*Please note- This site search does not include the Vic. & Tas. BMD's, Lots o' Links & Worth a Look Books
|
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
S
Save it For a Rainy Day- To put aside money or some other resource, for a time in the future when it may be needed Some professions could not work when it rained, so to save a penny for a rainy day, would be to save it for a day when he cannot work and therefore, would not get paid. Save your Bacon- To be saved from harm, or some unwanted fate. In the 1700's, bacon signified a prize. In early thieves cant (slang) Bacon was also known as a quick escape. 1796- He has saved his bacon ; he has escaped. See a Man About a Dog- You say this, when you are leaving to go somewhere, but don't want to disclose just where you're going. Eg. Rest room The earliest confirmed publication is the 1866 Dion Boucicault play Flying Scud, in which a character knowingly breezes past a difficult situation saying, "Excuse me Mr. Quail, I can't stop; I've got to see a man about a dog." In a listing for a 1939 revival on the NBC Radio program America's Lost Plays, Time magazine observed that the phrase was the play's "claim to fame" (wiki) Sent to Coventry- Means to deliberately ignore someone, by not talking to them, or avoiding them. Wiki has this to say about it's origin- The origins of this phrase are unknown, although it is quite probable that events in Coventry in the English Civil War in the 1640's play a part. One hypothesis as to its origin is based upon The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, by Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon. In this work, Hyde recounts how Royalist troops that were captured in Birmingham were taken as prisoners to Coventry, which was a Parliamentarian stronghold. These troops were often not received warmly by the locals. A book entitled Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals (1735) states that Charles II passed an act (law) "whereby any person with malice aforethought by lying in wait unlawfully cutting out or disabling the tongue, putting out an eye, slitting the nose or cutting off the nose or lip of any subject of His Majesty......shall suffer death." This was called the Coventry Act, after the MP Sir John Coventry who had been attacked and "had his nose slit to the bone". Therefore, if one committed the crime s/he was sentenced under the Coventry Act. More..............https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Send_to_Coventry Shake a Stick at it- He's got more money (or something else) than he can shake a stick at, meaning that the person has way too much of whatever is being referred to. It's said that this originated from shaking a stick to ward off animal attacks, so if there are too many animals ready to attack, then shaking a stick isn't going to be much help. Show Your True Colours- To show your true self, as in behaviour and attitude. This is generally used in a negative way, when someone has been behaving badly, which in the past has not been seen, then you would say "he's showing his true colours now", in other words, now we know what he's really like. A pirate ship could get closer to it's prey, by sailing under a different coloured flag, then when they were ready to pounce, they would unveil their real flag of the skull and cross bones, or show their true colours. Sitting Duck- Someone who is left open for a physical or verbal attack, an easy target. As in duck hunting, if the duck is just sitting in the pond, it's very easy to hit. Six of One Half a Dozen of the Other- Meaning, it makes no difference either way, one is as good as the other. Six is the same amount as a half dozen. Jack Brag, by the author of 'Sayings and doings'.By Theodore Edward Hook- " it 's as broad as it's long, — six one way, and half-a-dozen the other" (1837). Skeletons in the closet- Usually, family or personal secrets, that you don't want others to know about. In 'The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art, Volume 18' (1864)- Mr. Thackery (novelist) invented a theory which so much pleased his fancy, that he recurred to it on every occasion. He imagined that every house has a special dark closet in it, and that in this closest is a skeleton. This allegory was meant to signify that every family has some great secret in it, or some painful memory....... Slap in the Face- An unexpected rejection, humiliation. The purpose of a slap is often to humiliate, more than injure. A "slap in the face" is a common idiom, dating back to the late 1800's, that means to rebuke, rebuff or insult. (wiki) Slow as a Wet Week- A week of rain seems to drag, so to say that someone is as slow as a wet week, means that they're taking a long time. An old Australian saying. When it rains, it seems to drag on until the sun shines again. Someone Just Walked Over My Grave- You just had an uneasy feeling about something. Walking over, or touching a grave, was considered by the Jewish doctors as equivalent to touching a dead body ; and, therefore, as inferring ceremonial pollution. (New Testament) Luke 11:44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. Spend a Penny- Going to a public rest room. In the past, going to a public toilet, would cost a penny. The toilet door had a slot in it that would only open after a penny was inserted, generally only the women's toilets. 1897- A penny for the use of the closets, and two pence for the use of towels and soap in the lavatories, the urinals being free. This was still going on into the 1960's, with sixpence being paid to go. Spitting Image- A look alike, or exact image of. Usually with people- 'He's the spitting image of his Dad' Also 'Dead Spit' which means the same thing. Originally 'Spit and Image' Some say that this stems from, 'Spirit and Image', which has been shortened over the years. Deil was short for devil so, this may be the case, but there is no evidence to support that theory at the present. Splitting Your Sides- You are laughing so much, that you feel as if your body will split down the sides. From 'The History of the Most Renowned Don Quixote of Mancha and His Trusty Squire ...By Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1697)- "But you would have split your sides to have seen him eat: For by reason that his Helmet was ty'd so straight under his chin, his chaps had not liberty to play; and such was the position of his Beaver above, that it was impossible for him to feed". 1873 Harper's Bazaar- What to do if you split your sides with laughter: run till you get a stitch in them. Spruce it Up- Tidy, clean or shine something to make it look nicer. Spruce was an old name for Prussia, probably corrupted from Pruse. Spruce Leather is Prussian Leather, Spruce fir tree is a native of Prussia. The word Spruce became a word for neat and smart, either from Spruce Leather, which was an article of refinery, or the neatness of the Spruce fir tree. Sprusado, was a term for a finely dressed man. From “A” Glossary, Or, Collection of Words, Phrases, Names and Allusions to customs and proverbs By Robert Nares 1825. Square peg in a round hole- Trying to make something fit with something it wasn't designed for. Starting in 1810, Early American Brooms had pegged handles. Broom makers had brace and bit and could drill round holes in the handles, but did not have round pegs. So they split square pegs, trying to make them just the right size to fit snugly into the drilled holes. If the pegs "came out" too small, they would not stay in the hole so the broom could be made. If the pegs were too big, they could split the handle when driven into the hole. Only the correct size would "fit in." So developed the saying, "Square peg in a round hole" for those not fitting in. -From broomshop.com Start off on the Wrong Foot- To start something badly. The wrong foot meaning the left foot. The Romans considered everything to do with the left, as having evil attached to it. So if things aren't going right for you, the left (or evil side) must have had something to do with it. Straight From the Frying Pan to 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) Straight From the Horse's Mouth- If something came 'straight from the horses mouth', then you heard the gossip from the original source. Originally this term came from horse racing. If you were buying a race horse, the dealer would try to swindle you by telling you that the horse was younger than it really was, but you can tell how old a horse is by it's teeth. So, the truth is in the horses mouth! Sure as Eggs is Eggs- You're very sure about something, or definitely sure that something is going to happen. Some say that this is a corruption of 'As sure as x is x', but if it is? it's been corrupted an awfully long time! 'Twas to seek for Lord Marius, as sure as eggs be eggs....is from a comedy play called 'The History and Fall of Caius Marius, by Thomas Otway written in 1678 |