Origins of words and phrases...

[Princess_Stevie]

Also crap comes from Thomas crapper who invented the toilet. Sorry...lowering the tone!

Lmao! That one made me laugh :giggle:

 

[Mrs.S.]

Here's a good one:


The term "rule of thumb" comes from an old English law that said it was illegal to beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.

 

[Princess_Stevie]

My friend once sent an E-mail round with "interesting facts". I liked this one...

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month - which we know today as the honeymoon.

 

[dudette2001uk]

I'm really enjoying reading the origins of these phrases...they're all fascinating!

 

[dudette2001uk]

I haven't posted for a few days, oops!

My phrase for today is 'eat humble pie'...

During the Middle Ages, the lord of a manor would hold a feast after hunting. He would receive the finest cut of meat at the feast, but those of a lower standing were served a pie filled with the entrails and innards, known as “umbles.” Therefore, receiving “umble pie” was considered humiliating because it informed others in attendance of the guest’s lower status.

 

[Minimunchkins]

'Put a sock in it' - In the late 19th & early 20th century, gramaphones were used for recordings but with no way of controlling the volume at which the sound was amplified, people took to stuffing the horn with a large woollen sock. The phrase then became commonly used to tell people to shut up or stop making so much noise.