Meanings & Origins of Phrases, Sayings and Idioms

[mykidsrnutz2]

I thought this might be a fun one. Try to find where certain phrase, cliches, etc. originated and what they mean. I'll start

Dog days:
Meaning=Very hot days during July and August.

Origin=The ancient Romans noticed that the hottest days of the year, i.e. in late July and early August, coincided with the appearance of Sirius - the Dog Star, in the same part of the sky as the Sun. Sirius is the largest and brightest star in the Canis Major constellation, in fact it is the brightest star in the sky. The ancients believed that the star contributed to the heat of the day. The adjective Canicular means 'pertaining to Sirius', so Dog-days are also called Canicular days.

[janking]

"INDIAN SUMMER"


The first reference that we have is from a book with the title A Snow Storm as it affects the American Farmer, which was written by a French-American farmer named J H St John de Crèvecoeur in about 1777. In it he said “Then a severe frost succeeds which prepares it to receive the voluminous coat of snow which is soon to follow; though it is often preceded by a short interval of smoke and mildness, called the Indian Summer”

There are several explanations for where the phrase came from, mostly put forward in the early nineteenth century, which suggested the term was of sufficient antiquity by then that its origin had gone out of living memory. William and Mary Morris suggest it came about because the word “Indian” had been adopted as a term among early colonists to describe something false, or a poor imitation of the real thing, as in Indian corn or Indian tea.

Whatever the reason, this name for a short period of fine weather at the end of autumn is now the standard term, even in Britain, where older names such as St Luke’s summer, St Martin’s summer or All-Hallown Summer are now obsolete or rare.

[mykidsrnutz2]

Three sheets to the wind
The phrase comes from 18th-19th century English Naval terminology. The original phrase was "three Sheets in the wind" and referred to the erratic behavior of a ship that has lost control of all of its sails. In nautical terminology sheets are the ropes that adjust the position of the sails relative to the wind.

[Irie]

Once In A Blue Moom

Two full moons in the same month are extremely rare, though they do happen. A second full moon has come to be called a blue moon. This is apparently because the Maine Farmers Almanac used to list the date of first moon in red text, and the second moon in blue.

[KittyTyme]

Put A Sock In It

This is a colloquial British phrase that originated in the early 20th century. It is generally used when someone is being so noisy as to annoy others. The imagery behind the phrases is that putting a sock in whatever was causing the noise would quieten it down. What that thing was isn't known. There are suggestions that this may have been the horn of an early gramophone or, more straightforwardly, the raucous person's mouth.

The earliest example of it in print that I can find is a definition of the term in the weekly literary review The Athenaeum 1919:

"The expression ‘Put a sock in it’, meaning 'Leave off talking, singing or shouting'."

The fact that an erudite publication saw fit to define the term suggests it was recently coined in 1919.

[KittyTyme]

My better half

Meaning

My husband or my wife.

Origin

This term wasn't originally restricted to referring to one's spouse as we use it now, but to a dear friend. It was used that way by the Roman poet Horace and later by Statius. The allusion then was to a friend so dear that he/she was more than half of a person's being. That meaning persists, although these days, if the term is used seriously rather than sarcastically, it is generally considered to mean 'the superior half of a married couple'. That is, better in quality rather than in quantity.

Sir Philip Sidney was the first to put into print the use of this phrase to mean spouse, in The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia, 1580:

"My deare, my better halfe (sayd hee) I find I must now leaue thee."

[mykidsrnutz2]

FIRED
In older feudalistic cultures, when a person or family was expelled from the clan for being a pariah or for breaking the rules, the community would help motivate them to leave by burning down their hut. Thus the origin of the term "fired."

[LadyTalisman]

It's Raining Cats & Dogs


This dates from the 17th Century when they were often found drowning during heavy downpours.

[mykidsrnutz2]

Jaywalking

This term for crossing the street in the middle of the block is U.S. slang dating to the early years of the 20th century. It comes from the sense of jay meaning a stupid person, a rube.

The earliest known use has the term in a slightly different sense, that of someone who is walking aimlessly. From the Washington Post on 7 May 1911.

[Irie]

Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey

In the 1700s cannon balls and black powder were carried by boys referred to as "powder monkeys".

One explanation has it that the balls were stacked in the familiar pyramid configuration with a wooden triangle holding the bottom layer together. These wooden triangles (perhaps as an extension of powder monkey) were also referred to as "monkeys". The trouble with wooden monkeys was that they couldn't take much abuse before shattering under the impact of dropped cannon balls.

The next material used to make monkeys was brass. These worked perfectly in warmer weather. The trouble with brass monkeys was that they tended to shrink a little when the weather turned cold enough. This shrinkage squeezed the bottom layer up, sending balls rolling all over the deck.