What is an idiom? It’s a phrase that comes to mean something totally different from its literal meaning.
“Armed to the teeth,” means being overly prepared. In the 17th century pirates who wanted to make sure they never ran out of ammunition and held a gun in each hand to always be prepared.
“Barking up the wrong tree,” following a false lead or having a misguided thought about a certain situation. Came from the use of hunting dogs who would bark up the trees into which they’d seen their prey run, even if it had escaped.
“Bite the bullet,” to accept something unpleasant or difficult. During the time when doctors didn’t have anesthesia, they would distract the patient from pain by having them bite on a bullet.
“Butter him up,” to flatter someone. In ancient times, a religious act involved throwing balls of butter at the statues of their gods. This was meant to ask the god’s favor.
“Fly off the handle,” to become suddenly enraged. This phrase comes from the 1800’s, when some axes were so poorly made that when swung, the ax heads would fly off the handle.
“Kick the bucket,” to die. During the 16th century, butchers would slaughter animals, hanging them on a wooden beam, which was called a bucket. When the animal was killed, many would have a spasm causing them to kick the bucket.
“Let your hair down,” to be comfortable with someone. During medieval times, women were required to appear in public with their hair in elegant buns but upon arriving home they could let their hair down, literally.
“Riding shotgun,” means to ride in the front seat of a vehicle. In the wild west whoever sat next to the driver in the front seat often needed a shotgun in order to protect themselves from robbers.
“Skeleton in the closet,” a secret someone is embarrassed about. Grave robbers supplied skeletons for medial schools and when a raid occurred the teachers hid the skeletons in the closet to avoid confiscation.
“Raining cats and dogs,” comes from the thatched roofs when dogs and cats would take shelter on the roofs and during a big rain they would literally fall through the roof.
“A red flag,” a cause for concern, often used in relation to a potential romantic partner. Red flags were used back in the 17th century to let everyone know a battle was about to begin.
And my favorite one that my daddy used quite often when speaking of some of his acquaintances, “They must have beat her with an ugly stick,” meaning that the person in question was not the most attractive person in the room.
We still use lots of these idioms/expressions in our daily vocabularies and it’s interesting as to the origin. Hope you enjoy knowing some of the beginnings.
Roy planted several cabbages in our garden this year and I have been finding recipes to cook some of them. Here’s one.
BACON WRAPPED CABBAGE
1 medium head of cabbage, 1 pound of bacon, black pepper
Heat oven to 375*. Slice cabbage into wedges and wrap each piece with a strip of bacon securing the end with a toothpick. Sprinkle with black pepper and bake for 30 minutes in a 9 x 13 pan. Turn cabbage over and bake for another 15 minutes.
