumsy.
Blockbuster
The origin is from WWII and refers to a bomb that
could level an entire block. When the boys came
home, the phrase caught on to represent anything
that made a real impact.

Cheesecake
This is an old-fashion phrase for nudity (or almost
nude) women in photos or film. The phrase comes
from the fact that a woman's skin appears to be the
same creamy color as that of cream cheese.

Double Take It's a phrase from the movie makers in which the
director wants to take another look at the scene in
order to make sure it's like he wants it. The term
caught on in society to mean anything that deserves
to be looked at twice, or looked at more closely.

Flip Side
Its origin goes back to the days of music being put
on records (remember those?). Each record had
one side that had the main recording (hit song) and
then there was always another song on the back,
which often was completely different than the front
song. This song on the back became known as the
"flip side." In society it caught on as every
argument or situation can have something on the
other side totally different from what's being shown
on the front.

We all know it as jealousy. But how? It goes back

Green-eyed Monster to the Shakespearean play, "Othello" in Act III.
Shakespeare used at cat's green eyes to represent
jealousy and referred to it as "the green-eyed
monster" in his play. The phrase just caught on.

The Handwriting on We know it today as a sign of some upcoming

doom. But the origin goes back to the bible when
the Wall Belshazzar, the successor to King Nebuchadnezzar
 got drunk one night and drank from sacred vessels
from the temple of Jerusalem. Afterwards, it is said
that a mysterious hand appeared and wrote 4
strange words on the banquet room wall. Only
Daniel (the prophet) could interpret this writing,
which he said was ominous. So, any warning today
is referred to "the handwriting on the wall."

Pageant
In earlier times, they lacked stages. So, biblical
performances were held outdoors, using wagons
equipped with stages on them. These wagons were
called pageants. Soon, the name of the wagons that
brought the entertainment became the name of the
entertainment itself.

Prima Donna This is an Italian phrase that means "first lady"

and is associated with the lead singer in an opera.
And, like all stars, they got special treatment (and a
lot of applause) which created a woman who was
vain, temperamental, fussy, etc. Soon, the phrase
slipped into social talk to mean any woman who is
egotistical, and wanting special treatment.

To Pull Strings This is used today to mean someone who has

influence to make things happen. The term goes
back to a puppeteer, who everyone knew was the
man behind-the-scenes manipulating things that
made the show happen.

The term goes back to burlesque where the

To be the Top showgirls in the finale formed what appeared to
resemble a bunch of bananas. Of course the star
Banana or Second was usually on center top and was referred to "the
top banana." In many vaudeville comedy acts, the
Banana straight man to the comedian was often referred to
then as the "second banana." So, this banana
ranking comes from the theatre, not the jungle.
Don Juan It refers to a man who is a real woman-chaser. The
name is based on a real Spaniard named Don Juan
Ternoario, who is rumored to have had over 2, 594
mistresses. Then for some reason, the man joined a
monastery! (Probably to hide from all the irritated
boyfriends or husbands?) But, the monks didn't
like him and killed him.

Put Up Your Dukes!

This is a challenge to fight. But, the origin goes
back to Frederick Augustus, the 2nd son of King
George III. Fred had many titles, one of which was
Duke of York. Because Fred loved to duel, fighters
nicknamed their fists, "dukes of York." The phrase
then got shorted to just "dukes."

We all know that when when slip and say

A Freudian Slip something we didn't mean to say, is called a
"Freudian slip." This goes back to Dr. Sigmund
Freud who seemed to find sexual innuendos and
overtones in everything. So, when he would
interview people, he was always going, "Ah!" as if
they were suddenly revealing something their mind
was suppressing. Today, it refers to any slip of the
tongue, not just sexual.

Refers to anyone fooling around, either sexual or

Hanky-Panky some underhanded business deal, etc. The phrase
originates back to magicians who would wave
hankies around to misdirect the attention of the
audience from what was really going on. Just like
magicians would rhyme words like "hocus pocus",
the "panky" got added to just make a rhyme.

To Let Your Hair

Back in Napoleonic days, the nobility of Paris were
highly condemned if they appeared in public
Down without a hairdo that was pretty elaborate. This
mean hours of work and a lot of hairpins. It was
 only when they got home could they take all those
pins out and relax. Of course when the pins came
out, the hair fell down. Thus, letting your hair
down soon became a phrase to represent being
relaxed.

This is not just an old television show from the

The Life of Riley 1950's. Back in the 1880's an Irish comic/singer
named Patrick Rooney created a song about Mr.
Reilly, who imagined what his life would be like if
he hit it rich in California. The song describes his
wonderful life of leisure. Soon, many who heard it
identified with how nice it would be and would
repeat the song, making the phrase represent
having a real easy life.

Ambassador to Portugal, Jean Nicot talked with

Nicotine
sailors a lot. In 1560 he got some seeds from these
sailors that he planted. And, so the first tobacco
plants in France grew. When scientist later
discovered that tobacco had a potent substance,
they named it nicotine after Jean Nicot.

O.K.
When all know it means that everything is fine.
But, the phrase originated with President Martin
Van Buren, when he was running for his second
term as president. He was born in Kinderhook,
NY. And his nickname was "Old Kinderhook." So,
his fans formed a campaign committee called the
"Democratic O.K. (old kinderhood) Club."The
campaign slogan spread from then on.

To Read Someone It's real! Back in 1716, King George I of England

issued a proclamation that if 12 or more people
The Riot Act engaged in a demonstration, his officers were told
to read these people this specific Act and send those
rioters home. Only a few continued once the edict
was read because you could be sent to prison for
life. So, once this Riot Act got read, people calmed
down rather quickly.
 Normal British citizens didn't even own a wig, let
A Bigwig alone wear one. But, all lawyers and members of
court did. So, they stuck out in a crowd. Of course,
the judge was clearly obvious because he wore a
large, powdered wig, and also had a lot of
authority. So, today, anyone who has any kind of
power or authority is called "a big wig."

