tonymailman2 Posted August 30, 2010 Report Share Posted August 30, 2010 To start - Mad As A Hatter - Some people say the phrase comes from the fact that in the 18th and 19th centuries hat makers used mercury nitrate in their work. Exposure to this chemical does indeed send you mad. However according to some people the origin of this phrase is much older. Hatter is a corruption of the Saxon word 'atter', which meant adder or viper. Furthermore 'mad' originally meant poisonous. So if you were mad as an atter you were as 'poisonous' (bad tempered or aggressive) as an atter (adder). It goes to show that often it is impossible to be certain where old sayings come from ........... Add yours ........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 30, 2010 Report Share Posted August 30, 2010 'Bit late in the day' now TMM but 'off the top of my head' only ones I can think of are : To bite the bullet Today we use it as a reference to taking a chance or just going for something..... but I believe the saying derived from the days before anaesthetic where soldiers etc about to undergo an operation were given a bullet to bite on to help them cope with the pain Where does the expression 'As a Rule of Thumb' come from as that's one I hear and use an lot but until now I've never wondered where it actually came from. And how about 'Its rainaing cats and dogs' any idea ? (If I had more time I would google the answers to my own questions but I have a noisy group of hairdryer riders to catch next time fly down our road. Been at it all night and they are getting on my nerves now.... Ooooh sorry apparently they are on mopeds... my mistake Which reminds me of another sayng ...... "Like a Bat Out of Hell" .... origin Meatloaf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted August 31, 2010 Report Share Posted August 31, 2010 rule of thumb. could it be reference to the romans? thumbs up you live thumbs down you die. sounds plausible. alternative would be that a thumb is around an inch across and thus twelve thumbs equals a foot as a rule it is a rough guide to length. so rule of thumb has come to mean a rough approximation. as for raining cats and dogs. one explanation i have heard (well i think i heard it some where but not sure) was that dogs and cats used to sleep on the thatched roofs of the hovels in olden days and when it rained they would jump off the roof to seek shelter inside. well either that or slide off the wet roof after reading back through this post it sounds like something from call my bluff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter T Posted August 31, 2010 Report Share Posted August 31, 2010 My favourite is "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me". No idea of the origin, but my Gran taught it to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 31, 2010 Report Share Posted August 31, 2010 Use to chant that to name calling bullies at school... odly enough it usually resulted in them throwing something at us The raining cats and dogs origin sounds plausible Tony as does the one about rule of thumb although other half though the latter came from testing the temperature of beer Got me thinking now though about other things I often say.... where did these come from and why I wonder Keep a stiff upper lip ? Rome wasn't built in a day ? (obviously not ) Cutting off your nose to spite your face ? Don't look a gift horse in the mouth ? A different kettle of Fish ? Saying something 'Tongue in cheek' ? To 'kick the Bucket' (ie when someone 'pops their clogs') Youv'e certainly got me thinking Tony and I'll be 'watching my every word' from now on (why is it 'watching' and not 'listening to' ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted August 31, 2010 Report Share Posted August 31, 2010 Doesn't google cover this subject? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 31, 2010 Report Share Posted August 31, 2010 Probably ....but who wants to sit at their pc 'like a billy no mates' looking up the origins of sayings when they can chat about it online amongst their 'friends' instead Anyway google does not always offer consistent or correct answers to everything No doubt you will now google them all Obs and try and spoil it for everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonymailman2 Posted August 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted August 31, 2010 I give up trying to put anything of interest on here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted August 31, 2010 Report Share Posted August 31, 2010 i have never believed that sticks as stones one ever since my mate got hit on the head when the sign fell of roberts bakery looking at a horses teeth was the way to tell the age of a horse i have been told. so to look a horse given as a gift in the mouth to check it's age was considered as a slight to the person giving the gift.also if you were given and 'old nag' as a gift it did not do to complain as it was often better than walking where you needed to go. stiff upper lip i would guess was to do with the men readying for battle. keeping the upper lip stiff showed that you were not afraid of what was to come no matter how bad. a trembling lip spotted by the enemy could be construed as a sign of fear thus giving them a lift at the critical moment. but do feel free to to give your interpretation it may be right even if you have googled it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 31, 2010 Report Share Posted August 31, 2010 Isn't it a persons bottom lip that usually starts to quivver first though when they are upset, about to cry or