Have you ever wondered where words and phrases originated? During your day, you might hear one or maybe a few of these, and after hearing someone say “Dead as a Doornail” yesterday, I wondered about its origin. So here we go!
** Dead as a Door Nail – One of the stories I found on this phrase was that in colonial times nails were in short supply, and they were frequently stolen when they could be. To prevent this from happening folks would hammer in a nail with the head side on the inside of the structure, so that they could not be easily removed from the outside. They would then bend the nail, making it unusable, or “dead” for use by anyone else! Today this refers to a failed project or situation.
** Bikini – This word came from an unexpected place: The Marshall Islands! The first bikini was sold in 1947, but it was in 1946 that a test bomb was set off in the Marshall Islands. The tests were called “Bikini Island Bomb Tests.” As the two piece bathing suit set off “explosive” reactions, it was decided that they would name the swim suit the “Bikini.”
** Beat Around the Bush – In older days when noblemen wanted to go hunting they sent out their servants to an area where wild boar were to be found. The wild boar were very dangerous and the servants had no weapons to protect themselves. So they would beat the area around the bushes where the boars were to draw them out. This evasive technique became associated with someone who wants to avoid an issue directly, thus the phraseology.
** Pipe Dreams – This one comes from the opium dens. Smoking opium is known to put a person in a dream-like state of mind, where ideas are not realistic. This term was then transferred to folks to describe a unique or bizzare idea that they “dreamt” up.
** Bring Home the Bacon – I just had to get the much loved bacon in this post! A competition that was found at fairs in the days of old, was to grease a pig and the contestants had to catch the pig. As the event involved a pig, and the prize was money, if you won the event, they called it “bringing home the bacon.” Today, it still means bringing home money after working hard.
** Wet Behind the Ears – When an animal is born, they are wet from the fluids found in the amniotic sac. The ears take the longest to dry of any part of the animal. Wet behind the ears came about describing this feature and the fact that they have no skills or knowledge yet, and it was transferred to people who have no knowledge or skills to complete a task they have not done before!
** To Go Haywire – Today this means that something doesn’t work out right. Here is why: In 1828 a machine was created that baled hay using wire. It didn’t always work right, and sometimes the wire would get stuck in the machine, and the wire would get tangled. It was apparently really hard to untangle the mess and from this anything that does not work right goes Haywire!
** Put Up Your Dukes – The Duke of York, Frederick Augustus, son of King George III, loved to fight and named his fists his “dukes.” The phrase caught on with fighters who began calling their fists their “dukes!”
** Green Eyed Monster – Jealousy, right? The term comes from Shakespeare’s play Othello in Act III. He used a green eyed cat to represent jealousy. So Shakespeare coined the phrase, and it caught on!
** O.K. – Everything is O.K., isn’t it? The earliest account of this term comes from an 1840’s dictionary. Whig candidate William Henry Harrison was to be speaking at a rally and wagons were gathered. On one of the wagons was a streamer bearing the words “The People is Oll Korrect.” Harrison’s opponents seeing the popular appeal in this took it for themselves and changed it to “The People is O.K.”
Well, now that I am as dead as a door nail from writing this, so I think I will don my bikini! Without beating around the bush, I will be working on a pipe dream that will hopefully help me to bring home the bacon. I am a bit wet behind the ears as I will be taking on something new, and hopefully it will not go haywire. Later on I hope that I do not have put up my dukes to fight off the green eyed monster’s next door as they gaze at the lasagna garden. Hopefully all will go O.K.! Now, I am ready to start my day!
Life in the Foothills 