Sayings....

OutdoorWriter

OutdoorWriter

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So last night I was watching the movie, "Man On Fire," with Denzel Washington. During a conversation, Christopher Walkins was telling him about the origin of "OK." When I heard it, I chuckled, thinking it was the movie's creative writers at work.

But to see 'fer shure'...I googled it this moring & discovered I was off-base because the writers had indeed done their research.

It happened exactly how Walkins laid it out:

"OK" is an idiom that took the world by storm when it came out of the 1840 reelection campaign of President Martin Van Buren. Born in Kinderhook, N.Y., Van Buren carried the nickname "Old Kinderhook." Supporters used the shortened "OK" in rallies, and it took off from there.

Besides the gutter language, are there any other common words or phrases you guys can come up with that have unique origins?
 
Homer said:
"the whole nine yards"........50 cal belts in WW2 were 27 feet long....so..."I gave them the whole nine yards" came to be.....

I have no idea if it is true....but sounds good
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That's a good one. See the part in RED. I tend to go withe first idea about fabric.

Here's what I found on Wikipedia:

There is still no consensus on the origin, though many early published quotations are now available for study. A vast number of explanations for this phrase have been suggested;[29][30] however many of these are no longer viable in light of what is now known about the phrase's history.
  • Many of the popular candidates relate to the length of pieces of fabric, or various garments, including Indian saris, Scottish kilts, burial shrouds, or bolts of cloth.[31][32] No single source verifies that any one of those suggestions was the actual origin. However, an article published in Comments on Etymology demonstrates that fabric was routinely sold in standard lengths of nine yards (and other multiples of three yards) during the 1800s and early 1900s.[33] This may explain why so many different types of cloth or garments have been said to have been nine yards long.[34] The phrase "...she has put the whole nine yards into one shirt" appears in 1855.[35]
  • One explanation is that World War II (1939–1945) aircraft machine gun belts were nine yards long. There are many versions of this explanation with variations regarding type of plane, nationality of gunner and geographic area. An alternative weapon is the ammunition belt for the British Vickers machine gun, invented and adopted by the British Army before World War I (1914–1918). The standard belt for this gun held 250 rounds of ammunition and was approximately twenty feet (under seven yards) in length.[11] However, the Vickers gun as fitted to aircraft during the First World War usually had ammunition containers capable of accommodating linked belts of 350-400 rounds, the average length of such a belt being about nine yards, and it was thought that this may be the origin of the phrase.[36] This theory is no longer considered viable, since the phrase predates World War I.
  • Another common explanation is that "nine yards" is a cubic measure and refers to the volume of a concrete mixer.[37] This theory, too, is inconsistent with the phrase's history.[11]
  • Other proposed sources include the volume of graves;[38] ritual disembowelment; shipyards; and American football. Little documentary evidence has surfaced to support any of these explanations.[39]
  • One proposed origin involves the world of full-rigged sailing ships, in which yard is used not as a measure of length or size, but as the name of each horizontal spar on which a sail is hung. All square-rigged sails unfurled, with 3 yards on each of 3 masts, could then be described as the whole nine yards,[40][41] but again no actual documentation has been uncovered to support this explanation, and in any case not all ships had exactly three yards on each mast, even disregarding the fact that by no means all sailing vessels were three-masters.[42]
  • Bonnie Taylor-Blake, noting that several early examples are in the form "give" or "tell" the whole nine (or six) yards, has suggested that the idiom likely relied on "yards" as "lengthy or thorough presentation [of news, anecdotes, play-by-play, etc.]"[43]
  • Jesse Sheidlower, editor-at-large for the Oxford English Dictionary, and Fred R. Shapiro have argued that the phrase does not have a concrete meaning, pointing to the variance between six and nine yards and comparing it to the whole shebang.[11]
 
Here's another I thought of:

"break a leg"

It's used by performers to wish good luck to another performer, usually a stage actor.

Although there are several theories for its origin, the most likely one dates back to the Elizabethan age. Rather than applaud, the audience would bang their chairs on the ground — and if they liked it enough, banging harder on the floor, the leg of the chair would break.

As a result, performers would say to each other, "I hope you break a leg."
 
OutdoorWriter said:
Here's another I thought of:

"break a leg"

It's used by performers to wish good luck to another performer, usually a stage actor.

Although there are several theories for its origin, the most likely one dates back to the Elizabethan age. Rather than applaud, the audience would bang their chairs on the ground — and if they liked it enough, banging harder on the floor, the leg of the chair would break.

As a result, performers would say to each other, "I hope you break a leg."
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I thought that originated with Tonya Harding. :)
 
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"Cash on the barrelhead!"

