It is interesting how many of today's buzz words and common expressions originally had an entirely a different meaning.
For example, the word "gay" used to mean "happy", not a male homosexual. And the word "merry" originally meant "brave" --- as in Robin Hood & His Merry Men.
Below is the history of how a few of today's words and expressions originated.
Before the days of cameras and photographs, one's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of showed a person standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Painters' fees were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs [arms or legs] were to be shown in the painting. The more limbs, the more expensive. Hence, the expression: 'it costs an arm and a leg'.
Before the advent of the modern bathroom, men and women took baths only twice a year---usually in May and in October. Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads to avoid lice and bugs, and they wore wigs. The wealthy and prominent men in society were able to afford better quality and more expensive wigs made of wool. But they did not wash their wigs, lest they might shrink or get deform. So, in order to clean the wig, the "insides" of a loaf of bread were carved out, the wig was put inside the "bread shell", and baked for about 30 minutes. The heat made the wig bigger and fluffier, hence the term 'big wig'. Today, the term 'big wig' applies to someone who has authority, power, and/or wealth.
In the days when houses and home furnishings were too expensive for the common masses, most houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, the chair was just a long wide board which folded down from the wall where the 'head of the household' sat during mealtimes while everyone else sat on the floor to eat. When a male guest came and was invited for a meal, the chair was offered to him. To sit on the chair meant one was important and was "in-charge". Thus, the term 'chairman' or 'chairman of the board'.
Since personal hygiene in olden days was not the best, many women and men developed skin blemishes. To hide ugly facial scars and skin imperfections, the women spread bee's wax to camouflage and give the appearance of a smooth complexion. While socializing, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, to 'mind your own bee's wax.' If the wax cracked, hence the term 'crack a smile'. And, if a lady happened to sit too close to the fire and the wax started to melt, the lady would then be 'losing face'.
Ladies wore corsets, which laced up in the front and tightly tied or laced. A proper and dignified woman was always 'straight laced'.
One common form of entertainment in the olden days was playing cards. For some reason, when one purchased a deck of playing cards, a tax was levied on the "ace of spades" only. To avoid paying the tax, it was common to take out the "ace of spades", which left only 51 cards instead of the usual 52. A person who was thought to be stupid or lacking intelligence was referred to as 'not playing with a full deck'.
Before the days of mass communications [newspapers, radio/TV] in order to determine what the people considered important, the early politicians sent their assistants [spies] to local taverns, pubs, and bars with the instruction to 'go sip some ale' while listening to people's conversations and listen for any comments of political importance. Various assistants were dispatched at different times of the day to 'go sip here' and to 'go sip there'. The two words---go sip'---was eventually spelled as 'gossip'.
The related expression "eaves dropping" which means listening to people's conversation originated from people taking shelter under the eaves [of a roof] during a heavy rain/downpour and listening to people's talk/gossip.
In the old local taverns, pubs, and bars, drink was sold in pint- and quart-size containers. It was a barmaid's job to keep an eye on the customers and made sure to keep the drinks coming. But she also had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking from 'pints' and 'quarts'. Hence, the term 'mind your Ps and Qs'.
During the early days of big ships, for protection against pirates and "enemies", cargo ships/freighters and warships [of course], carried iron cannons which fired iron cannonballs. It was necessary to keep a good supply of cannonballs near the cannon. To prevent the cannonballs from rolling about on the deck, they were arranged in a square-based pyramid with 16 balls in the bottom-most layer, 9 balls on top of the 16, four balls on top of the 9, and one ball on top of the 4 which made a supply of 30 cannonballs stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. The problem was how to prevent the bottom-most layer from sliding or rolling away [which would undo the pyramid]. The solution was a metal plate called a 'monkey' with 16 round indentations. The original "monkeys" were made of iron. However, iron quickly rusted [oxidized] especially when left outside and exposed to salty sea air. The solution was to make 'brass monkeys'. However, it was later found that the brass contracted faster and greater than the iron when there was a drop temperature, and when the temperature dropped really low, the indentations in the brass monkey shrank so much that the iron cannonballs came out of the indentations and rolled around. Thus, when there was a really cold spell, it became quite literally 'cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey'. (So what was thought by the uninformed as a "dirty expression" with a sexual connotation did not refer to an ape/monkey at all. It only proved that some simply had a filthy mind!)