Chicken Feed
As far as farming goes, chicken feed is the poor
quality wheat or corn given to chickens. Soon, city
folks used the phrase in regards to our lower
denominations of coins. And, the phrase soon
became really popular among riverboat gamblers
to mean a small amount of money, and it stuck.

This is a phrase used to describe visible small

Goose Bumps bumps on our skin because of fear, shivering, etc.
The phrase is based on the fact that geese were
plucked of their feathers every couple of months,
leaving the birds pretty bare. So, when they'd get a
chill from the cold air, their skin would shrink and
create these large pimples.

When you get information straight from the horse's

A gift horse in the mouth, it means you are suppose to be getting

mouth or straight
honest, correct information. The phrase comes
from the old days when determining how old a
from the horse's horse was was done by looking at his teeth. So,
before betting on a horse, people wanting to check
mouth its teeth to see how old this horse was. Therefore,
anyone who worked around the horse (stable
hand?) knew how old the horse was and could let
the others know. Therefore, the information was
acquired, 'straight from the horse's mouth' and not
the owner of the horse.

On the other hand, if someone gave you a horse for

free, it was considered rude to look in its mouth
and check to see how old it was. Therefore, you
were not to "look a gift horse in the mouth."
 Today, this means not to question the quality or
motive a gift you get from someone.

The phrase means to make something presentable;

Lick Into Shape or, to take a problem and make it do-able. The
origin comes from bears. When bear cubs are born,
apparently they have no shape. So the mother and
father lick the newborns into shape with their
tongues. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but this
is the source of the saying.

Raining Cats and

A colorful expression that means it is raining very
hard, with lightning, thunder and probably a lot of
Dogs high winds. There are two ideas of how this phrase
developed. One is simple: A storm sounds a lot like
cats and dogs fighting. The other goes back to
Norse mythology. It is believed that witches caused
storms and rode the winds in the shape of back
cats. And, the God of Storms is described in Norse
Mythology being surrounded by wild dogs and
wolves. So, add the witchy cat-shaped winds and
the wild dogs and you get "it's raining cats and
dogs."

To smell a rat! The saying means to feel that someone or

something is suspicious in nature. The source goes
back to the use of dogs in large mansions and
palaces to warn of rats. Apparently, it's believed
that a dog who suddenly stirred could smell a rat.
(No one considered maybe the dog had a keen sense
of hearing too and could hear the scratching?)
Anyway, whenever a dog suddenly jerked from
lying on the carpet or whatever, people would say
that "he smelled a rat." Soon, society used the
phrase anytime someone got suspicious.

This refers to someone who has absolutely no

Wet Behind The knowledge or skill in some craft or job assignment.
It goes beyond being a beginner. It means to know
Ears zip, nada, nothing! The origin is simple. I refers to
newborn animals, who are wet from the womb
when born. They dry slowly and often behind their
ears stays wet the longest. Newborns are pretty
helpless and know nothing, just like someone who
has to do something that they don't know how to
do.

AWOL "Absent Without Official Leave" is the acronym

for AWOL. This is a military term that filtered into
civilian talk to mean anytime anyone just up and
leaves without telling someone first, whether in
written form or verbally.

Bats in the Belfry

A person who is a bit bewildered, confused, (even
considered nuts or crazy) is said to have "bats in
their belfry." The term goes back to the days when
the tallest building in town was the church due to
its tall bell tower and steeple. Because this wasn't
enclosed, bats loved these towers; and, at night
they'd fly all around swirling as if in confusion.
Whenever someone was confused, the symbolism
too shape of the bats flying all which way around
the belfry.

Bite The Bullet The phrase today means to just accept whatever
situation you are in and push through it the best
you can. I believe the kids today say to just "suck it
up." Well, the phrase originates from the days of
the Civil War in which battlefield doctors had little
pain killers or alcohol. Sometimes, all they could do
was to offer a solder a bullet to bit on while they
did what they had to do (often painful) to deal with
his injuries.
Caught Red-handed The phrase today means simply to be caught doing
something wrong, usually while you are doing it so
there's no doubt you are doing something wrong. In
the old days, it simply meant to be caught with the
red blood of an animal on your hands as a result of
butchering an animal that didn't belong to you.
According to the laws back then, just having
freshly cut meat didn't make you guilty. You had to
be caught with the fresh blood of the animal to be
convicted.

It's as easy as When something requires no skill at all, it is said to

falling off a log be as easy as falling off a log. Well, we all know
how easy it is to fall off a log, right? Apparently,
back in the old logging days, when city folks saw
the loggers walk on the logs while they were in the
water, they thought it was pretty easy, until they
tried it. Then PLUNK! It required no skill at all to
fall off those logs. (The skill was staying on them!)
This is how the phrase came to be.

To be at the end of Today it means that you have used up all possible
resources, solutions, ideas, etc. in order to
your rope surmount a problem you have. It originated from
the tethering of horses to eat (but not allowing them
to run free). So, horse would eat in the area his
rope allowed. When the horse ate all the grass that
was easy, he then was stretching and eating in the
area that was "at the end of his rope."

To GumUp the Someone (or something) that suddenly stops a

Works project from running smoothly is "gumming up the
works." The phrase originates in old lumbering
days when the men had to deal with the Sweet Gum
tree. This is sap gummed up their saws. They hated
that. But, they discovered that the gum was fun to
 chew. So, they'd go collecting it and as a result,
oftentimes returned all sticky from head to foot.
And, it was hard to wash off! So, a person was all
gummed up and stuck (lacking freedom of
movement.)

To Make Things Hmmmm! Hmmm! That's the happy sounds of

cotton mills working! What you didn't want to hear
Hum was silence (when the machines broke down). So, it
took a lot of mechanical skills and management
wisdom to make the cotton mill hum with
productivity. Later, the phrase "to make things
hum" slipped into common language to represent
anytime someone made a project run efficiently.

