IDIOMS- MEANING & HISTORY

IDIOM MEANING HISTORY

First recorded in the 1891 novel, "in The Light that Failed". It derived from the
To endure something difficult or
To Bite the Bullet. practice of having a patient clench a bullet between their teeth to cope with the
unpleasant.
pain felt during a surgical procedure without anesthetic.
Originates from the 1850's, referring to the carving of ice to create passages for
To end conflict, initiate friendship or ships on trade routes. Oftentimes, the ships would get stuck in the ice during the
To Break the Ice.
create a more relaxing moment. winter. The receiving country would send small ships to "break the ice" in order to
make way for the trade ships.
In ancient India, it was custom to throw butterballs of ghee (clarified butter
To Butter Someone Up. To praise or flatter someone excessively. commonly used in Indian cooking) at the statues of the gods to seek favor and
forgiveness.
There are two possible sources from this phrase. The most commonly known one
comes from medieval times. Liars and blasphemers were punished by having their
Cat Got Your Tongue? When a person is at loss of words. tongues cut out and then fed to the cats. In ancient Egypt, cats were considered
to be gods and it was seen as an offering to the gods to give them the tongue of a
liar.
During the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, the commander of British forces,
Admiral Sie Hyde Parker, signaled to Admiral Horatio Nelson to stop attacking a
fleet of Danish ships using a system of signal flags. Nelson raised his telescope up
To Turn a Blind Eye. To ignore something.
to his blind eye and said, "I really do not see the signal" and continued attacking.
After his success, Sir Hyde Parker was disgraced and Nelson became Commander-
in-Chief of the fleet.
This phrase comes from North America during the 1600's, during peace talks
between the Puritans and the Native American. After a peace agreement was
To Bury the Hatchet. To end conflict, and make peace.
made the chiefs of tribes buried all their hatches, knives, clubs, and tomahawks,
thus making all weapons inaccessible.
Dating back to Scotland in 1432, this term refers to an old English law that sought
To be caught in the act of doing the punishment of any person who butchered an animal that wasn’t his own. In
Caught Red-Handed.
something wrong. order to be convicted, he had to be caught with the animal’s blood still on his
hands.

To Pull Someone's Leg. To trick or fool someone.
A slang term referring to working hard or
To Bust one’s balls.
being punished.
To Let the cat out of the
Divulge a secret.
bag.
Burning ears. When someone is being talked about.
To use someone else’s ideas or
To Steal ones thunder.
inventions to your own advantage.
To Cost and arm and a leg. To be expensive.
To Burn the midnight oil. To work late into the night.
To Get the sack. Be fired from a job.
This phrase stems from a method used by street thieves in 18th and 19th century
London. Often working in pairs, one thief, known as a “tripper up,” was tasked
with tripping up an unsuspecting victim using a cane, rope or piece of wire. The
other thief robs the victim as he lay on the ground. Pulling your leg originally
referred to the way the “tripper up” tried to make someone stumble. Today it
only refers to tripping someone figuratively.
Believe it or not, this expression arose out of the painful method of castrating a
bull’s balls. This common practice involved breaking a calf’s testicles to turn them
from a bull to a steer.
First recorded in the 16th century, this phrase stems from shifty farmers at
markets who committed fraud by substituting a cat for a piglet in a bag. If
someone let the cat out of the bag, the deceit was uncovered.
In Roman times, it was believed that a tingling or burning sensation in the ears
meant that a person was being talked about by others. The ancient belief that the
left-hand side signifies evil and the right for good also applies. Therefore, if a
person’s right ear was burning then he was being praised, but a burning left ear
indicated that he is the subject of evil intent.
The 18th-century playwright, John Dennis, claimed to have invented a device
created the sound of thunder for his theatre production Appius and Virginia in
London,1704. When his method was copied by rivals for the production of
Macbeth, Dennis complained that they had "stolen his thunder".
The cost of having your portrait painted in the 18th century wasn’t based on how
many people in the picture, but by how many limbs were to be painted. The
cheapest option was to have only your head and shoulders painted. The price
increased as the portrait became larger with the inclusion of arms. A top of the
range portrait included the legs.
When people still used oil lamps for lighting, the most desirable and expensive of
oils was whale oil. To "burn the midnight oil" meant that you had a project that
was so important that you burned your expensive oil in your lamp late into the
night in order to complete it.
In the 1500’s, tradesmen carried all their belongings and tools around in a sack
that they would leave in a safe place or in the boss’s office. At the end of their
shift, they were allowed to go in and pick it up. However, if the boss was
displeased with their work, he would literally "give them their sack".