Posted on 05/05/2016 5:03:45 AM PDT by harpygoddess
"Hang up the phone." comes from one specific kind of land-line phone that had a kind of hook you'd hang the handset from when you were done. Doing so would pull down the hook that was connected to a switch inside the phone that would disconnect the line.
And lots of nautical stuff:
Groggy - In 1740, British Admiral Vernon (whose nickname was "Old Grogram" for the cloak of grogram which he wore) ordered that the sailors' daily ration of rum be diluted with water. The men called the mixture "grog". A sailor who drank too much grog was "groggy".
Leeway - The weather side of a ship is the side from which the wind is blowing. The Lee side is the side of the ship sheltered from the wind. A lee shore is a shore that is downwind of a ship. If a ship does not have enough "leeway" it is in danger of being driven onto the shore.
Pipe Down - Means stop talking and be quiet. The Pipe Down was the last signal from the Bosun's pipe each day which meant "lights out" and "silence".
Slush Fund - A slushy slurry of fat was obtained by boiling or scraping the empty salted meat storage barrels. This stuff called "slush" was often sold ashore by the ship's cook for the benefit of himself or the crew. The money so derived became known as a slush fund.
(Excerpt) Read more at vaviper.blogspot.com ...
All depends on who’s ox is getting gored.
I think I’ll Xerox myself a photocopy.
Don’t touch that dial!
Icebox
Roll down the window.
Dial up someone.
About ten years ago, the now nursing student daughter was walking past the living room while father was watching a 1940s B&W movie on TCM, and in the movie someone was making a phone call. She suddenly stopped in her tracks and exclaimed, “So THAT’S why it’s called dialing!”
Put a penny in the fusebox.
Standing Head (headline)
from the time of typsetting newspapers
“The Whole 9 Yards” also from WWII. The machine-gun belts were 27 feet long, so when the gunner fired the entire belt, he gave them the whole 9 yards.
Film at 11.
Films, movies, to “tape” something.
It’s 10PM do you know where your children are!
Some snitch dropped a dime on me.
“The milk man”
Milk used to be delivered to your front door.
The Sprint Store calls my hand me down, 4 yr old smart phones obsolete old tech.
“Fill ‘er up!”
What you used to say to the guy who came out of the station when you went for gasoline for your car.
Technology conditioning for humans:
- When entering a dark room, people will automatically grope at the wall next to the door for a light switch. This is a conditioned behavior.
- Cell phone “yawn.” Much like yawning can be contagious, people will instinctively reach for or check their own phone when someone else in the bar/room/meeting does so.
This collection also highlights how many phrases we take for granted are of nautical and printers’ origins. The English race has always been sea going and our inherited language is filled with sailors’ jargon. And Americans from colonial times were a highly literate people. Ben Franklin might not have been even an historical footnote (pun intended) if he hadn’t chosen printer as his profession.
World ends. Film at 11:00.
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