|
“Just Thinking”
There are so many old sayings that we use, or at least we used to use, that we say out of habit and know what we intend them to mean but have no idea of the origin. Here are a few that I came up with and how they came to be, let me know if you have any that I missed.
Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater - Used as a caution against rejecting all parts of a plan because there are problems with parts of it. This came from the household before there was running water, a large tub was filled and the family would take turns bathing, starting with the father and descending by seniority. By the time the baby had its bath, the water was so dirty that it was difficult to see through it.
Bite the bullet - To endure something painful or difficult with courage. This comes from times when soldiers would bite on a bullet during surgery to cope with the pain before painkillers.
Going Cold Turkey – To quit something abruptly without gradual steps. One theory on this that when a person stops and addiction like drinking, smoking or drugs, their skin would get all clammy and cold like a dead turkey.
Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth - Don’t criticize or scrutinize a gift. It comes from the practice of checking a horse's age by looking at its teeth, which would be rude to do if the horse was given as a gift.
To turn a blind eye - To deliberately ignore a problem. This originated from British Admiral Horatio Nelson, who was blind in one eye. During a battle, he famously held a telescope to his blind eye to avoid seeing a signal to retreat, continuing the fight instead.
Barking up the wrong tree - To pursue the wrong course of action. This comes from hunting dogs that would mistakenly bark at the base of a tree, thinking their prey was up there when it wasn’t.
Saved by the bell - Escaping a difficult situation at the last moment. This comes from boxing, when the bell ending the round is rung to save a fighter who is losing. I question this one, I always thought that it came from the recess bell in 5th grade before St. Agnes’ spelling test.
Burning the candle at both ends - It implies exhaustion from not giving yourself time to rest between work and play, pretty much your 20's. In the past, candles were valuable, so burning one at both ends would waste it more quickly.
I thought that I would finish off with some Momisms that needed no explanation: 1) Because I said so! 2) Eat your vegetables 3) I brought you into this world, and I can take you out! 4) Don’t make me turn this car around! 5) Money doesn’t grow on trees. 6)You’ll understand when you’re older. 7) If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it too? 8) Go ask your father 9) Wait until your father gets home 10) As long as you live under my roof, you’ll follow my rules. 11) I don’t care who started it; I’m finishing it! 12) You’re not leaving the table until you finish everything on your plate 13) You’ll catch a cold if you go outside with wet hair 14) If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all 15) I’m not asking you, I’m telling you 16) What part of 'no' don’t you understand? 17) One day you’ll thank me. 18) Are your legs broken? Get it yourself 19) I’ll give you something to cry about 20) Go play outside.
Let me know what you think.
| 