worried so surely it should be 'keeping a stiff bottom lip'. Infact try as I might I find it hard to make my top lip go tight (stiff) but it is easy with my bottom lip. Bet you you justied try it too Prince Charles suddenly springs to mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 31, 2010 Report Share Posted August 31, 2010 I give up trying to put anything of interest on here Are we or are we not discussing it Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted August 31, 2010 Report Share Posted August 31, 2010 Here's one that I grew up with as a kid and I suspect it may have been a Warrington saying perhaps someone here could shed some light into it's origins. Whenever anything went missing (people included) my parents would say it's ?Up that crack in Harry Ashton's ? Now I guess there was someone's house or building locally that had a whacking great crack in it so much so it developed into a local saying. So who was Harry Ashton? Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted August 31, 2010 Report Share Posted August 31, 2010 I know some of the origins - Don't look a gift horse in the mouth - Old English Proverb : when given a present, be grateful for your good fortune and don't look for more by examining it to assess its value. Since the only way to know a horses age is looking at its teeth! Keep a stiff upper lip is like 'keep you chin up', and 'keep you pecker up'. The phrase has become symbolic of the British, and particularly of the products of the English public school system during the age of the British Empire. In those schools the 'play up and play the game' ethos was inculcated into the boys who went on to rule the Empire. That 'do your duty and show no emotion' feeling (Yes, I looked that one up!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted August 31, 2010 Report Share Posted August 31, 2010 No longer I'm afraid - the tears now gush out of the TV! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted September 1, 2010 Report Share Posted September 1, 2010 ... think you should change your name to Obsessed Thanks for the info Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted September 1, 2010 Report Share Posted September 1, 2010 Bah Humbug I think Charles Dickens overheard Observer say this and later wrote a book based on him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil Sid Posted September 1, 2010 Report Share Posted September 1, 2010 well bill there was a harry ashton who played for warrington rugby club in about 1881 according to the talk rugby league website. though how the phrase came about and what it refers too may well remain a mystery http://www.talkrugbyleague.co.uk/guides/super_league_teams_warrington_wolves.html one to ponder where did the toast "here's mud in your eye" originate and how? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted September 1, 2010 Report Share Posted September 1, 2010 Think it goes back a bit further that that Sid unless Harry Ashton was playing for Warrington in his late fifties. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted September 3, 2010 Report Share Posted September 3, 2010 According to Morten's List, this toast may have arisen from the Bible story found in the 9th chapter of the Gospel of John, this morning's Second Lesson, where "mud in the eye" is a medium of healing and well-being, like that beverage that's about to go down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 On a TV episode of M.A.S.H. medical doctors in Korea, 1951 treat a British officer who has lost an arm. He insists it will hardly slow him down -- it was his practically useless arm anyway. Might have been Bernard Fox. He's the go to guy for stiff upper lip in Hollywood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lt Kije Posted September 6, 2010 Report Share Posted September 6, 2010 Dutch courage Not sure if this is true but I did hear that it comes from the fact that when the Plague was on going in London, Dutch ships were the only ships to come up the Thames to trade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer Posted September 7, 2010 Report Share Posted September 7, 2010 They came up the Thames once, and sank our fleet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry hayes Posted September 11, 2010 Report Share Posted September 11, 2010 "Daylight robbery" apparently comes from a window tax. People blocked up windows to avoid paying same. I believe there was also a "brick tax". In the old days people had to pay it if their house had a particular number of bricks, which is apparently the reason there are a large number of half timbered and slate dwellings, built to stay within the limits. Happy days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted September 11, 2010 Report Share Posted September 11, 2010 Ne'er cast a clout till May be out Hmmm - what does it mean? never discard your [warm winter] clothing until May is over! Good advice huh? It's and English Proverb from around 1700. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry hayes Posted September 11, 2010 Report Share Posted September 11, 2010 Obviously that you should wear thermals in England until May is out. I believe it is not the month of May but the hawthorn tree (May); and secondly, not the blossom showing but the blossom is "gone" (out)which is usually about the 5th June. (anyone who has played cricket for a long time will tell you it should be nearer the end of June before you discard any woollies). happy days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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