A lot of commonplace expressions and phrases that we take for granted have some sinister or even unexpected roots that highlight the complexity of history. These expressions frequently have connotations very different from their contemporary meanings, ranging from superstitions to somber historical occurrences.
1. Get One’s Goat
Some horses become nervous during horse racing, so their owners put goats in their stables to help them relax. These goats were occasionally stolen by rival horse owners, which agitated the animal and increased the likelihood that it would lose.
2. Steal One’s Thunder
You believe you’ve accomplished something amazing and original, but someone else entered first and stole your credit! Dramatist John Dennis created a device in the 18th century that could accurately simulate thunder for his plays. Dennis became enraged when he discovered later in another theater that someone had stolen his thunder machine and was using it without giving him credit.
3. Born With A Silver Spoon In Your Mouth
It has long been customary for godparents to present a christened kid with a silver spoon. Those who did receive the spoon as a gift were regarded as privileged, sometimes even pampered, because not everyone could afford such a premium present.
4. Best Man
According to legend, a rival Lord might attempt to disrupt a wedding ceremony and take the bride for political reasons during the feudal era. To assist in the event of a conflict, grooms would ask their closest friends to stand beside them throughout the wedding. “Best Man” was the title given to the man standing behind the groom.
5. Sun Of A Gun
Sailors used to take their wives on lengthy sea cruises. Given that it was the most remote location, it is thought that if the woman gave birth aboard a ship, it should have happened between the guns on the gun deck. For this reason, a child born aboard a ship would be referred to as “a son of a gun.”
6. Put A Sock In It
In the late 19th century, people would use woollen socks to stuff the horns of their gramophones or record players to lower the sound, since these machines had no volume controllers.
7. Butter Someone Up
The people of ancient India used to throw balls of clarified butter at the statues of gods in order to seek a favor.
8. Waking Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed
Since the left side of almost anything has historically been regarded as “the evil side,” waking up on the left side was also interpreted as unlucky. In order to fight off evil, house owners would move the beds on the left side to the corner, forcing their visitors to wake up on the right side.
9. Show Your True Colors
Warships used several flags to deceive their adversaries. However, according to the rules of battle, ships had to fly their real flag before firing, so they would then expose their genuine colors.
10. Kick The Bucket
This is probably the worst and more cruel phrase on this list. At slaughterhouses, cows were killed by placing a pail underneath them while they were on a pulley. The cow would thrust out its legs in an attempt to reposition itself, which would cause it to die before it was slaughtered.
11. Crocodile Tears
“The Travels of Sir John Mandeville,” a book written in the fourteenth century, describes a knight’s travels across Asia. According to the book, crocodiles cry as they consume a man they have trapped. The term “crocodile tears,” which denotes fake anguish, entered Shakespeare’s plays and became a 16th-century idiom despite being factually incorrect.
12. Riding Shotgun
This phrase describes the rider of a vintage stagecoach who sat next to the driver and carried a shotgun to defend themselves from any assailants and robbers. The phrase most likely originated much later, when media and movies started to romanticize the era, although there is no proof that it was truly used during the “Wild West.”
13. Give The Cold Shoulder
This phrase, which is now used to characterize impolite people, was once thought to be a courteous gesture. In England, during the Middle Ages, the host would signal to his guests that it was time to depart by serving them a cold piece of beef or pork shoulder after the feast was over.
14. Break A Leg
The expression is thought to have originated in Germany during World War I and was a German actor’s expression, “Hals- und Beinbruch,” which means “a broken neck and a broken leg.” It turns out that popular folklore throughout history has urged people to wish others bad luck since it was thought that doing so would attract malevolent spirits.
15. White Elephant
White elephants were considered sacred creatures in Thailand, yet they were also very hard to take care of. It is believed that Siamese kinds would gift white elephants as a subtle form of punishment since taking care of this animal would drive the recipient into financial ruin.
16. Honeymoon
According to tradition, a newly wed couple would have to drink a beverage with honey for an entire month for fertility and good luck.
17. One For The Road
During the middle ages, the condemned ones were taken through what today is known as Oxford Street to their execution. During this sad and final trip, the cart would stop, and they would be allowed to have one final drink before their death.
18. Bite The Bullet
There was no time to do procedures while under anesthesia during wars. In order to divert their attention from the pain, victims were forced to bite down on bullets.
19. Turn A Blind Eye
This expression is thought to have originated with the naval hero Horatio Nelson, who saw through his telescope with his blind eye. His supervisor wanted him to leave the combat, but he was able to escape his signals in this fashion. Nevertheless, he launched an offensive and won.
20. Barking Up The Wrong Tree
This expression describes hunting dogs that pursue their prey up trees. The dogs would bark at the prey after it climbed the tree, but occasionally, they would keep barking even after the prey had vanished.
21. Don’t Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth
People would use the horse’s teeth to assess the horse’s age and condition before deciding whether or not to purchase it. This is the reason why this idiom is used to suggest that it is impolite to find fault with anything that was given to you as a gift.
22. Blood Is Thicker Than Water
This proverb actually meant the exact reverse of what many people might assume, that we should prioritize our family over our friends. “The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb” was the entire statement, which referred to warriors who shared the blood they shed in combat. It was said that the relationships between these “blood brothers” were greater than those between biological brothers.
23. Raining Cats And Dogs
Apparently, this expression originated in Norse mythology, where dogs were connected to Odin, the God of storms, while cats were symbolic of torrential rains. According to a second story, thatched roofs were one of the few locations where animals could stay warm in 16th-century England. Roofs would occasionally become slick when it started to rain a lot, causing cats and dogs to tumble off, giving the impression that it was raining.
24. Caught Red-Handed
According to an outdated statute, a person would only face consequences if they were caught with blood on their hands after killing an animal that wasn’t theirs. One would not face punishment if they were found in possession of the meat, but their hands were clean.
25. Big Wig
Influential people nowadays are referred to as “big wigs” because, in the 18th century, the most powerful political figures would don the largest wigs.
26. Cold Feet
This phrase originates from a military term, warriors who had frozen feet were not able to rush into battle.
27. Bury The Hatchet
This idiom means to end a quarrel or conflict and become friendly. Men would bury all of their weapons during Puritan-Native American negotiations, rendering them unreachable.
28. The Walls Have Ears
It was said that the Louvre Palace in France had a system of listening tubes that allowed one to hear all that was said in various rooms. It is said that Queen Catherine de’Medici learned of political intrigue and conspiracies in this way.
29. Cat Got Your Tongue
There are two origin stories for this proverb. According to the first, it might have originated from a whip known as “Cat-o’-nine-tails,” which the English Navy used for flogging and which frequently rendered its victims mute. The second one might have originated in ancient Egypt, where the tongues of liars were severed and fed to cats as a kind of punishment.
