Origin of some sayings we take for granted

It has been while since I posted …….. lots going on in my life and worthy of a separate post down the line.

But this post is about common usage of some expressions and sayings we take for granted without knowing their origin. It came up when I was curious about the very American expression: “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings” …. an expression commonly used today in the context of sports.

It essentially means that until the game is over don’t take anything for granted. I wondered about the origin of the expression and there are several views though the most accepted one is a reference to Brunhilde in one of Wagner’s operas. More specifically, the Fat Lady, Brunhilde, sings the final aria in Gotterdemerung, Brunhilde is usually seen as a Viking warrior with winged helmet and spear She is large…..or fat …….. and when she stops singing the opera is over.

Anyway, this made me curious about some other relatively common expressions and how they may have originated and here is what I found from multiple sources:

BITE THE BULLET

This old saying means to grin and bear a painful situation. It comes from the days before anaesthetics. A soldier about to undergo an operation was given a bullet to bite

WHIPPING BOY

Prince Edward, later Edward VI, had a boy who was whipped in his place every time he was naughty.

EARMARKED

This comes from the days when livestock had their ears marked so their owner could be easily identified.

LONG IN THE TOOTH

When a horse grows old its gums recede and if you examine its mouth it looks ‘long in the tooth’.

GO TO POT

Any farm animal that had outlived its usefulness such as a hen that no longer laid eggs would literally go to pot. It was cooked and eaten.

WARTS AND ALL

When Oliver Cromwell 1599-1658 had his portrait painted he ordered the artist not to flatter him. He insisted on being painted ‘warts and all’.

HAT TRICK

This comes from cricket. Once a bowler who took three wickets in successive deliveries was given a new hat by his club.

STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT

This phrase comes from the days when blacksmiths lifted iron objects from the furnace and hammered it. They could only hammer the object into shape while the iron was hot, before it cooled down.

LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG

This old saying is probably derived from the days when people who sold piglets in bags sometimes put a cat in the bag instead. If you let the cat out of the bag you exposed the trick.

FROM THE HORSES’S MOUTH

You can tell a horse’s age by examining its teeth. A horse dealer may lie to you but you can always find out the truth ‘from the horse’s mouth’.

RUB SALT INTO A WOUND

This is derived from the days when salt was rubbed into wounds as an antiseptic.

BAKERS DOZEN

A bakers dozen means thirteen. This old saying is said to come from the days when bakers were severely punished for baking underweight loaves. Some added a loaf to a batch of a dozen to be above suspicion.

GET THE SACK

This comes from the days when workmen carried their tools in sacks. If your employer gave you the sack it was time to collect your tools and go.

NICKNAME

This is a corruption of eke name. The old word eke meant alternative.

HUMBLE PIE

The expression to eat humble pie was once to eat umble pie. The umbles were the intestines or less appetising parts of an animal and servants and other lower class people ate them. So if a deer was killed the rich ate venison and those of low status ate umble pie. In time it became corrupted to eat humble pie and came to mean to debase yourself or act with humility.

NO REST FOR THE WICKED

This phrase comes from the Bible. In Isaiah 57:21 the prophet says: ‘there is no peace saith my God to the wicked’.

SPINSTER

A Spinster is an unmarried woman. Originally a spinster was simply a woman who made her living by spinning wool on a spinning wheel. However it was so common for single women to support themselves that way that by the 18th century ‘spinster’ was a synonym for a middle-aged unmarried woman.

WIN HANDS DOWN

This old saying comes from horse racing. If a jockey was a long way ahead of his competitors and sure to win the race he could relax and put his hands down at his sides.

BAKERS DOZEN

A bakers dozen means thirteen. This old saying is said to come from the days when bakers were severely punished for baking underweight loaves. Some added a loaf to a batch of a dozen to be above suspicion.

SWAN SONG

This comes from an old belief that swans, who are usually silent, burst into beautiful song when they are dying.

WHITE ELEPHANT

In Siam (modern day Thailand) white or pale elephants were very valuable. The king sometimes gave white elephant to a person he disliked. It might seem a wonderful gift but it was actually a punishment because it cost so much to keep!

START FROM SCRATCH

This phrase comes from the days when a line was scratched in the ground for a race. The racers would start from the scratch.

TURNED THE CORNER

Ships that had sailed past the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn were said to have ‘turned the corner’.

GOODBYE

This is a contraction of the words God be with ye (you).

Tags: common sayings, origin of expressions, origin of sayings