Pull One's Leg London's street crime included thieves who had an
elaborate scam to mug people. They'd work in
pairs, with one person tripping another person (in
an alley). Once they were on the ground, they'd
strip them of their valuables. In the process of
tripping, many times their pants were pulled also.
Soon, this type of action that caused people to
stumble was called, "pulling one's leg." Today, it
isn't related to stealing. It has to do with tripping
someone up mentally and making them look stupid
or dumb. Thus, the only thing they might lose is
their temper.

To Rack One's Tanners stretched leather out on racks, which later

caught on in as an idea as a form of torture to
Brains stretch a person out and get information from him.
Eventually, this method to get information became
illegal; but, the phrase became known in society as
an expression to trying to find some answer or
solution that was mentally torturous on one's brain
or mind.
To Read Between Writing in code has been around for centuries.
And, many rulers and military leaders did it. In
the Lines fact, Charles I of England's papers were so coded
that they didn't get understood until 1850. People
couldn't understand any coded document soon
figured out that the meaning wasn't in the lines that
were readable, but the message was written in
invisible ink between the lines showing. Soon,
society just adapted the phrase "reading between
the lines" to mean that any document had hidden
information that wasn't obvious when reading what
was seen on the paper and to analyze it better

Sponge-off
someone or to be a
We all know that this means anyone who is very
cheap and doesn't pay for things. The origin goes
Sponge back to when sponges were used in Britain to clean
the slates of chalkboards by scholars. They noticed
how well they soaked up water. This then became
associated with anyone who was a boozer in the
taverns drinking a lot. These boozers usually had
no money and begged for free drinks, money etc.
from others. They soon were called sponges
because they soaked up booze and money from
others and never paid.
Up To Snuff Today the phrase means anything or anyone who
isn't up to some sort of standard of quality. The
origin in a way goes back to that also. Snuff is
tobacco. And, in the old days men carried around
pouches of it, with spoons and graters. Soon,
commercial mixes got into the mainstream and so
the real connoisseurs of smoking prided themselves
on being able to tell the real, pure grade snuff from
the commercial stuff. Someone who couldn't tell the
difference between pure quality tobacco and the
mixture was said to be "not up to snuff."

Ballyhoo Although the word isn't used a lot today, it was a

few years ago. Basically it mean a big fuss over
something in public, usually by political candidates.
But, it could mean a new product on the market as
well. The term comes from Ballyhooly, Ireland
where the residents became well-known for arguing
over everything to the degree as if the world
depended on it. Soon, the British Parliament used
Ballyhooly as a way of criticizing their arguments
saying that they were as bad as Ballyhooly.
Somehow, in America the "ly" got dropped and the
term Ballyhoo became associated with exaggerated
fuss over nothing.

Blue Ribbon
We all know that getting the Blue Ribbon is getting
the top honor. This goes back to when dyes were
expensive. Blue dye was scarce and costly. So, if
one wore blue, they were considered prominent in
society. British Monarchs gave The Order of the
Garter to its knights, which was a bright blue
ribbon. In France, the society of the Holy Ghost
gave blue scarves to honor their knights of the
highest order. So, it just evolved in society that the
top honor was to give a blue ribbon as a reward for
being the best.
Character This is so common, most of us don't even think
about its origin. We all know that a person's
character simply means their ethics and moral
conduct. But the origin goes back to when metal
workers literally had an instrument called a
"character" in which they'd mark things. This was
usually a simple letter. Later on, Medieval courts
would use this character to brand criminals not
given a death sentence. They'd brand them with an
"M" for murder, "A" for arson. As in book, "The
Scarlet Letter" the "A" meant adultery. Today,
branding someone's character is done verbally, and
not literally. Sometimes, it's done erroneously also.

Gung Ho The origin goes back to the Chinese who worked on

the Great Wall. It was noted that their foreman
would yell "Gung Ho" and then they'd all get busy
in unison. This phrase caught on with the Marines
when General E. Carlson in WWII when he began
using it. Soon it became a signal for enthusiastically
working (together or single).

Gyp Joint
This term is associated with any place that will
cheat you in some way (usually money). The phrase
goes back to when Gypsies arrived in England
around the 16th century. When someone was
swindled by one of them, the phrase "I was gypted"
was said. They called them Gypsies because they
thought they came from Egypt (shorted to Gypt-
sie) see? Some were honest, hard-working people.
But, any business that they had was called a gyp
joint. Later on, in some areas, the referenced came
to be a "clip joint" instead because one lost their
money to people who were not Gypsies.

High Muckety-Muck
This is just another way of defining the person on
top, the most important person or the one in
authority. The source isn't exactly that meaning. It
originates from the Native American word "muck-
a-muck"which meant a person who has plenty to
 eat. In a tribe, it was usually the chief (and his
family) who had enough to eat. The settlers sort of
messed up the pronunciation as well as the meaning
in translation apparently.

Lunatic Fringe
It simply means a person who is teetering on the
edge of sanity. The origin is pretty simple. It goes
back to the Roman belief that the moon (Luna)
influenced sanity.

Pipe Dream
Any idea that is really unique or bizarre is called a
"pipe dream" by those who think it is pretty silly.
The term originates from the use of opium by
smoking it through a pipe. It is said that opium
produces a dream-like state of mind, where things
aren't realistic. (Whether these are hallucinations
or not is debatable.) So, smoking opium in a pipe
creates a "pipe dream" sensation.

Scapegoat On the Day of Atonement (Hebrews) the priests

would take a black goat as the representative of all
the sins of the people. During this ceremony he
would lay the sins of the people on the goat's head.
Afterwards, the goat was let go (escape). Later on,
anyone who was made to take the blame for the
actions of someone else was called a "scapegoat"
just like the ceremonial goat did for the sins of the
people.

