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Now Sayings get passed on through time,
And wives tales can seem quite sublime;
From whence did they come?
those sayings that Mum
did clearly know all in her prime
And wives tales can seem quite sublime;
From whence did they come?
those sayings that Mum
did clearly know all in her prime
I
I Could Sleep on a Clothes Line- So tired, that you could sleep anywhere. A Twopenny (Tuppenny) Hangover, Twopenny Rope, or Penny hang, was a lodging place for homeless men, where they slept sitting in a row on a bench, with their heads leaning over ropes strung across the room. Referenced in the Pickwick Papers 1836/37, by Charles Dickens. Idle Hands Are the Devil's Playground/Workshop- When you have nothing constructive to do, or are 'Idle', you're likely to get into trouble. By not using your time productively, you are more likely to be tempted to do something wrong. It seems as if there is a Biblical root, which has been glorified over time. 1 Timothy 5:13 - And withal they learn [to be] idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. Proverbs 18:9 - He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster. Ecclesiastes 10:18 - By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through. If the Devil finds a Man idle, he'll set him at Work. -Scottish Proverbs, J.Kelly, 1721 In the Doldrums- Feeling sad, depressed, unhappy, listless, despondent. The doldrums is a colloquial expression derived from historical maritime usage, in which it refers to those parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean affected by the Inter tropical Convergence Zone, a low-pressure area around the equator where the prevailing winds are calm. -Wiki In the Lap of the Gods- You've done all that you can about a problem etc., now the outcome is left only to God, chance, luck. Speaking of the Greek Gods- "In the knees of the Gods" (Ca. 8 BC) Homer's "Odyssey" In the Limelight- Have the attention on yourself, all the focus is on you. This has Theatrical roots, with the 'Limelight' being the light used to highlight the performer on stage, back in the early 1800's, before the Electric light. Goldsworth Gurney invented an 'oxyhydrogen blowpipe, with the flame directed at a cylinder of quicklime (calcium oxide), making it extremely hot & bright. In the Nick of Time- Just in time. A minute later, you would have been too late. Sometime round about the 1580s the phrase in the nick or in the very nick began to be used for the critical moment, the exact instant at which something has to take place. The idea seems to have been that a nick was a narrow and precise marker, so that if something was in the nick it was precisely where it should be. (World Wide Words) In the Pink- Something or someone who is 'in the pink', is in top condition or in very fine shape. Pink has always been regarded as 'Flesh Colour', so if the flesh is the right colour, then you're in good health. J
Jump the Gun- To make a move too soon, or before you're ready. This dates back to the early 1800's with foot racing beginning by the firing of a gun shot. Anyone who moved or started to race before the gun was fired, was said to have jumped the gun. Jump on the Bandwagon- To climb on the Band wagon can be taken to ways, firstly to come on-board to support someone, or to take someone else's idea to further your own gain. As in- someone gets the idea to make a new product, then others start to make a similar product from that original idea. In early American history, a band would play through the streets in a horse drawn wagon, during a political rally. The candidate would be on-board and promoting his policies, so supporters would then jump on-board as well, but not all who jumped aboard were true supporters. Jump Out of the Frying Pan Into the Fire- Going from one bad situation to a bad or even worse one. It was made the subject of a 15th-century fable that eventually entered the Aesopic canon. Abstemius' fable 20, De piscibus e sartigine in prunas desilentibus, concerns some fish thrown live into a frying pan of boiling fat. One of them urges its fellows to save their lives by jumping out, but when they do so they fall into the burning coals and curse its bad advice. (wiki) |
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Kettle of Fish- Fine Kettle of fish- An awkward or embarrassing situation. -You have made a fine kettle of fish of it (The Tryals of Two Causes, between Theophilus Cibber, Gent. plaintiff, and William Sloper By Theophilus Cibber, William Sloper, 1740) That's another Kettle of fish- Something entirely different to what is being discussed. Not my Kettle of fish- Same as 'Not my Cup of Tea'. Kept in the Dark- To not be told any information, or be informed as to what is happening. This may have Biblical origins- Isaiah 29:15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Kick the Bucket- Another term for 'to Die'. A common theory is that the idiom refers to hanging, either as a method of execution or suicide. However, there is no evidence to support this. Its earliest appearance is in the Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1785), where it is defined as 'to die'. In John Badcock's slang dictionary of 1823, the explanation is given that "One Bolsover having hung himself from a beam while standing on a pail, or bucket, kicked this vessel away in order to pry into futurity and it was all UP with him from that moment: Finis" (wiki) Kingdom Come- If something or someone goes to Kingdom come, it means that they've gone to the next world. Biblical- (New Testament) Matthew 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. Keep at Bay- To keep someone or something at a safe distance, in check, or under control The exact origin is unknown, but if any disease were aboard any ship, they would be required to sit at anchor for a length of time before landing ashore. This would suggest that the ship was kept at a safe distance, or 'at bay', until there was no danger. Keep the Home Fires Burning- With reference to everyday life, someone should maintain daily routine and keep everything under control.and in order. Eg. "While you're on holiday, I'll stay here and keep the home fires burning" Keep the Home-Fires Burning ('Till the Boys Come Home) is a British patriotic First World War song composed in 1914 by Ivor Novello with words by Lena Guilbert Ford .It is meaning that- Family, please keep everything in order until the war is over and I can come home again. Keep Up With the Joneses- This mean that if the family next door, or family friends buy a new house, car or boat, then you feel that you have to keep up with them and buy these things yourself, when you really can't afford them. The phrase was popularized when a comic strip of the same name was created by cartoonist Arthur R. "Pop" Momand. The strip debuted in 1913, distributed by Associated Newspapers. Keep Your Knickers on- Or 'Don't get your Knickers in a knot', means don't panic, calm down. Origin Unknown Killed the Goose That Laid the Golden Egg- Because of greed and wanting too much too soon, you can end up destroying your source of profit, or destroy a thing (or person) that is worth something to you. One of Aesop's fables, telling of a peasant man who had a goose that laid golden eggs. Wanting to have all of the eggs, he cut the goose open and therefore, killed his opportunity of ever having any more eggs. Knock on Wood- Knocking on wood refers to the tradition in Western folklore of literally touching, tapping, or knocking on wood, or merely stating that you are doing or intend to do the same, in order to avoid "tempting fate" after boasting, or declaration something that you do not want to come to pass. "I've never had a speeding ticket" touch wood!, meaning I hope I never will, now that I've said it. Many Pagan groups, before Christianity, worshipped or mythologized trees. Some of these used trees as oracles, some incorporated them into worship rituals and some, like the ancient Celts, regarded them as the homes of certain spirits and gods.The first possible origin of knocking on wood is that it's a much more laid-back version of what the pagan Europeans did to chase away evil spirits from their homes and trees or to prevent them from hearing about, and ruining, a person’s good luck. The other suggested origin is that some of these tree worshippers laid their hands on a tree when asking for favour from the spirits/gods that lived inside them, or after a run of good luck as a show of gratitude to the supernatural powers. Over the centuries, the religious rite may have morphed into the superstitious knock that acknowledges luck and keeps it going. (Mental Floss) |