@reubenwoodley96 Thank you! The phrase in such dumps or in your dumps dates from the 16th century. In the 18th century it had become the phrase 'down in the durmps'. I had never heard the expression 'as happy as a clam'. Apparently it comes from the Northwest USA and was first recorded in 1833. It may be shortened from 'as happy as a clam at high water'.
Having worked in dentistry all my life and also having kept horses,I can tell you that it's not just horses that get long in the tooth, it's we humans too. Unless we're very careful how we brush ,gums will shrink back exposing the neck of the tooth which makes them look longer and loosens teeth especially as we age. So, don't forget folks, brush " gum to tooth" and keep your teeth longer by making them look shorter😁😁
On your uppers was another shoe related saying which meant the soles of your shoes had totally worn out but the uppers were still in good condition and you were too poor to repair them. Great video, I enjoyed it very much. I think spick and span started with ship builders and was used after they had swept up all of the bits of wood shavings and nails after a ship was built. I thinkI remember that from a book called Jackspeak, a guide to British naval slang and usage.
The old saying, "a different kettle of fish", is stating that there are two or more options! People who used the long ovel pan with a lid, often cooked other foods with the Fish. Some put Vegetables with it, others only used herbs with the fish. Hence, "Different Kettle of Fish". I love root meanings. 👍
Good stuff. "Beyond the pale" has a more general etymology than the Dublin story. "Pale" means stick, cognate with the Spanish "palo" and also where we get the word "palisade". "The pale" would've been the fence or the border of an area. If you went "beyond the pale", you went into an unknown, uncontrolled, untamed, out of bounds, foreign place. Today we say it when referring to behavior rather than location.
Thank you so very much, I learned a lot from this presentation; about why people said what they did along time ago. Do you have anymore learning presentation?
Whilst I agreed with most of your origins, coming from the north-east, I believe that “sea coal” doesn’t mean coal shipped by sea from Newcastle but is a description of what the poor used to do in order to heat their homes … they went to the beaches in the north-east and picked up the pieces of coal that used to be washed up from the under-sea strata.
You have taught me the origins of many sayings. Thank you. I always thought the expression “a load of red tape” came from the beginning and end of audio tape. There was always a section of red tape to wind round the reel which could not be recorded on, so seemed unnecessary.
About that nail, King John's Hunting Lodge in Axebridge has one. It was originally in the marketplace, where lighting was poor, so as coins slid down the surface, a seller could get a more accurate count. In the US, we say cash on the barrel head. There were not enough foundries close enough to towns to provide nails, so they used empty barrels for the same purpose. Many of those barrels likely had contained whiskey.
Lovely thank you. I did know most of them and I'm now going to research hoist with your own petard as I think it's different to what you said. Loved the red herring!
A bit missing in your crocodile tears saying when croc chomp down on anything whatever's in their mouth presses on it's tear ducts making it seem to cry,
You know the saying Pinch punch first day of the month and no return - some people used to follow that by replying Rabbit, rabbits, rabbits - any idea why that might have been the case please?
Apparently, it was once a custom to say rabbit, rabbit, rabbit on the first day of the month before you said anything else for good luck. Nobody is sure why rabbits were associated with good luck, perhaps because they were once associated with fertility and new life. (Some people used to carry a rabbit's foot for good luck). By the early 20th century if a child said pinch punch first day of the month the other child would often reply 'rabbit, rabbit, rabbit' or just 'white rabbit' to ward off bad luck. It seems like the two customs merged together. This article explains it a bit more: www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/read-this/this-is-why-people-say-white-rabbit-on-the-1st-of-a-new-month-2957603
Really interesting hearing the origins of sayings that are so familiar. I've only one queery: 'The cat's out the bag' I've long believed to be a naval term from when the 'cat o nine tails' was taken 'out the bag' meant some poor soul was about to be flogged.
It's unlikely because taking a cat o'nine tails out of a bag does not mean revealing a secret or deception. In my view cheating a customer by giving them a bag with a cat in it is much more likely.