Spill The Beans

In today's society it means to let a secret or private
information be revealed. This is based on an old
voting system by the Greeks where they had a
voting bag. Members of the group would drop
either a white bean (yes) or a dark bean (no) into a
bag to vote on a new member. When a clumsy
person accidentally dropped the bag, showing all
the beans (votes) it was said that he "spilled the
beans" thus revealing the secret votes to all.
White Elephant
Today it means a gift that you get that you either
don't want, can't use, is ugly, but you can't give it
away and are stuck with it. The origin goes back to
Siam when white elephants were considered sacred.
Royal families usually took care of them. But, if this
family got mad at a commoner, he would give him a
white elephant that he was forced to feed and take
care of (at his own expense) and couldn't get rid of
because it was sacred. Thus, the gift was really
meant as a burden.

To be down to your bottom dollar, means to be

The Bottom Dollar down to your last finances. But, the origin doesn't
mean dollar bills, it means gold coins. The US in its
early days only minted about 8 million silver coins
and 19 million gold coins. So, most wealth wasn't in
money but in raw materials. Therefore, a person's
wealth as a stack of coins wasn't very much and
pretty noticeable. It was obvious when he was down
to his last dollar (silver or gold).

Diddly-Squat
This is another way of saying nothing! It can mean
apathy (no opinions) or low monetary value. The
origin is from the carnival people who created the
word: Diddle-E-Squat to mean low-valued
currency of nickels and dimes. Maybe because the
town folk didn't understand, and the prizes were
rather tacky, they brought the term into society to
mean "worthless" or to have "little value."

To Go Haywire Logically, this phrase has to do with bailing hay.

Back in 1828, Moses P. Bliss patented a machine
that bailed hay. It worked pretty good, but there
were times when the wire used on the machine
would get stuck in the machine, wrap around the
horse's legs, etc. When the men cut it to untangle
the mess, it often snapped, causing injuries. The
situation soon slipped into social talk to represent
anytime anything gets all messed up and can't work
properly (machines, projects, ideas etc.).
Loophole
This is a phrase today that means a way to get out
of some contract. The origin goes back to the
Middle Ages and defending a castle. Up at the top,
designers put in small, oval windows that were
tapered to be wider inside and narrower from the
outside. This made the window difficult to hit (from
over the moat) by the enemies, but a good spot to
defend the castle from w/o much chance of getting
hurt themselves. The window was called the
loophole and later the term came to represent any
opening that gave an advantage to one side in an
argument or contract.

Today it often refers to money and having the

To Make Ends Meet
ability to stretch your income to pay all your bills.
The origin goes back to sailing ships with a lot of
masts. Some were attached by ropes that moved.
Some were hung by ropes that were permanent.
When the lower ropes broke, the captain would tell
the men to pull the ropes together, splice them to
get the ends to meet again, pull and tug on the
canvas, so that the masts would be productive for
sailing again.

On the cuff or Off

As odd as this seems, back in the old days most
people weren't allowed credit. But, when someone
the cuff did borrow, the records were often kept on the
shirt cuff of the lender. When men traveled from
town to town, the livery stableman often let them
put what they owed on credit. There was no formal
contract. But, it was written on the stable owner's
cuff. So, guys who had debt owed to stables in
different towns were said to live "off the cuff."
Today, the phrase just means a casual business deal
w/o formal, legal documentation based on a man's
word or trust only.
To Paint The Town
Isn't it rather obvious that the term goes back to
red light districts in towns, because that was the
Red area where the men found most of their
well...excitement? ;) Today, we refer to it as
having a good time in a place, period. And doesn't
have to mean visiting prostitutes.

A poke is just a heavy, thick bag attached to a stick

Pig in a poke in which pigs were carried to market. Many times,
a defective pig, or not even a pig at all was in the

-----
bag. And, the sellers would offer a great "bargain"
for the poke. Why didn't the buyer take a peek
inside first? Because pigs were hard to catch once
Let the Cat out of they got loose, the sellers often refused to let the
buyers take a peek before paying. So, many times,
The Bag the buyers were cheated and ended up paying for
either a bad pig or not pig at all once they peeked
inside the bag they just bought. Later on, the
phrase soon represented anything purchased that
seemed to be a good deal and was just a waste of
money.

---

Many times cats were put into the poke instead of a

pig. When a buyer insisted on seeing what was
inside the bag and found a cat instead of a pig, he
confirmed that he was being cheated and the truth
was revealed. Today, "to let the cat out of the bag"
means to let secret or hidden information be
revealed to others. It doesn't have to do with
business, it could simply be telling what a
Christmas present is.

Slush Fund
Back in sailing days, a ship's food supply was
stored in a lot of salt pork. After frying or boiling, a
lot of fat (aka slush) was left over. Some of it was
used to grease timbers. But, they had LOTS of this
stuff! So, a lot was just put into storage. When they
got back to port, they sold it. (I'm not sure who
buys this stuff and why?) Anyway, the money from
selling their slush was used to buy extras for the
crew. Soon, the term "slush fund" was used to
 represent money that was taken from a normal
budget and used for extras. More commonly, the
extras meant to pay bribes for corrupt purposes,
etc.

By the skin of your

This is a phrase that means to barely escape a
disaster. But, we don't have skin on our teeth (we
teeth have enamel). The origin is from the bible, the
Book of Job 19:20 where Job says he's escaped by
the skin of his teeth. And, as with a lot of bible
verses, they slip into everyday speech. This was one.

Today it means to get laid-off, probably with

Get the Sack severance pay and even an explanation? But, in the
old days, artisans came with their own tools for the
job (usually in a sack). When an employer wanted
to fire someone, all he did was hand him his sack
and tell him to take his tools and go! No
justification was needed. Since the 17th century, the
phrase has remained as an expression of losing
your job (whether fired or laid-off).

Kick the Bucket

This is an expression meaning death. The phase
originates from slaughter houses. When a cow was
to be killed, a bucket was placed under him, while
he was being positioned on a hoist. Sometimes,
while adjusting the hoist, it made the animals legs
jerk and he'd kick the bucket before he was killed.

