Ever wonder about those interesting expressions that have been handed down through the centuries? Phrases that we all use without giving any thought to where they came from or their original meaning? Let's take a look at the historical origin of some of these expressions. Here's a list of ten such expressions, part 1 of a 3 part blog series.
1) God willing and the Creeks don't rise
This expression was originally in reference to the Native
American Creek tribe and not a body of water and is attributable to Benjamin
Hawkins, a late 18th century politician. While in the south, he was requested by the
President to return to Washington. In
his response, he wrote, God willing and
the Creeks don't rise. Since he
capitalized the word Creeks, it was
assumed he was referring to a hostile uprising of the Creek tribe rather than
water.
2) It cost an arm and a leg
Since there weren't any cameras in George Washington's day,
the only way to portray someone's image was either through sculpture or
painting. Some paintings of Washington
show him standing behind his desk with one arm behind his back while others
show both arms and legs. Prices charged
by artists were often calculated according to how many arms and legs were being
painted rather than the number of people in the painting. Therefore, if the subject wanted both arms
and legs in the painting, they were told, "Okay, but it will cost an arm and a leg."
3) Here comes the big wig
As ludicrous as it sounds today, back then men and women took baths only twice a year (usually May
after the cold winter and October after a hot summer). Women covered their hair
and men shaved their heads and wore wigs. The wealthy could afford good wigs
made of wool. Since the wool wigs couldn't be washed, they would hollow out a
loaf of bread and put the wig in the shell, then bake it for half an hour. The heat made the wigs big and fluffy, thus
the term big wig. Today we use the expression when someone
appears to be powerful and wealthy.
4) Chairman of the Board
Many houses in the late 1700s consisted of a large room with
only one chair. A long wide board folded
down from the wall and was used for dining.
The head of the household always sat in the chair while everyone else
sat on the floor while eating. To sit in
the chair meant you were important and in charge and that person was referred
to as the chair man. Today in business, we use the expression Chairman of the Board.
5) Crack a smile and other related phrases
One result of the lack of personal hygiene back then was
that many men and women developed acne scars by adulthood. Women would spread bee's wax over their faces
to smooth out their complexions. If a woman began to stare at another woman's
face, she was told to mind your own bee's
wax. If a woman smiled, the wax
would crack, hence the term crack a smile. And when a woman sat too close to the fire
the wax would melt, giving us the expression losing face.
6) Straight laced
Ladies wore corsets which laced up the front. A proper and dignified woman wore a tightly
tied corset and was said to be straight
laced.
7) Not playing with a full deck
Back in the day, a common form of entertainment was playing
cards. When a tax was levied on the
cards, it was applicable only to the ace of spades. To avoid paying the tax, people would
purchase 51 cards and ignore the ace of spades.
Since most card games require all 52 cards, those people were thought to
be stupid because they were not playing
with a full deck.
8) Gossip
Long ago, before the creation of mass communication such as
phones, radio, and television (and certainly the internet, smart phones, and
various social media), politicians sent their assistants to local taverns to
get feedback from the public and determine which issues people considered
important. They were told to go sip some
ale and listen to people's conversations.
The two words go sip were
eventually combined into one word, gossip,
when referring to the local opinion.
9) Minding your P's and Q's
In the local taverns, people drank from pint and quart sized
containers. One of the bar maid's jobs
was to keep track of which customers were drinking from pints and which from
quarts, hence the phrase minding your P's
and Q's.
And finally an expression that has often been misinterpreted…
10) Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey
Back in the day when sailing ships ruled the waves, all war
ships and many freighters carried iron cannons that fired iron cannon
balls. It was necessary to keep a supply
of cannon balls near the cannon while at the same time preventing them from
rolling around the deck. The best
storage method was a square-based pyramid with one ball perched on four balls
resting on nine which sat on sixteen providing a supply of thirty cannon balls
stacked in a small area next to the cannon.
There was a problem, though—how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding
out from under the others. The solution
was a metal plate called a monkey
with sixteen round indentations. But
again, there was a problem. If the plate
was made from iron, the iron cannon balls would quickly rust to it, especially
in the damp ocean air. The solution to
the rusting problem was to make brass monkeys.
But still a problem…brass contracts much more and much quicker than iron
when it's chilled. So, when the
temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that
the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey which means it was
literally cold enough to freeze the balls
off a brass monkey. Not what you
were expecting? :)
