I'm so glad that you're back :). My favorite saying is " running around like a chicken with it's head cut off.". My oldest niece thought it was hilarious every time I told her to stop doing that.
My grandmother used to raise chickens. She would reach down and wring their neck (hold them by the neck and swing them around) until the head and neck popped off. The body would continue to run around for a while. The saying isn’t just a metaphor
25 ~ "Hold Your Horses" Actually goes way WAY back further than that. Not only do horses tend to spook at some of the weirdest things, but they're very much herd-oriented - in brief, horses are prone to bolt without warning when there's a lot of activity going on nearby. To ensure that the horse doesn't take off before you're ready, you draw back slightly on the reins just enough to eliminate slack - this is referred to as "holding". 16 ~ "Straight from the Horse's Mouth" This one is actually a three-fer. Those familiar with horses can judge a great deal about a horse simply by looking inside its mouth - it's age, how well it has been cared for, general health, and (to a degree) even its diet and how it is sheltered. Regardless of what someone else might claim about the horse, one can always get the absolute truth straight from the horse's mouth. And when someone gives you a horse, you are expected to accept the horse in the spirit in which it is given. Looking into the horse's mouth is essentially like opening a present then immediately pulling out your phone and searching the web to see how much it probably cost - it's exceptionally rude to look a gift horse in the mouth. (Later, after you get it home, is a different story.) Additionally, a horse's gums tend to recede as it ages. This exposes more of the enamel, making the teeth appear longer - aka, "long in the tooth". 3 ~ "Going Bananas" This one needs further research. A century ago, in the 'Roaring Twenties', someone who was promoting something outlandish was said to be "selling banana oil". Banana oil itself is isoamyl acetate (made from bananas, retaining the scent of bananas) and commonly used to treat the fabric used too make early aircraft (aka "airplane dope") - I'm sure you're aware of the effects of 'huffing dope'. Similar to hatters and mercury, those who used isoamyl acetate extensively were prone to (usually momentary) unpredictable outbursts.
Researching origins of words and phrases is one of my favorite pastimes. I knew most of these, but some were slightly different from what I had understood previously. I thought belly up referred specifically to dead fish, and had believed straight from the horse's mouth referred to the practice of inspecting a horse's teeth when looking to buy one.
I need to say this again, it's so good to have you back Mike. Watching you on patreon see what you've been going through, this fills me with such immense happiness seeing you back on you.
Here’s where I gave up: Number #25. You talked about the building of the Erie Canal in 1865. The canal was completed in 1825. It was kind of a big deal and it was a big reason the north grew si much stronger than the south before the Civil War. Telling us the Erie Canal canal was built after the Civil War would be like telling us Thomas Edison invented motion pictures after watching “Gone With the Wind”.
Also, Straight from the Horse's Mouth has to do with checking a horse's teeth for their age. Tooth wear occurs starting with maturity for horses. sometimes a horse looks good and acted frisky, but when the horse was bought and taken home, it was discovered that the horse was much older than you wanted it to be, and maybe was artificially excited to act spirited. So checking the Horse's Mouth was also a way to be certain of the truth about the horse you wanted to buy. The horses age was truthful, straight from the Horses Mouth! I am full of trivia. No one plays trivia games with me anymore.
The above explanation also collates with ANOTHER expression; "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.". Because, the age and general condition of a horse could be told by it's teeth. So, if someone gave you a horse that looked good, acted well and seemed healthy... don't look it in the mouth. Because you may not like what you see. Both expressions revolve around truth; one, "straight from the horse's mouth" means to seek the truth about a situation directly from the source, and the other, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth" means to avoid a potentially unwanted truth by steering clear of the source.
Ohhhh l feel that. I had a friend named Mark. We'd team up in Trivial Pursuit and it would take teams of four or five to defeat us I watched Jeopardy one where a contestant said his friends called him a "font of useless information" I thought, 'Me too!"
One of my favorites is “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.” BUT, you absolutely can have cake and eat it too. The original is, “You can’t eat your cake and have it too.” Which is true. Can’t be done. I love saying it correctly and people look at me like I’m crazy until they think about it. Great list!
Both ways are correct. "You can't have your cake and eat it too", you can have your cake, you can eat your cake but you cannot have both as if you eat your cake, you don't have it "too". While the original is easier to understand at face value, both are still correct.
This is my favorite story about an idiomatic expression: my dad came to the US as a young adult and English was sbout his 5th language, so idioms often flew over his head. Before he and my mom got married, her friends decided to throw her a wedding shower. My dad was so confused. He asked my mom, "Why do you all need to take a shower together?" Yikes!