Slipshod
If something (or someone) is slipshod, it means it's
poor quality or sloppy. The terms has to do with
15th century hardwood floors and shoes that were
made w/o heels or any fasteners to scratch these
floors. Obviously, they were more comfy than the
normal shoes; and, soon people began to wear them
outside the house, and (Oh Lord!) even to church!!
Such people were considered sloppy in their
appearance when they wore slippers on their feet
(aka slipshod).
Ballpark Estimate
This is just a guess. It goes back to early baseball
days when the game was played in open stadiums
while the sun shined only. The newspapers wanted
to know how many came to the game. But, it was
hard to get an exact count (and the
owners/managers didn't want to tell them,
especially if it was low.) So, they'd just give an
estimate - give or take a few hundred. Soon, any
so-so count is called a "ballpark figure" or
estimate.

Barking Up the Settlers hunted raccoons, possums and squirrels.

Most hunting dogs would chase them up a tree and
Wrong Tree then bark until their masters came and shot the
animals. Sometimes, the animal managed to sneak
across to another tree w/o the dog seeing. So, the
dog would continue to bark up a tree that didn't
have any prey. Soon, the phrase became known in
social circles to mean anyone who is wrong about
something and/or is being mislead.

To Build a Fire
We all know that mules are pretty stubborn.
Sometimes they just firmly set their legs and well...
Under Someone So, farmers decided that building a small fire under
the mule's belly would get him moving. There's no
proof this was really done a lot by muleskinners.
But, the idea and imagery was such that people
started using the phrase to mean "trying to get
someone to move or take some action."

Many rookies of the outdoors from the East went

Hook, Line & Sinker West. And, they were apparently pretty gullible to
stories that were told by fishermen about the big
one that got away with not only the hook, but the
line and the sinker. When the Eastern newbie
believed it, he was joked as having fallen for the
fish tale, "hook, line and sinker." Later on, the
phrase came to mean in every day talk anyone who
is just plain gullible about anything.
On the Skids Ramps and platforms made of heavy logs were
called skids, and were often used for rolling logs
and barrels; but, a lot of other things were rolled
on them also. Once you put something on these
timbers (which were often not perfect in
circumference) and pushed, they'd roll down the
hill, often out of control. The term today simply
means anything that is heading in a downward
direction, often out-of-control as well.

Skid Row We all know that skid row is the part of a city
where the lowlifes live. The term skids are what I
described above by the lumbermen. During the
heyday of lumbering, a lot of the workers lived in
shacks all in a row near the camp. This row was
often compared to the skid of the camp. As
lumbering declined, the homes did also. Soon, "skid
row" represented any group of homes that were in
poor condition and where the lowlifes lived.

Play Hookey
Isaak Walton was a fisherman and author about it.
He'd stress how important it was to get that hook
stuck in the fish's mouth. To do that you needed to
do a sudden jerk! Therefore, to "hook" got
associated with the action of "a jerk." Now, we get
to schools. When the teacher's back was turned, a
kid would bolt off! If he got away with it, he'd hide
and not show up for role call. Soon, this
represented a "jerk of defiance" similar to like a
jerk to hook on a fishing pole. So, it was called
"hookey" rather than simply being defiant to
mean skipping school.

Talk Turkey
It means to talk clearly, upfront, and directly. The
rumor is that it started with the settlers and the
Indians over a discussion about who gets what after
a hunting expedition. Another is just based on old
hunters calling turkey sounds so skillfully that the
birds came very clear of firing distance (upfront,
direct?) of them.
Through the Information that is received as unconfirmed and
Grapevine more like gossip is said to had come through the
grapevine. The phrase simply goes back to all the
wires that were strung between poles for Morse
Code messages. During the Civil War many
messages were received either erroneously (due to
transmission) or on purpose to spread false gossip
and thus unreliable no matter how you looked at it.

Long ago, there was a device on cars that was a

The Fifth Wheel horizontal wheel attached to the front axle. This
wheel wasn't really used much, except maybe as
support for a sharp turn? But for the most part, it
was useless. Being a fifth wheel soon came to
represent anyone who was without a partner in a
group that was paired-off. Just like the car had 4
wheels (2 pairs) and the 5th was just along for the
ride, so-to-speak!

Lowbrows and
It has nothing to do with plucking your brows! The
phrase has to do with phrenologists in the early
Highbrows 19th century who claimed they could tell how
intelligent someone was by reading the lumps on
their head, primarily the brow bones.
They claimed that the higher the brow bone, the
smarter a person was. The lower the brow, the
more of an idiot you were. Although phrenology
isn't widely accepted as valid, the terms have come
to mean that alowbrow meant you were more ape-
like, unrefined and stupid. And, a highbrow meant a
refined, intelligent person.

Poppycock
This is just a name for barnyard excrements from
chickens. The phrase first appeared in stories
written by Charles F. Brown (aka Artemis Ward)
in the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1858. He used the
phrase to described the political talk he was
 hearing from candidates. It seemed to then catch on
as a way of expressing any talk that was worthless
and stupid, whether political or not.

Putting on the Dog

After the Civil War, lap dogs were a social status
among the wealthy. Even today, look at how Paris
Hilton goes around with Tinkerbell all dressed up?
Back then, French Poodles were the symbol of
wealth. So, anyone who was being flashy was
jokingly said to be "putting on the dog."

A Stuffed Shirt Anyone who is rather immobile (rather in actions

or in ideas) is said to be a stuffed shirt. The phrase
comes from scarecrows in which shirts and pants
were stuffed with hay, supported by a stiff pole to
create a figure to scare away pesky crows. It didn't
really move, it just stood there.

The Black List To be blacklisted means that you are banned or not
allowed entrance. The list of people who are
banned is called "the black list." The name goes
back to British colleges where the deans had black
leather bound books with the names of boys who
had disciplinary issues and misdeeds.