The lexicographer Charles Earle Funk surmised that this term originated in the days when upended barrels served as both seats and tables in bars, and customers were required to pay for their drinks immediately, literally putting their money on the top (head) of a barrel.
 
Captain_coues said:
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Here's the real origin... :rolleyes:

More politely known as "a pile of poo", the term "a crock of sh!t" derives from an ancient Roman custom that coincidentally took place in Roman times.

It referred literally to a pot into which people would defecate if they were particularly bored by whichever freelance philosopher happened to be talking rubbish at the time.

The Roman Empire employed crock-monitors who were each assigned to a philosopher, and it was their job to monitor the pot (or crock).

Should the crock become full, it would be presented to the philosopher, who was obliged, by law, to announce that it bore a remarkable resemblance to himself, thus proclaiming he was full of crap and was, in fact, talking a crock of sh!t.

"I am talking a crock of sh!t", Socrates - 429 BC
 
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So while on the subject, let's get this one out of the way. I posted it here more than 10 years ago.

********************************

Have you ever wondered who first uttered the phrase: "You Gotta Be Sh!ttin' Me?"

Well, it just so happens to have originated through way back when the Father of Our Country, George Washington was crossing the Delaware River with his troops.

There were 33 men in Washington's boat. It was extremely dark and storming furiously. The waves were was tossing them about. Finally, Washington grabbed Corporal Peters and stationed him at the front of the boat with a lantern. He ordered him to keep swinging it, so they could see where they were heading.

Corporal Peters, through driving rain and cold, continued swinging the lantern back and forth, back and forth. Then a big gust of wind and a huge wave hit and threw Corporal Peters and his lantern into the Delaware. Washington and his troops searched for nearly an hour trying to find Corporal Peters, but to no avail. All of them felt terrible, for the Corporal had been one of their favorite colleagues.

Sometime later, Washington and his troops landed on the other side, wet and totally exhausted. He rallied the troops and told them that they must slog on regardless of the weather.

An hour later, one of his men said, "General, I see lights ahead through the trees."

They trudged toward the lights and came upon a huge house. What they didn't know was that this was a house of ill repute, hidden in the forest to serve all who came.

General Washington pounded on the door, his men crowding around him. The door swung open, and much to his surprise stood a volupuous woman. A huge smile came across the madam's face, to see so many men standing there.

Washington was the first to speak, "Ma'am, I am General George Washington and these are my men. We are tired, wet, exhausted, and desperately need warmth and comfort."

Again, the madam looked at all the men standing there, and with a broad smile on her face, said, "Well, General, you have come to the right place. We can surely give you warmth and comfort. How many men do you have?"

Washington replied, "Well, ma'am, there are 32 of us without Peters."

Shocked, the madam said, "You gotta be sh!ttin' me!"
 
LOL Eel!

Scroll Down to # 5!

Urban Dictionary: Piss Cutter

A soft military cap also referred to as an overseas cap, fore-and-aft cap, or garrison cover. Term is derived from the wearer's head appearing to look like the tip of a penis.
www.urbandictionary.com www.urbandictionary.com




eelgrass said:
Pisscutter
From Wikipedia: A term thought to have originated on an obscure hunting website in Utah. Mostly used to designate an immature animal. "You shot a pisscutter? Shame on you!"
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elkassassin said:
LOL Eel!

Scroll Down to # 5!

Urban Dictionary: Piss Cutter

A soft military cap also referred to as an overseas cap, fore-and-aft cap, or garrison cover. Term is derived from the wearer's head appearing to look like the tip of a penis.
www.urbandictionary.com www.urbandictionary.com
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LMAO!

#5

Pisscutter
A very small sub standard Bull Elk or Mule Deer buck commonly found and harvested by Utah sportsmen.
Say Bob Im going over to see Bessy's buck, care to put down that Mountain Dew and LDS bible and join me? NO thanks if I know ole Bessy it's just another pisscutter.
 
Over a barrel.

It is a nautical term, which derives from the practice of hanging a drowned, usually unconscious person over a barrel to clear their lungs of water. The fate of the "patient" was determined solely by the actions of those administering the treatment. In other words, he was at their mercy.
 
How about, You are as useless as the **** on a boar hog..........

Where did that come from because my ole man used to say that to me all the time.

Eel? OW?
 
"Bite the Bullet"

When this phrase first came into common usage, it meant a person without any sign of fear, who acts with courage in the face of adversity. It relates to the dangerous practice in 1850s armies (including the US and UK) where soldiers were equipped with the British Enfield rifle. In order to use it, they had to bite off the head of the cartridge to expose the explosive to the spark which would ignite it. The procedure was obviously potentially fatal, particularly so in the middle of battle, so anyone who did it was considered valiant.

Now, the phrase seems to be closer to 'quit worrying & just do it.'
 