"Sent to Coventry", came about during the 2nd World War. The English had broken the code used by the Germans, and although they knew Coventry was about to be bombed, they kept quiet for fear of letting the Germans know their Code was broken. So they did not tell Coventry of it's impending attack! Hence the term: "Being sent to Coventry". i.e. Not being included .
Same here. I remember people saying parky but the word seems to have gone out of use. Incidentally, the word parky meaning cold was first recorded in 1797 when a man called Thomas Twining used it in a letter. Nobody is sure why but in those days a park did not mean a nicely cultivated green area. In the North of England, it meant a green area outside of town. Parky may have meant cold because the park was likely to be windy and exposed and therefore cold.
Didn't do tenterhooks. When cloth was dyed it could shrink, so to stop that happening the edges of the cloth was put on hooks which were spread out under tension. Looked like a load of washing lines.
Very interesting when you hear the origins of some of these sayings quite a lot come from Naval history as do many Nick Names. But most of the sayings when you hear their true meanings makes sense. "Now the Penny drops"! You finally understand. Not sure where that one came from. LOL
Like several other phrases, it began in the USA in the 19th century. It was probably just a jokey phrase contrasting the two extremes of Hell (full of flames) with high water. It has alliteration which makes it memorable.
"Not enough room to swing a cat" used to disturb me. I envisioned people swinging cats around by their tail. apparently it is not about a domestic cat but the cat of nine tails. The rope whip which the British Navy used to discipline wayward sailors. not cruelty animals just cruelty to seaman.
Running the gauntlet was an old punishment. You had to run between rows of soldiers or sailors while they beat you. But it has nothing to do with gauntlets, the metal gloves knights wore as part of their armour. It's a corruption of Scandinavian words that sounded like 'gauntlet'.
Hi, great info thanks. I am adding this to my article? If you wish me to remove it then of course let me know. Just look for Nell Rose Hubpages, and click on the link.
I heard that “rule of thumb” had a more sinister origin: the thumb was the measure, of the stick by which a husband could beat his wife! Once upon a time, it was considered fair game, to beat a wife deemed unsatisfactory in some way! 😔
I just checked on a search engine, and it quotes a decision by a judge from. A couple of hundred years ago: A commonly heard alternative, however, states the 'rule of thumb' was the creation of 18th-century English judge, Sir Francis Buller. He ruled (supposedly) that a man is legally permitted to beat his wife, provided he uses a stick no thicker than his thumb.
@@karphin1 Yes. This claim has been debunked many times. There has never been a rule or a law in England that a man is entitled to beat his wife provided he uses a stick no thicker than his thumb. William Blackstone (1723-80) wrote Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-1769). He made no mention of a supposed rule that a stick could be used to hit your wife if it was not thicker than a thumb. So it was never a part of English common law. In fact, the earliest known use of the phrase was in 1658 by a preacher called James Durham. He said: 'Many professed Christians are like to foolish builders, who build by guess, and by rule of thumb and not by Square and Rule'.
The truth is that it was CLAIMED by his enemies that Francis Buller made such a ruling about sticks. There is no evidence that he ever did. In any case the phrase rule of thumb was used long before Francis Buller was even born. These words were written in 1692 by Sir William Hope: 'What he doth, he doth by rule of Thumb, and not by Art'.
That is a popular myth. There never was such a rule or law in England. William Blackstone wrote Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-1769). He made no mention of a supposed rule that a stick could be used to hit your wife if it was not thicker than a thumb. So it was never a part of English common law.
Rule of thumb comes from windmills, when a skilled miller set the grinding stones up and ran through the first grain. They would collect a sample from around the edge of the stones between thumb and finger to get a gauge on how fine or coarse the flour would be. To get a good batch quality it was up to the millers experience rather than science, using his rule of thumb!
@@EvolutionRich I heard a similar story about brewers using their thumbs to measure the temperature of brewing beer. Of course it may have come from more than one occupation.
You reflect not only your ignorance of these common sayings but also of everyday mathematics. How do you claim 99.999% without at least 100,000 samples?