Bribe
A piece of bread broken from a loaf was called a
'bribe.' (Today we call it a slice or a piece.)
Itinerant holy men were often given a bribe. In
return they promised to pray for the person. Soon,
people gave bribes to the holy men more for the
prayer factor and not just to be generous. Later on,
the word became connected to anything (money,
property, etc.) given in exchange for a favor by
someone.
Easy Street The phrase appeared in a 1902 novel called, "It's
Up to You" where a prosperous character in the
book was said to easily walk up and down Easy
Street. Today, it simply means anyone who lives
comfortably, no matter what their address may be.

Face The Music When you've got some unpleasant situation, you
simply just grin and bear it and deal with it. This is
what a soldier who was being discharged
dishonorably had to do. He was given his walking
papers, then forced to walk through the ranks of
his fellow comrades while instruments played some
march for ousted soldiers. The ritual wasn't fun,
but the soldier had to deal with it directly. Thus, he
had to face the music (instruments playing) and his
fellow soldiers. This didn't mean he was guilty.
Just like today, someone might have to face a bad
situation that he had no cause in.

Left-handed If a nobleman married beneath himself, custom

Compliment said that the man would give the bride his left
hand, rather than his right. This type of "left-
handed wedding" was not really worth much
because the man's wife or children could never gain
his property. So, the marriage wasn't really valid,
but just for social appearances. By the 16th
century, these were no longer performed. But,
society still referred to anything that on the surface
appeared to be something that it wasn't as "left-
handed." Today, sometimes a compliment is really
meant as an insult (or a snide remark) and is
referred to as a left-handed compliment because it's
not really sincere.
 The playwright, Moliere, created a stupid
character named Moron. When the American
Association for the Study of the Feeble Minded
assembled in 1910, they said that they didn't even
have a name for the type of people they worked
Moron
with. So, someone suggested Moron after the
character in the play. It stuck. Someone who
thinks that another person is not too bright will call
them a moron.

Alternate origin from Lisa Slitas:

MORON really does mean an idiot, in ancient Greek!
It comes from the word which means someone
whole can't
understand that much, and in contemporary Greek is
the word
which means baby. So basically a moron is someone
that has the mind of a baby.

Nag
Anyone who constantly annoys someone is called a
nag. The origin has nothing to do with horses. The
source comes from the fact that rats gnawed away
at things and you could hear them constantly and
couldn't stop it. The Germans took the
Scandinavian word for gnawing and turned it into
nag. Soon, the word turned into mean something
that was constantly irritating. As far as a person, it
means someone who just gnaws at someone
verbally.

Nothing to be
The upper class years ago had a craze for sneezing.
All the elite would carry snuff boxes with herbs,
Sneezed At which made them sneeze when they put a pinch
into their noses. It was said that a good sneeze was
a way to clear one's mind. Soon, a sneeze was a way
of expressing boredom. They'd hear something and
if they weren't impressed, they'd sneeze afterwards.
Therefore, if something wasn't sneezed at, it meant
that it was important or interesting. Today it
simply means it is worth taking notice of.
Shoot the Bull
It has nothing to do with killing of bulls. The
meaning has to do with talking. When a group (of
men mostly) get together and they just make a lot
of loud noise and talk senselessly it's called "a bull
session." To participate in such a discussion means
"to shoot the bull." The origin is simply based on
how bulls act when they are in a pen. They just
have a tendency to snort and made loud noises at
each other, but none of it is threatening or means
anything.

Basically it means to be drunk. The origin comes

from sailors. Ships sailed best when all 4 sets of
sails and all 4 masts were working. Sometimes, the
Three Sheets to the 4th set didn't work or didn't get set up in time.
When a ship was using 3 sets of sails and masts, the
wind ship was in trouble if a gale hit them. A tossing and
turning ship was similar to a drunk. So, someone
who was drunk and walking rather wobbly soon
was called "3 sheets (sails) to the wind."

Alternate origin: On a boat, a "sheet" is a rope used

to adjust the sails. An old square-rigged boat used
one sheet to control each of the 4 corners of every
sail. If a sail had 3 sheets (ropes) untied, it would
merely flap around wildly in the wind and be
useless.
(Submitted by: Paul Heitkemper)

When something is said to "go to pot" it means it is

Go to Pot declining or going downhill, maybe even rotting.
The phrase originated with roasts back in 15th
century England. Squires ate much more than was
on the roasts (beef, pork, lamb) and the leftovers
(lesser good cuts of meat) were put in a pot for
stew.

Gravy Train This is not about drippy juice running all over. The
phrase means anyone who has an easy task or job
that pays a lot but doesn't really work for it as
"being on the gravy train" or "riding the gravy
 train." The phrase originates with (1) the fact that
gravy is an automatic by-product when you cook a
roast. The juices to make gravy are just there when
the roast is done. (2) Train travel was very popular,
esp. during the 1920's. Guys who worked on the
railroad used the phrase "gravy train" to mean any
job they did that paid well, but wasn't hard. The
term then slipped into society.

To Live High on The The origin is pretty simple. It comes from the fact
that the best part of meat on a hog is cut high on
Hog or To Eat High the thigh. The lesser quality meat comes from the
lower thigh (has lots of fat). So, the meaning of the
on The Hog phrase is basically when you are eating (or living)
the very best that is available to you; and, are not
having second best or lower quality.

Fork Over or Fork It "Fork over the dough!" is often heard on old 1940's
gangster movies. The term originates from England
Over where peasants had to pay their landlords
(Noblemen) rent in silver. When they didn't have
any silver, then they had to pay their rent from
their crops. Shrewd rent collectors would decrease
the market value of the crops to get more. In the
meantime, the peasant was paying his rent via his
pitchfork as he shoveled his crop into a wagon and
grumbled. Rather than a pitchfork, today we just
use our hands and "hand over" whatever is asked.