The ones I have used before and still use on occasion that weren't mentioned in the video are: Kill two birds with one stone; When push comes to shove; You made your own bed...now you have lie in it (only I usually leave out the last part, assuming the person already knows it). Thanks for providing the origins of these idioms.
I thought for sure "fly in the ointment" would be included. Or "every excuse in the book." Wonderful list and their origins, all the same. Thank you, I learned a few things tonight.
"Please enjoy 40 minutes of solo flute renditions of Billy Joel's biggest hits, rejected by most grocery store chains and elevator manufacturers, while you wait for someone from Pakistan to take your call."
Mike? MIKE?! OMG!!!! it's absofriggenlootly AWESOME to see you here again! I was devastated when I saw your farewell episode woe those many years ago (allow me poetic license) and I almost gave up on you tube all together ! I was so pissed they would treat a fellow fanboy and floridian that way! So glad your back! Now I'm going back to binge watch all the new episodes I've missed!
Hey Mike, it's so awesome that you're back. As always, I still love all of your videos. Keep up the great work and congrats on taking the path to a healthier lifestyle.😁😁
Don't EVER FEEL Dum MIKE!! As a newbie to tech, and no one to teach me you make it so easy to relate when the rest leaves us lost even(65) we are so much smarter to real life so thanks for the respect in your presentation❤❤ and know from us dinosaur gen. GOD LOVE YOU!!! 😅 YOU Have NO Way of knowing how you BREAK UP The Isolation We Feel. GOD BLESS YOU PRECIOUS !!!❤❤🎉
I would think “beating around the bush” doesn’t mean “beating the bush”. Or they’d say “beating the bush”, no? By beating around the bush rather than the bush itself, a bush-beater would be avoiding the disturbance of the actual birds, which I would think be a more apt analogy.
The Erie Canal was built long before the Civil War (1861-65). Without doing a search, 1825 would be much closer than 1865. The existence of the Erie Canal, and the canal connecting the Illinois River through the Chicago area to Lake Michigan, is in fact a big reason why the Great Lakes states identified with the North rather than the South, since they could export directly through New York rather than New Orleans.
fun fact the reason songs and rhymes get stuck in your head is because your brain considers them incomplete information so it constantly goes over it again and again this is is more prevalent when you only hear a part of songs and rhymes
"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth " from 1546 is one I thought you'd mention. Old horses have longer teeth. Which also leads to saying someone is "getting long in the teeth" because they're getting old.
"letting the cat out of the bag" is only one of three terms [that I know of] for this practice, which must have been fairly common: "buying a pig in a poke", and "being sold a pup", pups often being substituted for the cat that was supposed to be a pig.
Last night (October 15, 2022) is a perfect example of people "going bananas". I live an hour from Knoxville, home of the University of Tennessee Volunteers. For the first time in 16 years the Vols beat Alabama with a last seconds field goal. The stadium erupted. The city was in chaos, but unbelievably there was no violence. The fans went bananas, hell, I went bananas and I'm not a fan. Watch any fan videos on RU-vid of the final minutes of the game and the aftermath and you will see the definition of "going bananas".
So awesome to have you back Mike. I was thinking how cool if a TV game show about List 25 could be made. OK I might sound like a dork but I do love watching those kind of shows. 😁
So glad y’all are back to it! I got unsubscribed somehow, so I have been out of the loop. Where’s the rest of Mike? Lookin good, Mike! Can’t wait to see all of y’all’s new videos! ❤
See if you can find this one: As a kid, I would come downstairs dressed for church but (for example) with my socks falling down. (No spandex in the 60s.) My mother would say “Pull your socks up. You look like who come first.” Her family was long established in Eastern VA. White, Protestant, British Isles descent. Hope that helps.
My grandfather got an earworm in his ear once. Literally. It needed to be removed by a doctor and it was an exceptionally traumatic experience. I don't think it was only about corn.
14:37 Hair of the dog and hydration really is the best hangover cure. A hangover is a mix between withdrawal and dehydration. If you sip enough to calm your symptoms, but this time hydrate as you go, it’s a lot easier. Some argue you’re just putting off the hangover, but if you hydrate and eat, there shouldn’t be a hangover.
I heard that a Cat of Nine tails, that whip, was kept in a bag. If it were brought from the bag, it had to be used. And I always say "Running around like a chicken with its legs cut off" because I'm going thru the motions and getting nowhere.
The correct phrase is “running around like a chicken with its head cut off” not legs. My grandmother used to raise chickens. She would wring their neck (grab them by the neck and flip them around) until the head popped off. The body would continue to run around until it ran into something and fell over. I’ve seen it happen. I hope this helps
