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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
Q
Quit While You're Ahead- If things are going well for you, don't push you luck, stop while you're in front. This is from the 20th century, with a gambling reference in 1914- “You better quit—while you're lucky,” from, Munsey's Magazine and "Quit while you're ahead, you cheap skates!, in 1919, from 'The Books of Charles E. Van Loan: Score by innings; baseball stories. Quiet as a Mouse- To be very very quiet,or unheard, like a mouse. In 1750, from 'A View of the Times, Their Principles and Practices': By Charles Lesliewe- "we should have been as quiet as a mouse in a cheese. Earlier quoted in 1639, as- 'Arnulphus was as quiet as a lambe, from 'The Historie of the Holy Warre'; By Thomas Fuller. R
Raked Over the Coals- To be punished, reprimanded and interrogated. Eg. "How come you got home so late last night?, what were you doing?, you're grounded for a month". The earliest example given is from 1565: "St. Augustine, that knewe best how to fetche an heretike ouer the coles." (OED). From the practice of dragging or raking heretics over hot coals performed by the Catholic Church as a form of torture. (wiki) Red Rag to a Bull- Like waving a red rag to a bull, means that someone has mentioned a topic, or said something to someone that will deliberately make them angry, just like the bull charges at the red cape. In Bullfighting of course, a red cape is waved to attract the bull, but many animals are apparently angered by the waving of a red rag. In the 1700's, Red rag, was slang for your tongue- "Or shew me that glib Speaker, Who her red Rag in gibe can wag, With her Mouth full of Liquor. 1775, from- 'The Bull-Finch. Being a Choice Collection of the Newest and Most Favourite English songs'. Ride to London on This Knife- You could ride to London on this knife and not cut yourself, means that the knife is very blunt. Not sure of the origin, but this saying has been used mainly in the twentieth century, but the place could be changed. Eg. "You could ride to China" etc. Run Amuck- To be out of control, to go crazy 'Amoq' is a Malayan word, which describes the outrageous behaviour of the Tribesmen, when under the influence of Opium. Run the Gauntlet- To suffer, or risk abuse or danger. Gauntlet is a form of physical punishment where a captive is forced to run between two rows, or a gauntlet of soldiers who repeatedly strike him. |