Meaning of Well Known Phrases

05-04-2013 02:47PM

cocobear wrote: »

"Rule of thumb"

Originated with Miller's, they would take the ground flour between their thumb and index finger to test how coarse it was

I always believed it was from an old law that held it was lawful for a man to beat his wife, provided he used an implement no thicker than his thumb to do so.

As this would suggest:

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/rule-of-thumb.html

DEFTLEFTHAND · 05-04-2013 02:52PM

Cut and Run.

An old nautical expression meaning to cut a ships anchor loose to facilitate a speedy getaway instead of pulling it in.

wilkie2006 · 05-04-2013 02:59PM

On and off the wagon...

Interestingly the phrase 'on the wagon' stems from another tradition that took place on [the last journey of a condemned-to-death prisoner in London]. At Queen Matilda's ( wife of Henry I) bequest a cup of charity was given to the condemned as they travelled towards their death. Originally this was given at St Giles-in-the-Fields, a leper hospital until 1539 (it became a church in 1547). Then it became a custom that Bow tavern gave a pint of ale to each condemned person. Commonly used to describe abstaining from alcohol, one theory states that the phrase developed because prisonsers were put back on the wagon, never to drink again. Another theory goes that the executioner stayed on the wagon the whole time, as they were not invited into the tavern.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-london/A988833

Dyr · 05-04-2013 03:04PM

antodeco wrote: »

And where "the greeks invented gays"

Something to do with a load of loads being inside a horse.

Wait, thats beastiality..

What do you think all dem greeks were doing in there? Waiting patiently?

davet82 · 05-04-2013 03:08PM

'Its raining cats and dogs'

Did this ever really happen? :rolleyes:

RGDATA! · 05-04-2013 03:10PM

pitythefool wrote: »

That is brilliant on so many levels in relation to my post

Thanks Captain Obvious

"so many levels"
(usually means exactly "two levels")

--Kaiser-- · 05-04-2013 03:11PM

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

That's a common but unlikely explanation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_whole_nine_yards

http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/nineyards.asp

From the Snopes website, a jocular origin for the phrase:

Love-struck Andy McTavish sets off to visit his fiancée while well into his cups. He wears a kilt his mother has woven for him which was made of 1 yard of cloth instead of the normal 9. In his excitement and drunkenness he manages to slam the door on that item of clothing, thereby pulling it from his person and leaving him naked underneath his cloak.

He arrives at his fiancées home in the middle of the night and wakes her by throwing stones at her window. Once she appears at the window he throws off his cloak revealing his full male glory (unbeknownst to him). He asks if she likes what she sees, the gal, blushingly, replies that she does, at which McTavish proudly says “Well lass, that’s nothing! I’ve 8 more yards at home!”

ronan45 · 05-04-2013 03:11PM

"Hard Faced C%$T"

What is a hard face and what does it look like

666irishguy · 05-04-2013 03:22PM

"Over the top"

The most commonly believed origin of this phrase is that it is used to describe the action of exiting a trench in WW1 and heading into no-mans land. Trenches were below ground level for obvious reasons and "over the top" of the trench was the dangerous world outside of it. To go over the top and into no-mans land was at best dangerous and in hindsight, the tactic of advancing out of the trenches and into no-mans land is regarded as being needlessly risky and futile considering what was gained by such attacks. Hence today it is used to describe someone engaging or reacting in an excessive or reckless manner with regards to a situation.

Ray Palmer · 05-04-2013 03:26PM

davet82 wrote: »

'Its raining cats and dogs'

Did this ever really happen? :rolleyes:

Cats and dogs would sleep in the thatched roofs. When it rained so heavily the thatch would become so wet the cats and dogs would lose their footing and fall off. Hence it is raining "cats and dogs"

Ray Palmer · 05-04-2013 03:29PM

"Seize the day" is often misunderstood. It is seize the day for you don't know what tomorrow brings. The meaning was learn now because you might not have the chance to do so tomorrow not enjoy yourself now because you won't have the chance tomorrow.

castletownman · 05-04-2013 03:30PM

Piss Poor

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot and then once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive you were "piss poor".

But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot. They "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low

davet82 · 05-04-2013 03:32PM

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Cats and dogs would sleep in the thatched roofs. When it rained so heavily the thatch would become so wet the cats and dogs would lose their footing and fall off. Hence it is raining "cats and dogs"

well you learn something new everyday

Mr. CooL ICE · 05-04-2013 03:37PM

AH has turned into the Ray Darcy show

Wibbs · 05-04-2013 03:37PM

Ray Palmer wrote: »

"Cease the day" is often misunderstood.

Indeed, "Cease the day" makes no sense, it's "Seize the day", from the Latin "Carpe diem".

