Ever wonder where and how common idioms originated from? Words such as "back to square one" or "caught with your pants down" in and of themselves don't mean anything literally but have figurative meanings behind them.
I've been reading some of these and I came across a website that explains some of the historical significance of these sayings.
I thought it would make a cool-site-of-the-day.
click: [size=+2]http://www.idiomsite.com[/size]
Others that I have come across were....
"England is old and small and the local folks started running out of
places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones
to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out
of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they
realized they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a
string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through
the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the
graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone
could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."
***
"Houses had thatched roofs - thick straw - piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the
dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it
rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the
roof-hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."
***
"The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when
wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing.
As the winter wore on, they kept adding more thresh until when you opened
the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in
the entranceway, hence, a "thresh hold."
:biggrin:
I've been reading some of these and I came across a website that explains some of the historical significance of these sayings.
I thought it would make a cool-site-of-the-day.
click: [size=+2]http://www.idiomsite.com[/size]
Others that I have come across were....
"England is old and small and the local folks started running out of
places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones
to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out
of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they
realized they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a
string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through
the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the
graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone
could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."
***
"Houses had thatched roofs - thick straw - piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the
dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it
rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the
roof-hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."
***
"The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when
wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing.
As the winter wore on, they kept adding more thresh until when you opened
the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in
the entranceway, hence, a "thresh hold."
:biggrin:
)
