Origin of Sayings?

Feb 02, 2003 23:42

In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image  was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed  him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not  based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are "limbs", therefore, painting them  would cost the buyer more. Hence, the expression "Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg."

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As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year! (May &  October) Women always kept their hair covered while men shaved their  heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford  good wigs.
The wigs couldn't be washed so to clean them, they could  carve out a loaf of bread,
put the wig in the shell and bake it for 30  minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term "big  wig." Today we often use the expression "Here comes the Big Wig" because  someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.

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In the late 1700s, many houses consisted  of a large room with only one chair.
Commonly, a long wide board was  folded down from the wall and used for dining.
The "head of the  household" always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on  the floor. Once in a while an invited guest would be offered to sit in  this chair during a meal who was almost always a man. To sit-in the chair  meant you were important and in charge. Sitting in the chair, one was called  the "chair man."
Today, in business, we use the expression or title  "Chairman."

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Needless to say, personal  hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had  developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over  their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were  speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face
she was told "mind your own bee's wax." Should the woman smile, the wax  would crack, hence the term "crack a smile". Also, when they sat too  close to the fire, the wax would melt, and therefore, the expression "losing face".

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Ladies wore corsets which would  lace up in the front. A tightly tied lace was worn by a proper and dignified  lady as in "straight laced".

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Common  entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when  purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the "ace of spades." To  avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since  most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full deck."

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Early politicians required feedback from  the public to determine what was considered important to the people. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent  their assistants to local taverns, pubs and bars who were told to "go sip  some ale" and listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. "You go sip here"  and "You go sip there." The two words "go sip" were eventually combined when  referring to the local opinion and thus, we have the term "gossip." (figures politicians are to blame, lol)

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At local  taverns, pubs and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers.
A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks  coming.
She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in  "pints" and who was drinking in "quarts." Hence, the term "minding your  'P's and Q's."

brain food, interesting, fun facts

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