Categories: Stories

The Surprising Origins Of 43 Popular Expressions

Have you ever thought about some of the common expressions, slang, and cliches we use on a daily basis and ask yourself where these unusual idioms originated from? Well, have. So, I decided to finally “go the whole 9 yards” to find out and I am “pleased as punch” that I did.

1. Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater

List25

During the 1500s, most people bathed once a year. Even when they did bathe, the entire family used the same tubful of water. The man of the house bathed first, followed by other males, then females, and finally the babies. You can imagine how thick and cloudy the water became by that time, so the infants’ mothers had to take care not to throw them out with the bathwater when they

2. Hold A Candle To

This phrase originates from when apprentices were expected to hold the candle up, so their more experienced colleagues could see what they were doing. The phrase first appeared in print in Sir Edward Dering’s The fower cardinal-vertues of a Carmelite fryar, in 1641.

History Revealed
Storypick20

8. A Stone’s Throw

This term for ‘a short distance’ is a variation of ‘a stone’s cast’, first used in early editions of the Bible, but it fell out of use. Writer John Arbuthnot revived it in The History of John Bull, in 1712.

1 of 5 Next

Show comments
Share
Published by

Recent Posts

test

test

4 years ago

‘The Little Rascals’: The ‘Our Gang Curse’ That May Have Haunted the Cast Throughout the Years

Hollywood “curses” are a strange thing as people tend to look at the collective deaths…

4 years ago

Florida Man Pays Utility Bills For Over 100 Families For Second Christmas In A Row

74-year-old Michael Esmond is putting on the Santa Claus gear this year once again as…

4 years ago

Orlando PD Donates Christmas Gifts To More Than 200 Kids In Need

Police officers from Orlando, FL donated and delivered Christmas gifts to more than 200 kids…

4 years ago

The 1965 Kecksburg Incident: What Fell Over Pennsylvania?

On December 9, 1965, a blue-tinged fireball streaked across the sky over Kecksburg, Pennsylvania. However,…

4 years ago

Why The Pandemic Helped Bring Back Sunday Family Dinners

Over years, less emphasis ended up placed on traditional Sunday family dinners. In those times,…

4 years ago