OutdoorWriter said:
"Bite the Bullet"

When this phrase first came into common usage, it meant a person without any sign of fear, who acts with courage in the face of adversity. It relates to the dangerous practice in 1850s armies (including the US and UK) where soldiers were equipped with the British Enfield rifle. In order to use it, they had to bite off the head of the cartridge to expose the explosive to the spark which would ignite it. The procedure was obviously potentially fatal, particularly so in the middle of battle, so anyone who did it was considered valiant.

Now, the phrase seems to be closer to 'quit worrying & just do it.'
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Popular term that males use prior to prostrate & colonoscopy exams
 
'By hook or by crook'

As in ‘by any means necessary’ today, dates back to medieval England during the late 1300s. Back then the forests were all owned by royalty, and firewood collecting by any of the commoners was a criminal offense. There was an exception for the poor, though. They were not allowed to actually cut trees but could gather wood from the ground. Or they could even harvest dead branches from the tree 'by hook or by crook,' which were two different types of tools, both with curved ends.
 
Back in medieval times if a person was convicted of a capital crime they were executed by hanging. They also hanged the offenders horse if the offense was particularly heinous.

That's where 'hung like a horse' originated.
 
eelgrass said:
Back in medieval times if a person was convicted of a capital crime they were executed by hanging. They also hanged the offenders horse if the offense was particularly heinous.

That's where 'hung like a horse' originated.
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lol....uh huh
 
OutdoorWriter said:
Another southern term that usually referred to dollar bills.
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All the running around I've done...only heard that term from My Grandfather when I was young and we'd played a gambling game over the holidays...went to a coin show quite a few years back and realized paper money before WW! was brown and black..
 
eelgrass said:
you're not buying it?
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Come on, eel, quit funnin' these guys.

As the object of being referred to by this vulgar simile many times, I know exactly what it means. :rolleyes:

It's birth was from the Bible in Ezekiel 23:20: "There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses."

And here's the advantage I've found:

There was a chicken and a horse playing together on a farm one day. The horse fell into a mud pit and yelled to the chicken to run to the house and get the farmer. The chicken ran to the house and the farmer was nowhere to be found. So, it got into the farmer’s BMW and pulled the horse out with it.

The next day the chicken and the horse were playing on the farm again. This time the chicken fell into the mud pit and yelled to the horse to get help. So, the horse stood over the mud pit and told the chicken to grab on to his penis and he’d pull him out. The chicken grabbed on and, indeed, the horse pulled him out.

The moral of the story: If you’re hung like a horse, you don’t need a BMW to pick up chicks
 
eelgrass said:
You've adapted real well here, Tony. :)
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I'll take that as a complement.

tenorC.gif
 
Bluehair said:
Pluck yew.

www.snopes.com

What Is the History of the Middle Finger?

The 'middle finger salute' did not derive from the defiant gestures of archers whose fingers had been severed at the Battle of Agincourt.
www.snopes.com www.snopes.com

And if you don agree, well pluck yew.
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This seems to actually be a fairly accurate account.

Middle Finger gesture

Thought this part was kinda neat. At least my anchestors did something worthwhile.

"The middle finger, which Dr Morris says probably arrived in the US with Italian immigrants, is documented in the US as early as 1886, when a pitcher for the Boston Beaneaters gave it in a joint team photograph with the rival New York Giants."
 
Don’t underestimate your Italian heritage. The world is better because of excellent food cooked by women with mustaches. :ROFLMAO:
 
"Barking up the wrong tree"

Basically means bad judgement or making a mistake. The phrase probably began in the South with racoon hunters who use dogs to chase the masked critters. Sometimes the coon would scamper up one tree, then leap to a nearby one. Meanwhile, the dogs would follow the scent to the base of the first treee where their handler would find them "barking up the wrong tree."
 
eelgrass said:
Back in medieval times if a person was convicted of a capital crime they were executed by hanging. They also hanged the offenders horse if the offense was particularly heinous.

That's where 'hung like a horse' originated.
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Not true it was two Italians standing on the Golden Gate bridge with their privates hanging. One said the water was cold the other said it was DEEP too. Once they were hanging one said to the other Man your hung like a horse..........
 
Today's phrase: Toe the line

I was watching "Far & Away" last night with Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman. It took place in the late 1880s. Cruise earned money by bare-knuckle boxing. The two opponents squared off face-to-face on either side of a line drawn on the floor. They were told to "toe the line." Today it means to follow orders or accept authority.

There are other thoughts as to the origin as well. One related to how British sailors lined up on the deck of their ship. Barefooted seamen had to stand at attention for inspection, lined up on deck along the seams of the wooden planks. Another 'origin' says it comes from foot races (track) where the runners "toed the line" at the start.
 
