Posted by
friday, 07:58, 19th September 2003:
Possible origins of well known phrases and sayings in the English Language. Where do you think the phrase originated?
1.Its raining cats and dogs
2.Goodnight sleep tight
3.Dont throw the baby out with the bath water
4.Bringing home the bacon
5.Upper crust
6.Holding a wake
7.Saved by the bell
8.Mind your P's and Q's
9.Wet your whistle
10.Carry the bride over the threshold
I did these last night at a meeting I went to, thought you might all find it fun.
F x
I think i know a few of these....
5) In richer houses they used to get a big old load of bread, the servants etc used to get the bottom of the bread which was a bit tougher etc etc, but the higher up the order of the house (the man of the house usually at the top) the higher up the bread, so if you were richer you got the "upper crust"
10) Before they had carpets they used to put old sticks and leaves etc on the floor of houses, sticks and leaves etc was called "threshings", they built steps on the entrance to doors to stop all these threshings going through into different rooms, or out of the house, these steps were called a "threshold", they used to have one in the entrance to a house and you carry your bride into a new house, over that first step, into the over the threshold.
1) I could be completely wrong with this one but i heard it somewhere, when they used to have thatched roofs a nice warm place used to be in the thatch, so any cats and dogs etc used to stay there, however sometimes they used to fall out and so it seemed like it was raining cats and dogs (but it could have been insects etc that fell out)
Some of them do not really have a point of origination, some are just easy ways to say things i think, for example minding your P's and Q's is just a cut down version of saying "mind your Pleases and thanKYOUS" and got cut down. "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater" is just a metaphor (or whatever the word is) to say dont throw out something important with all the shit.
I dont have any evidence to back all of this up but this is what i have heard.
Posted by
beargod, 08:31, 19th September 2003:
3. Michael Jackson decided To throw the bathwater out but forgot the baby, thats why they were so scared when he held the bed over the balcony.
Posted by
tommorris, 08:32, 19th September 2003:
1. It's raining cats and dogs
This came from when the King of Norway tried to cause a plague on London by getting a horde of enormous cat and dog models and lobbing them over London from a giant baloon made out of old hankerchiefs.
2. Goodnight sleep tight
This came in to existence when the people of the twelth century started wrapping their kids in bubbles, believing that it will keep them warmer and therefore improve their intelligence. Instead what happened is the kids suffocated to death. Yet, they suffocated in the comfort one gets from cycling shorts and so whilst the practice of wrapping children in sealed bubbles before sending them to "beddie byes" no longer happens in practice, it is a Fraudian theory that while all boys want to shag their mothers, all mothers want to kill their kids. The "sleep tight" is a reference to that hope.
3. Don't throw the baby out with the bath water
This refers to the time babies were plentiful and tadpole sized - it was a difficult job to ensure that these little creatures did not go down the plughole. While it seems difficult to get a five pence coin down there these days, back in the days gone by people would throw their children down them on a daily basis. These children either suffered a broken neck going through the U-bend, but those that survived that and the waste processing plants would grow up on quite foul food and attend the "school of the sewers".
4. Bringing home the bacon
This is an early form of discrimination against pigs. Since then with the Pig Equality Act passed by Parliament in 1839 (although with a lot of disgruntled mumbling from then Tory peer, now ex-con, Lord Archer about how he won't be able to treat his pigs like ponies and "ride" them around the fields). The phrase exists today to describe what lewd acts people did with cooked meat products. Whilst many an environmentalist and vegetarian would say that killing and eating the animal is bad enough, this was ten thousand times worse. I'll leave it to your imagination to find out.
5. Upper crust
A description of the upper class derived from dried male ejaculatory fluids that have solidified in to a white 'crust'. The outer layers of the crust are exposed to the elements, wheras the inner layers (representing the middle and lower class the deeper you bury) are protected from such difficulty by the protective sheathing of the upper classes. While the class model no longer looks like "cum under a microscope", the phrase exists to date.
6. Holding a wake
The "wake" refers to a funeral, because although modern logic would suggest that if the person has been prounounced dead by a qualified doctor of medicine it is hardly likely he or she is going to jump up on the church altar and tap dance. But in early "wakes" this is precisely what happens: a set of strings are attached, and a small loft is built above where the coffin will be in order to allow the puppeteers to do their magic. The awoken corpse would dance merrily to whatever the audience requires. Recorded history shows people who have done jigs, polkas, ballroom, disco and stunningly good impersonations of Michael Flatley in Riverdance. Later generations found it distasteful.
