NOT WORTH A TINKER'S-DAM
A tinker was an individual who traveled Old England sharping scissors,knives and repairing holes in cooking pots. A wall of clay around a hole in th pot and filled with solder. This repaired the hole. The cl
ay can be used only once; after that it is thrown away as worthless.APPLE OF MY EYE
This phrase comes from the Bible. In Psalm 17:8 the writer asks God ‘keep me as the apple of your eye’.
BAKERS DOZEN
Means thirteen. It 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.
BIG WIG
In the 18th century when many men wore wigs, the most important men wore the biggest wigs. Hence today important people are called big wigs.
BITE THE BULLET
Means to grin and bear a painful situation. It comes from the days before anesthetics. A soldier about to undergo an operation was given a bullet to bite.
BITTER END
Anchor cable was wrapped around posts called bitts. The last piece of cable was called the bitter end. If you let out the cable to the bitter end there was nothing else you could do, you had reached the end of your resources.
BLUE-BLOOD
Means aristocratic. For centuries the Arabs occupied Spain but they were gradually forced out during the Middle Ages. The upper class in Spain had paler skin than most of the population as their ancestors had not inter-married with the Arabs. As they had pale skin the blue blood running through their veins was more visible. So blue-blooded came to mean upper class.
BORN WITH A SILVER SPOON IN YOUR MOUTH
Once when a child was christened it was traditional for the godparents to give a silver spoon as a gift (if they could afford it!). However a child born in a rich family did not have to wait. He or she had it all from the start. They were ‘born with a silver spoon in their mouth’.
COLD ENOUGH TO FREEZE THE BALLS OFF A BRASS MONKEY
A brass monkey was a brass rack on which iron cannonballs were stacked. If it were very cold the brass rack would contract faster than the iron balls. The balls would fall off.
CUT AND RUN
In an emergency rather than haul up an anchor the sailors would cut the anchor cable then run with the wind.
THE DEVIL TO PAY
Originally this saying was devil to pay and no hot pitch. In a sailing ship a devil was the seam between planks. This had to be made waterproof. Fibers from old ropes were first hammered into the seam and then pitch (a tar-like substance) was poured (or paid) onto it. If you had the devil to pay and no hot pitch you were in trouble.
DON’T LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH
Don’t examine a gift too closely! You can tell a horse’s age by looking at its teeth, which is why people ‘looked a horse in the mouth’.
FLASH IN THE PAN
Muskets had a priming pan, which was filled with gunpowder. When flint hit steel it ignited the powder in the pan, which in turn ignited the main charge of gunpowder and fired the musket ball. However, sometimes the powder in the pan failed to light the main charge. In that case you had a flash in the pan.
GO THE EXTRA MILE
By law a Roman soldier could force anybody to carry his equipment 1 mile. In Matthew 5:41 Jesus told his followers ‘if somebody forced you to go 1 mile go 2 miles with him’.
BY HOOK OR BY CROOK
The ‘hook’ was a billhook, a tool for cutting hedges and the crook was a shepherd’s crook. If you could reach a branch ‘by hook or by crook’ you could cut it and use it for firewood.
KNOW THE ROPES
On a sailing ship it was essential to know the ropes.
MAD AS A HATTER
The most is offered in "The Journal of the American Medical Association" (vol. 155, no. 3). Mercury used to be used in the manufacture of felt hats, so hatters, or hat makers, would come into contact with this poisonous metal a lot. Unfortunately, the effect of such exposure may lead to mercury poisoning, one of the symptoms of which is insanity.
NOT ENOUGH ROOM TO SWING A CAT
Comes from the use of a kind of whip called a cat o’ nine tails.
A PIG IN A POKE
Something bought without checking it first. A poke was a bag. If you bought a pig in a poke it might turn out the ‘pig’ was actually a puppy or a cat.
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.
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.
STRAIGHT LACED
This phrase was originally STRAIT laces. The old English word strait meant tight or narrow. In Tudor times buttons were mostly for decoration. Laces were used to hold clothes together. If a woman was STRAIT laced she was prim and proper.
WEAR YOUR HEART ON YOUR SLEEVE
In the Middle Ages knights who fought at tournaments wore a token of their lady on their sleeves. Today if you make your feelings obvious to everybody you wear your heart on your sleeve.
WHIPPING BOY
Prince Edward, later Edward VI, had a boy who was whipped in his place every time he was naughty. No one was allowed to touch the Royal Prince.
RULE OF THUMB
In the1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence, we have 'the rule of thumb.'
GOLF
Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only. Ladies Forbidden'…... and thus, the word GOLF entered into the English language.
SLEEPING TOGETHER
The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
MONEY
Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury.
READING & HEARING
Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
ELBOW
It is impossible to lick your elbow.
WILDERNESS
The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28%
The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
DOGS
The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $16,400
NOVEL
The first novel ever written on a typewriter; Tom Sawyer.
MONUMENTS
The San Francisco Cable cars are mobile National Monuments.
CARDS
Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs - Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar
MULTIPLY
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987, 654,321
STATUE
If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in batt
le. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causesDECLARATION
Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
NUMBERS
If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter 'A'?
One thousand
FOOD
What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
Honey
MATRESSES
In the time of Shakespeare mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened; making the bed firmer to sleep on. Thus the phrase....'Goodnight, sleep tight'
DRINKING
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So, in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them, ‘Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.' It's where we get the phrase 'mind your P's and Q's'
READ THIS
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the first and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