--Kaiser-- · 05-04-2013 03:37PM

Ray Palmer wrote: »

"Cease the day" is often misunderstood. It is cease the day for you don't know what tomorrow brings. The meaning was learn now because you might not have the chance to do so tomorrow not enjoy yourself now because you won't have the chance tomorrow.

Ahem. It's 'Seize the day'

Prodigious · 05-04-2013 03:39PM

"Tits on a bull"

Is another way of saying useless

Ray Palmer · 05-04-2013 03:41PM

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Ahem. It's 'Seize the day'

Agreed I mistyped but the saying explanation is correct

Ray Palmer · 05-04-2013 03:43PM

Company folds

In china they used ribbon to tie manuscripts together. Somebody figure you could fold the paper instead and make a kind of book. This made ribbon companies loose so much business that the expression of a company "folding" came in to use.

Plazaman · 05-04-2013 03:43PM

Another one I like was in olden days when it came to wash night (probably once a week if lucky), the tin bath was placed in the middle of the kitchen floor and the man of the house would get to wash first, then the woman of the house and then their children in order of their ages eldest to youngest. All in the same water :eek:

By the time the youngest child or baby was to be washed, they'd probably end up even worse than they were as the water was so filthy, whatever was below the surface of the water could not be seen.

Hence "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water".

--Kaiser-- · 05-04-2013 03:48PM

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Company folds

In china they used ribbon to tie manuscripts together. Somebody figure you could fold the paper instead and make a kind of book. This made ribbon companies loose so much business that the expression of a company "folding" came in to use.

I call bull****

fishy fishy · 05-04-2013 03:49PM

summerskin wrote: »

simple really, better to actually own one item of something, than to potentially own two

I knew that Summerskin - I was being sarcastic..;)

Ray Palmer · 05-04-2013 03:50PM

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

I call bull****

And you are right

666irishguy · 05-04-2013 03:50PM

"The cats out of the Bag"

I have heard this dates to medieval times, where at market it was common practice to sell young pigs and hand them over to the buyer in a bag or sack. A common scam was to make a sale and then covertly switch out a few pigs and put cats in with the pigs or in their place. On occasion the sack would tear or perhaps not being closed properly or securely and the cats inside would emerge, revealing the scam to the buyer and leaving the seller discovered and in a world of s**t, as punishments for even minor crimes could be severe in those days. So today, "The cats out of the Bag" is commonly referred to any scheme or plot being uncovered and revealed with shaming or disastrous consequences for the plotter(s).

--Kaiser-- · 05-04-2013 03:50PM

Plazaman wrote: »

Another one I like was in olden days when it came to wash night (probably once a week if lucky), the tin bath was placed in the middle of the kitchen floor and the man of the house would get to wash first, then the woman of the house and then their children in order of their ages eldest to youngest. All in the same water :eek:

By the time the youngest child or baby was to be washed, they'd probably end up even worse than they were as the water was so filthy, whatever was below the surface of the water could not be seen.

Hence "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water".

Rubbish, it means don't throw out the good with the bad. It's pretty obvious, no ridiculous explanations needed

fishy fishy · 05-04-2013 03:56PM

summerskin wrote: »

for fúck's sake, can we not have one single thread without references to politics, recession etc????????

some of us are better off than ever, not everyone is unhappy and fúcked!

which brings us nicely onto the well known phrase

losing the rag!

:D

eamonnq · 05-04-2013 03:57PM

LordChessington wrote: »

AH has turned into the Ray Darcy show

Never heard that one before....not sure where it comes from.

chakotha · 05-04-2013 04:02PM

stmol32 wrote: »

Everyone is wrong it's actually from the Trojan horse story.

If you want to check if there's loads of Greeks hiding inside the don't look in the mouth end because there will be a fella waiting with a spear for your eyeball.

You're supposed to look underneath for the trapdoor.

I always thought it came from the Trojan horse story too.

Accept a gift without hesitation because questioning the motives (or being too polite to accept) would be akin to staring into the mouth of the Trojan horse and getting battered by Greeks.

Ray Palmer · 05-04-2013 04:10PM

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Rubbish, it means don't throw out the good with the bad. It's pretty obvious, no ridiculous explanations needed

No that one is true and it is obvious what the meaning is.

The water being dirty isn't quite true as older soaps leave water cloudy

Plazaman · 05-04-2013 04:18PM

--Kaiser-- wrote: »

Rubbish, it means don't throw out the good with the bad. It's pretty obvious, no ridiculous explanations needed

It is a well known fact that all babies are born evil hence your analogy of them being good is codswallop. It is the input of parents and social interaction that rids babies of evility usually by the time they are 7.2 months old. If a baby was left to their own devices, they would have a hatchet in the back of your skull before you'd know it hence the phrase and well known song "Baby Don't Hurt Me".

Yes indeed, babies are evil......and some breeds of cat too.

PS Anyone know where codswallop came from, the actual reason for this post.

Meaning of Well Known Phrases

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