7. Saved by the bell
This refers to a giant bell that was kept in the hallway of the Old Bailey in London. Those convicted of more minor offences (remember: this was the time when you coukd be sentenced for death for stealing a sheep) would be taken out on to Cannon Street, stripped of his or her clothing and then the Bellmaster would run the enormous bell in order to "save" his soul from further trappings. It worked in the majority of cases, because the bell was so loud that not only could he not hear any potential opportunities for misdemeanours, nor could he plot together with others, but even if he did, the presiding common law judge would also have been virtually deafened by the sound of the bell that he would not be able to hear the case in front of him. Finally abolished, but still remains a phrase used by scruffy little schoolchildren who wish to escape the torments of Physics lessons or such. If only they knew what it was to have your head in stocks and be "belled" in the olden days. Darn young'uns.
8. Mind your P's and Q's
This was an expression to warn your partner during sex that his "P" and "Q" is in a state where it may cause problems. What's "P" and "Q"? Oh, you know.
9. Wet your whistle
This is a relatively modern trapping of the current day computer programmer. Every year, groups of programmers will go out and purchase silver whistles, put them on fishing lines, fly over to the United States and drop them in to one of the "Great Lakes", attached to a fishing line. For no reason, that is other than to meet other programmers. They found the act of 'wetting their whistle' is far more conducive to commmunication with fellow human beings than going to the traditional human meeting arenas (bars, restaurants, nightclubs etc.)
10. Carry the bride over the threshold
This stems from an old game played by the International Society of Grooms And Stag Party Organisers where grooms of newly-wed couples must organise their half of the wedding in such a way that the bride "crosses the threshold" at the earliest point and leaves. Often this can include: revealing malignant sexually transmitted diseases on the "special day", inviting embarrasing people to the wedding (think: your friend the divorce lawyer, the bride's old headmaster or headmistress, groups of bondage enthusiasts, guys who spend their mornings thinking up stupid definitions for well-known phrases rather than do anything meaningful) and generally being a prick up to and including the day of the wedding, as well as cause as many problems as possible on the night of the wedding so that you'll be recieving the divorce papers from her solicitors the next day. While it will cost thousands, often the International Society of Grooms And Stag Party Organisers would compensate men for their divorce costs to encourage sportsmanship.
Posted by
tommorris, 08:35, 19th September 2003:
beargod: he held the bed over the balcony? Surely the world's press were scared enough of him dropping the baby, but if he had really lobbed a bed out across an acre of his fanbase and the world's cream of journalists and press photographers, we would have known by now...
Posted by
Sul, 08:46, 19th September 2003:
1.Its raining cats and dogs
King Ordan of Sweden had a bestiality streak in him. He was well known to sleep with his feline and canine friends. (Much in the same way Michael Jackson likes to sleep with his 10-year-old-boy friends). On a world tour by The Weathergirls they were forced to change the Lyrics to "Its Raining Men" by King Ordan whenever they performed in Sweden. The Weathergirls desperate to make as much money from their shit song as possible would stand in the rain singing, "Its raining cats and dogs". The rest of the world found it so funny they decided to use it as a term for heavy rain.
2.Goodnight sleep tight
King Ordan of Sweden was well known to have a phobia of falling out of his bed. It all came from when he used to have the top bunk of the bunk beds he shared with his brother. One night he went to bed after an argument with his mother and consequently wasn’t tucked in. He rolled over in the night and fell out breaking his arm. From that day on his mother tucked him in extremely tightly every evening. While performing late night stand up he would sign off the evening by using his mothers words that she used to mutter to him every evening "Good night, sleep tight". The audience found this a fantastic catch phrase and it caught on.
3.Dont throw the baby out with the bath water
This was written on the safety label attached to a Japanese baby bath King Ordan of Sweden once bought. He used it in a stand up show once and like other annoying phrases from comedians, such as, "'ave it" and "suits you sir", it caught on.
4.Bringing home the bacon
King Ordan of Sweden once changed the currency to bacon. It didn’t last long but the saying did.
5.Upper crust
King Ordan of Sweden was a well known bird lover, much in the same way he "loved" cats and dogs. He used to have a 'crust tax' where all his people used to have to cut off the top of each loaf of bread they buy and give it to him so he could wrap it around his cock and let the birds nibble at it. Other people in high positions of society eventually shared in the king’s strange practice and these people became known as "The Upper Crust"
6.Holding a wake
Strangely Ive never actually heard anyone use this term. I imagine it has something to do with King Ordan and watersports... with animals.