Author Unknown
For example, the word "gay" used to mean "happy", not a male homosexual. And the word "merry" originally meant "brave" --- as in Robin Hood & His Merry Men.
Below is the history of how a few of today's words and expressions originated.
Before the days of cameras and photographs, one's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of showed a person standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Painters' fees were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs [arms or legs] were to be shown in the painting. The more limbs, the more expensive. Hence, the expression: 'it costs an arm and a leg'.
*******
Before the advent of the modern bathroom, men and women took baths only twice a year---usually in May and in October. Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads to avoid lice and bugs, and they wore wigs. The wealthy and prominent men in society were able to afford better quality and more expensive wigs made of wool. But they did not wash their wigs, lest they might shrink or get deform. So, in order to clean the wig, the "insides" of a loaf of bread were carved out, the wig was put inside the "bread shell", and baked for about 30 minutes. The heat made the wig bigger and fluffier, hence the term 'big wig'. Today, the term 'big wig' applies to someone who has authority, power, and/or wealth.
*******
In the days when houses and home furnishings were too expensive for the common masses, most houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, the chair was just a long wide board which folded down from the wall where the 'head of the household' sat during mealtimes while everyone else sat on the floor to eat. When a male guest came and was invited for a meal, the chair was offered to him. To sit on the chair meant one was important and was "in-charge". Thus, the term 'chairman' or 'chairman of the board'.
*******
Since personal hygiene in olden days was not the best, many women and men developed skin blemishes. To hide ugly facial scars and skin imperfections, the women spread bee's wax to camouflage and give the appearance of a smooth complexion. While socializing, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, to 'mind your own bee's wax.' If the wax cracked, hence the term 'crack a smile'. And, if a lady happened to sit too close to the fire and the wax started to melt, the lady would then be 'losing face'.
*******
Ladies wore corsets, which laced up in the front and tightly tied or laced. A proper and dignified woman was always 'straight laced'.
*******
One common form of entertainment in the olden days was playing cards. For some reason, when one purchased a deck of playing cards, a tax was levied on the "ace of spades" only. To avoid paying the tax, it was common to take out the "ace of spades", which left only 51 cards instead of the usual 52. A person who was thought to be stupid or lacking intelligence was referred to as 'not playing with a full deck'.
*******
Before the days of mass communications [newspapers, radio/TV] in order to determine what the people considered important, the early politicians sent their assistants [spies] to local taverns, pubs, and bars with the instruction to 'go sip some ale' while listening to people's conversations and listen for any comments of political importance. Various assistants were dispatched at different times of the day to 'go sip here' and to 'go sip there'. The two words---go sip'---was eventually spelled as 'gossip'.
The related expression "eaves dropping" which means listening to people's conversation originated from people taking shelter under the eaves [of a roof] during a heavy rain/downpour and listening to people's talk/gossip.
*******
In the old local taverns, pubs, and bars, drink was sold in pint- and quart-size containers. It was a barmaid's job to keep an eye on the customers and made sure to keep the drinks coming. But she also had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking from 'pints' and 'quarts'. Hence, the term 'mind your Ps and Qs'.
*******
During the early days of big ships, for protection against pirates and "enemies", cargo ships/freighters and warships [of course], carried iron cannons which fired iron cannonballs. It was necessary to keep a good supply of cannonballs near the cannon. To prevent the cannonballs from rolling about on the deck, they were arranged in a square-based pyramid with 16 balls in the bottom-most layer, 9 balls on top of the 16, four balls on top of the 9, and one ball on top of the 4 which made a supply of 30 cannonballs stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. The problem was how to prevent the bottom-most layer from sliding or rolling away [which would undo the pyramid]. The solution was a metal plate called a 'monkey' with 16 round indentations. The original "monkeys" were made of iron. However, iron quickly rusted [oxidized] especially when left outside and exposed to salty sea air. The solution was to make 'brass monkeys'. However, it was later found that the brass contracted faster and greater than the iron when there was a drop temperature, and when the temperature dropped really low, the indentations in the brass monkey shrank so much that the iron cannonballs came out of the indentations and rolled around. Thus, when there was a really cold spell, it became quite literally 'cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey'. (So what was thought by the uninformed as a "dirty expression" with a sexual connotation did not refer to an ape/monkey at all. It only proved that some simply had a filthy mind!)
Author Unknown
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