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Today's entries:

PISS POOR ​

MYTH: This dates back to when they used urine for tanning hides in some European countries. Entire families would all pee in the same pot to collect as much urine as possible. Then a designated family member took the pot to the tanneryto sell the urine. If a family had to do this to survive financially, they were called "Piss poor."

DIDN'T HAVE A POT TO PISS IN​

MYTH: This one has the same origins but was considered a worse circumstance,i.e. folks too poor to buy even the pot to collect their urine. Thus.since they "DIDN'T HAVE A POT TO PISS IN," they were the poorest and lowest of the low.

BUT...both of the above supposed origins are inventions of creative mnds. The phrases weren't used until sometime in the early part of the 20th century and are more likely just expressions that actually began in the U.S. However, some of it is rooted to the practice of having a "pot to pee in" before indoor plumbing became the norm.
 
Buckhunter1955 said:
There are many from the farming industry'
"a tough row to hoe"
"did you catch my drift"
"longer than a rake handle"
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I've never heard the 'rake' one before, and there's not too much online to explain its origin. The 'row' one definitely has its origin in American farming.

However, it appears the 'drift' one goes way back and is not related to farming. Here's a good synopsis of it:

 
My Mom has a endless amount of "sayings"
"If you don't use your head you'll have to use your feet"
"Colder than a landlords heart"
I've got more but they might be to colorful to post.
 
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Another idiom:
FIT AS A FIDDLE
​
Meaning:
Healthy, strong, physicaly able, etc

Origin:
Fiddle refers to stringed musical instruments, especially violin, which had to be kept in good condition (fit). The phrase was recorded in a book entitled English-men for my Money, written in the year 1616 by Haughton William. Source: theidioms.com
 
Buckhunter1955 said:
My Mom has a endless amount of "sayings"
"If you don't use your head you'll have to use your feet"
"Colder than a landlords heart"
I've got more but they might be to colorful to post.
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Speaking of moms, my mom’s favorite one to me and my brother... “that’s the Fk’in you get for the Fk’in you got”
 
Back on track with today's entry...

Dead as a doornail​

Another idiom, the term was used in the 1500s by William Shakespeare, and in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in 1843. It is thought that the phrase "dead as a doornail" comes from the manner of securing doornails. The person building the door would hammer the nail all the way through the boards. On the other side, he would hammer the end flat, bending it so that the nail would be more secure in a process, called “clenching.” In doing so, the nail was rendered unusable for any other purpose. It would be difficult to remove and even more difficult to use again elsewhere. Thus, the bent nail was commonly called “dead.”

Common usuage: unmoving, obsolete & and as a quaint way to say something is really, really dead. ;)
 
Homer said:
Too dead to skin.....

ODW should recognize this one...
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I know what it means in reference to a dead critter, as in its not worth skinning to eating because it's been dead too long.

dogscratchhead.gif

​
But I'm stumped as to the origin. I can think of a couple quotes from Jeremiah Johnson about skinning, but that's not one of them.
 
I wish I could remember where I read it but it was from a diary story written by a guide for Teddy Roosevelt........very good story.

...he wasn't referring to a rotting animal, just comically describing the great shot and instant death of a Mt goat by Roosevelt..


just curious ODW is you've ever read the book "Alaska Yukon Trophies Won and Lost" by G.O. Young??
 
Seems like the "dead as a doornail" one would have been better for that instance. :ROFLMAO:

I've read quite a few of the things Roosevelt wrote himself. He spent a lot of time hunting in the West.

I haven't read Young's book. Is that the one where he ventured into the wilds during the early 1900s to live off the land?
 
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Homer said:
I wish I could remember where I read it but it was from a diary story written by a guide for Teddy Roosevelt........very good story.

...he wasn't referring to a rotting animal, just comically describing the great shot and instant death of a Mt goat by Roosevelt..


just curious ODW is (Is?OR IF?) you've ever read the book "Alaska Yukon Trophies Won and Lost" by G.O. Young??
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Of course, it will likely be easy to google this for the answer, but... instead, see if you can guess where this phrase comes from without using that crutch...

Up your nose with a rubber hose!​
 
OutdoorWriter said:
Of course, it will likely be easy to google this for the answer, but... instead, see if you can guess where this phrase comes from without using that crutch...

Up your nose with a rubber hose!​
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A family was on a road trip with their two kids in the back seat. The kids got bored and were thinking of words that rhymed together. They were laughing and having a good time but were too loud for mom and dad. Dad kept telling the kids to settle down, and they would for a time, but then right back at it. Finally, Dad said "This is the last time I'm going to tell you kids, now settle down!!!" Little Johnny said "Up your nose with a rubber hose!"

Dad pulled over and spanked little Johnny.
 

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