7.Saved by the bell
When King Ordan of Sweden was a boy, he mother used to call him back for tea with a big bell. On many an occasion the local bullies would start to rough up poor Ordan only for the bell to ring and for him to have to go home. "Saved by that Bell again, Ordan" they’d curse as they help him up off the floor, "Off you go. But we'll get you tomorrow. And this time earlier." But Ordan would make him mother cook him tea that little bit earlier. By the time he was 17 he was having his dinner at 4AM but the bullies would never really be able to kick that much shit out of him.
8.Mind your P's and Q's
King Ordan of Sweden was not only a stand up comedian but he also appeared in many of Sweden’s "carry-on" type films. His character would use this catchphrase much like "ooh err matron" or "phwoar!"
9.Wet your whistle
In a strange gameshow, hosted by King Ordan of Sweden, contestants would win a gallon of beer if they were judged to be able to play the best tune underwater with a whistle. "Ok John, would you care to wet you whistle?!!" Ordan would shout when a new contestant was about to give it his all. The phrase caught on, as did many of the things Ordan said.
10.Carry the bride over the threshold
This came from when King Ordan of Sweden used cavemen type tactics in order to secure his first wife, Linda. He met her in a bar and clumped her over the head. In the entire time she was passed out he'd managed to wed her and get her back to the marital home. She awoke some hours later to find she was in bed with Ordan and he was smoking a cigarette with a satisfied smile on his face. Most women objected being unconscious throughout the whole of their wedding day but agreed to be carried over the threshold by their grooms eager to imitate Ordan
Posted by
tommorris, 08:50, 19th September 2003:
Did he go back in time to take part in the filming of Carry on Cleo? I distinctly remember seeing someone Swedish in that...
Posted by
Pauly, 08:54, 19th September 2003:
I think wet your whistle came because beer tankards used to have whistles build in for attracting the bar staff.
Posted by
Pauly, 08:55, 19th September 2003:
Oh, and cats and dogs is the thatched roof one.
Posted by
earthworm, 08:56, 19th September 2003:
I never carried Sarah over the threshold...
oops...
I have a saying for you and a meaning!
"Taken for a ride"
Dion O'Banyon was a florist back in the day of Al Capone. He could have made a decent living out of supplying flowers to Al's victims but decided instead to set up and work against Al Capone. Amongst his gang was a guy called Hymie Weiss. Hymie was a trusted lieutenant and when O'Banyon was shot 6 times by one of Al's mob, he became the head of the gang. Weiss was a cold blooded killer who had devised a method of assassination in which the victim was seated in the front pasenger seat of a car with Weiss sitting directly behind him. He was shot in the back of the head. After such a murder, Weiss would say that he had taken the victim 'for a ride'. And so the expression became part of modern parlance...
If anyone is wondering, he tried to kill Capone for killing his boss. Capone escaped unscathed and later machine gunned Weiss down on the steps of Holy Name Cathedral on 11th October 1926...
I have another good saying and meaning-
When people used to go to a pub and get drunk they used to end up falling over due to being too drunk, the landlord just left them there, so they used to wake up on the stone floor in the morning "stone cold sober"
Posted by
earthworm, 09:01, 19th September 2003:
When people have sex at night and wake up really tired in the morning they are said to be 'fucked'
Posted by
Sul, 09:11, 19th September 2003:
Pauly, By current standards then, pint glasses should come with a £20 note attached and button that when pushed shouts "Yes please, Mate!" :)
Posted by
beargod, 09:30, 19th September 2003:
Tommorris: I was tired and been shouting at him that I wanted to go to bed, and he just threw the bed at me so I jumped on it and slep, this was out a window round the corner to the press
Mind your P's and Q's is a printing expression. In the days when people used plates to print things and each letter was set individually into a plate, (hence the term 'typesetter') the letters 'p' and 'q' would get transposed easily as the letters are back to front on the plate. It has nothing to do with "Pints and Quarts" or "Please and ThankQ".
Posted by
Sul, 14:40, 19th September 2003:
EMP: Really? I always assumed it was Please and ThankQs. It made sense in my mind as theyre the most basic of manners.
You learn something new everyday etc.
Posted by
tommorris, 17:05, 24th September 2003:
I had a long discussion with my father about P's and Q's (the printing variety) the other day, and he said in addition to that each letter would have a small nick of metal on a certain side so that you could tell just by handling what way round they should go. Quite fun if a little geeky.