Gibberish
Sounds or words that can't be understood are said
to be gibberish. Back in England, people any
foreigner with dark hair and olive skin was
assumed to be from Egypt and were nicknamed,
"Gypts." Later the word became "Gypsies." Their
talk wasn't very understandable to the British so
they would say they were talking "gibberish" (the
"g" is pronounced like a "j"). Other phrases used
to describe their talk was "gibber" and then
"jabber."
To Go Off Half- The origin has nothing to do with roosters with
their heads cut off. It has to do with guns. Muskets
Cocked were rather clumsy to load and took time. And,
they wouldn't fire until they were cocked. To save
time (but to still be safe) hunters would load their
muskets but keep them only half-cocked until
ready. However, they'd be some real hyper guys
who forgot about their guns and just fired when
they saw their game! Of course the gun wouldn't
fire when it was only half-cocked. The phrase then
slipped into society to mean anyone who was trying
to do something without first checking that
everything was in order for the project.

To Keep A Stiff The phrase means to show no emotion in times of

great emotional distress, or to have a lot of self-
Upper Lip control. The origin is pretty simple. It has to do
with British soldiers and their mustaches. Even
when trimmed and waxed, moustaches sort of
moved when standing at attention. This was
considered undisciplined! So, a soldier was ordered
to control his mustache's movements and keep a
stiff upper lip!

On the House
"The drinks are on the house!" We all have heard
this in a bar. The origin actually comes from
British pubs, where the owner would invite their
customers to taste their stock (pubs made their own
beer back then.) Their hope was to give them a
desire to have more and create sales. Today,
anything that is given free (whether by a business
or a person) is said to be "on the house."

To pressure someone in order to get something out

To Put The Screws of them (information, money, etc.) is what it means.
The term originates back to a method of torture
To called thumbscrews where jailers would slowly
tighten the screws and create a lot of pain until the
prisoner confessed or gave him the information
they wanted. Examples of thumbscrew torture are
seen in some museums today. But, they are no
 longer used.

Edward I of England forced all noblemen to sign

Rigmarole their allegiance to him. This list of those that did
was called a "ragman's roll." Once the list was
done, couriers were sent all over to publicly read
this list. Well, doing this over and over was a bit
tiring. So, at times the speech probably got muffled
and hard to understand by those listening. So, the
incoherency of hearing this list was called "the
ragman's roll" which slurred turned into
"rigmarole." And, the word eventually got used in
society to mean a slurring of a lot of words that
couldn't be understood, whether a list or just
speech.

Skeleton in The
Back in the 1800's, doctors had a real problem
getting dead bodies in order to study them. So, a
Closet doctor probably only got to get one in his entire life.
Because of that, he treasured it. But, society
frowned on just hanging these things around. So,
the doctor usually kept it in his closet. However,
many of his patients probably just assumed he had
one hidden away. So, the phrase soon came to be
used for anything (rather shocking) that was
hidden away from general public knowledge.

Stigmatize A stigma was a branding iron in Britain. For

criminals that weren't given the death penalty, they
were branded with their crime on their foreheads.
For example: "A" meant adultery "T" was for
thief. So, to put this label on a person with a stigma
was to stigmatize them. Later on, society used the
word when it verbally would label someone,
causing disgrace to that person, whether it was
accurate or not.

This is not about pigeons in the park sitting on

Stool Pigeon stools. The origin goes back to when pigeons were
eaten as a good meat source. In order to get one,
 many hunters took a tame pigeon, tied it to a stool
in order to attract the wild pigeons to shoot at.
Because the pigeon that was tied to the stool was
used to trap the other birds, the name "stool
pigeon" soon was used to represent anyone to tells
(betrays) on his friends.

Hogwash
Two origins: First, male pigs are called swines.
When they are castrated they are called hogs. The
castration process required that the hogs be washed
afterwards. The water was tossed out as worthless.
Or....it's just the name of the swill fed to swines
which really has no nutritional value at all. Today,
if something is said to be hogwash, it just means
talk that is stupid, invalid or illogical. In other
words, it has about as much value as the nutrition
in hogwash.

Posh It means elegant in today's chat. But, the origin is

really a sailing acronym. Port. Out. Starboard.
Home. Portside rooms were most liked. Starboard
quarters were the most expensive (not facing the
sun and less hot when heading home.) The
1952 New Yorker magazine first used the acronym
to describe such a room.

Pull Up Stakes
When you leave a place where you've been and go
to a new spot, you are said to "pull up stakes." The
origin goes back to homesteaders, were stakes were
put in the ground to mark survey lines. But, sneaky
settlers would go out at night and move the stakes
of other people to their benefit.

Tell It To The
When someone tries to tell you a far out tale that
you are not going to fall for, you usually tell them
Marines! to "Go tell it to the Marines." Why? The origin
goes back to 1800's when British sailors
(professionals) thought the marines were
greenhorns. Apparently, the British sailors were
told some outlandish tale, they'd tell the person to
 go tell it to the marines, who were gullible. So, it
has nothing to do with the U.S. Marine Corp. It has
to do with sailing and mariners.

A whistle (wood) has to be clean to make a good,

Clean As A Whistle
pure sound. Any little particles in it, will cause it to
sound funny. A brand new whistle is the cleanest
and best! So, when someone is said to be clean as a
whistle, it simple means he's got no imperfections
or is not guilty.

Fishy Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister of England

wrote in his novel, Coningsby in which he has the
phrase "the most fishy thing I ever saw." to
describe a suspicious political deal. He observed
that both fish and politicians could be slippery.
Today, if something is said to be fishy, it means
there is something suspicious about it.

Fit As A Fiddle
When one is in good health, they are said to be fit
as a fiddle. The origin is simple. We all know that
when a fiddle's strings are not taunt enough or if
the fiddle is warped, you don't get a good sound.
Only a fiddle that was in top shape was good
enough to be heard by an audience.

