NancyLynn wrote:
In the English monolingual pair, we often receive questions regarding the origin of certain sayings or expressions in English, some of which seem to make no sense at all.
Yet they each have their explanation in history. Check it out:
In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's
image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George
Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while
others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not
based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be
painted. Arms and legs are "limbs," therefore painting them would cost
the buyer more. Hence the expression. "Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and
a leg."
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As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only
twice a year! (May and October) Women kept their hair covered, while men
shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy
men could afford good wigs made from wool. The wigs couldn't be washed, so
to clean them they could carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the
shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy,
hence the term "big wig." Today we often use the term "here comes the
Big Wig" because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.
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In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room
with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board was folded down from the
wall and used for dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the
chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Once in a while, a guest
(who was almost always a man) would be invited to sit in this chair during a
meal.
To sit in the chair meant you were important and in
charge. Sitting in the chair, one was called the "chair man." Today in business
we use the expression or title "Chairman or Chairman of the Board,"
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Needless to say, personal hygiene left much room for
improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars
by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to
smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if
a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told "mind your own
bee's wax."
Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the
term "crack a smile." Also, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax
would melt and therefore the expression "losing face."
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Ladies wore corsets which would lace up in the front. A
tightly tied lace was worn by a proper and dignified lady as in
"straight laced."
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Common entertainment included playing cards. However,
there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to
the "ace of Spades."
To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards
instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were
thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full deck."
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Early politicians required feedback from the public to
determine what was considered important to the people. Since there were
no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to
local taverns, pubs, and bars who were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to
people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were
dispatched at different times.
"You go sip here" and "You go sip there." The two words
"go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and,
thus we have the term "gossip."
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At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from
pint-and quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the
customers and keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention
and remember who was drinking in "pints" and who was drinking in "quarts,"
hence the term "minding your 'P's and Q's,"
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One more: bet you didn't know this!!!!
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many
freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon
balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon, but how
to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method
devised was a square based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting
on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could
be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one
problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from
under
the others. The solution was a metal plate called a "Monkey" with 16
round indentations. But, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls
would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make
"Brass Monkeys."
Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and
much faster than iron when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature
dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the
iron cannon balls would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite
literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey". (And all this
time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you?)
Nancy
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