Flak It just means to be criticized or to be blamed. The

term originates from WWI and a German gun
called aFliegerabwehrkanone. The gun just shot
bullets to high-altitudes at our aircraft like crazy!
The pilots shortened the name of this annoying gun
to "flak." And, therefore to be the target of flying
bullets meant to be "taking some flak." Later on,
society changed the bullets to verbal criticism,
when someone had to take flak.

Narrow-minded
The phrase was created by Ben Johnson in his
book, The Staple of the News in 1625. In it he
 describes a prejudiced person whose thoughts were
dwelling all in lane. He then used the phrase
"narrow-minded."
Soon, the sophisticated people took on this phrase
to mean anyone who seemed to have a limited view
on something.

Pull In Your Horns

The phrase means to back off, but it has nothing to
do with bulls. The origin has to do with the fact
that snails will pull in their horns and hide inside
their shells when they want no activity.

Sleazy
Years ago, there was a linen cloth that didn't hold
up well sold in the German Silesian area and
purchased by London merchants and sold for a
very low price to buyers. Soon, they realized that
this cloth didn't really hold up and they called it
"Sleasie." The name soon became synonymous with
anything that was of low-quality, didn't hold up,
was grungy-looking or inferior.

When you are called on the carpet it means that

Called on The you are being scolded. The origin goes back to
earlier times when carpeting was extremely rare.
Carpet Many companies had only one office that was
carpeted and that was usually the boss's office! A
worker who the boss wanted to talk to (usually bad
news) was called into his carpeted office. Thus, the
phrase grew to mean anytime someone in authority
wants to scold you, whether a boss, or someone else.

Gimmick
Anything that is used to hook someone into a
transaction (whether honest or not) is called a
gimmick. The word originates from the carnival
where conmen or grifters would compete for
attention with the public. The little prize that you
won was called a gimcrack. A little hidden control
that would stop a wheel when the carnie wanted
was called a gimmick. So, eventually the gimmick
controlled what gimcrack someone got.
Panic Button
This is a real button! B-24 and B-17 bomber planes
had panic buttons! When the pilot hit it, a bell
sounded that could be heard throughout the plane.
This told the crew to stop what they were doing and
get ready to jump out of the plane because it was
damaged to much to fly anymore. When the phrase
got moved into civilian life, it was meant as a
warning (written or oral) for fast action, whether a
situation might be dangerous, illegal or
embarrassing.

Wisdom Teeth Why are our third molars called wisdom teeth? In
ancient Greece they believed that no child would
become a man until he got his 3rd molars. Because
this rule was made by adults, they were considered
smarter than kids. And, since molars became a
signifier for a rite of passage into adulthood, this
meant wisdom came along with the teeth.

Primarily this is used today to mean a really

Hell on Wheels reckless driver. But the origin goes back to the days
of the wild West and has nothing to do with cars.
When the transcontinental railroad got started,
there was a lot of open land between towns.
Opportunists after the money of those laboring on
working on the railroad in these open spaces,
simply rented flatcars and turned them into mobile
brothels and gambling casinos. Religious zealots
considered such activities the work of the devil and
anyone who participated doomed for hell. So, these
flatcars with prostitutes, gambling, drinking etc.
were called hell on wheels. Other meanings today
can be as a compliment that someone is very
energetic, a real go-getter, or just very fast-moving.

Anyone who knows what they're doing is said to

Know The Ropes know the ropes. The origin goes back to sailing
where sailing ships with all those sails and masts
 also had a lot of ropes, which were confusing to a
new hire. It took a while to learn how to handle the
ship, its sails and thus its ropes. So, old sailors
taught the new ones.

True Blue
Dyes for cloth came from berries, flowers and bark
mostly. The color blue was particularly rare and if
it could be done, it often faded. In Coventry,
England they discovered a formula that made a
blue dye color that didn't fade after several
washings. This color soon was called "true blue."
For years, this true blue was the best color dye
there was of all the dyes. Later on, the phrase came
to represent honesty, reliability, faithfulness
whether from a person or pet.

Bitter End This is the end of the anchor line that is suppose to
be tied the ship. If you forgot to tie it down, your
entire anchor would be lost overboard. Thus, you
would have "met the bitter end.
(Submitted by: Paul Heitkemper)

On a ship, they'd stack their cannon balls in a

Cold Enough to
pyramid shape. The base where they'd stack them
was made of brass. This base was called a
Freeze The Balls Off "monkey." When it got cold, the brass base
contract, causing the stacked balls to fall off their
A Brass Monkey base.
(Submitted by: Paul Heitkemper)
To Show Your True Warships often carried flags from many countries
in order to elude or fool their enemies. The rules of
Colors warfare stated that ships were to hoist their true
national ensigns before firing. So, someone who
"shows his true colors" is acting like a warship that
hailed another ship by falsely flying one flag; but,
then as soon as they got within firing range, hoisted
their real flag!
(Submitted by: Paul Heitkemper)

To Get The Lead It means to work or move faster. When car racing
became popular Bondo hadn't been invented yet.
Out When cars needed body work, lead was used to patch
and repair holes in the body. Lead was very heavy and
added weight to the car, thus making it drive slower in
races. It was said that if you could get all the lead out
of your car it would go faster.
(Submitted by: Amanda Hurst)

This term comes from WWII era where a fighter pilots

To Go The Whole 9
chain of ammo was 27 feet long = 9 yards. So, when
the pilot unloaded all of his ammo on the target, he
Yards said " I gave it the whole 9 yards" meaning..." I gave it
all I had"
(Submitted by: Joe Horrigan)

There is also another version to the origin of this

phrase based on making a Scottish kilt, which
basically takes 9 yards if it's a quality kilt. The link for
the entire story is here: http://www.kilts-n-
stuff.com/Celtic_History/great_kilt.html

For more word fun, visit our other pages:

 This is part of our Minnesota Section.
Enjoy some very strange words from our past; It's not really English.
or, ones very seldom used today. But then again....

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