Posted on 11/20/2011 5:11:29 PM PST by Jim Robinson
He came from Kenya.
5.56mm
It has some grains of potential truth.
Some I have heard before, some passed as lore, but I haven’t seen or heard of any of these being debunked...
The secret truth behind Terra Nova: THEY’RE ALL DEAD!!
Now I know where that saying, “I’m so poor that I don’t have a pot to p*ss in or a window to throw it out of”... comes from. Thanks!
Piss poor is from the chamber pot. If one did not own a chamber pot, one would have to get up and go outside to relieve oneself at night.
There’s an addendum: “or a window to throw it out of”.
In towns, chamber pots were typically emptied by simply throwing the contents out the window. The streets also served as sewers.
One who had no home at all was that poor, not a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of.
I’ve got one. Why are very light blond haired children called tow heads?
Anyone have an answer because I certainly don’t know.
Love the thread, Jim. Many interesting ‘factuals’.
Full read post. Thanks for the education.
I think that much of this makes sense.
“Saved by the bell” comes from boxing, but it could have had earlier roots, I guess.
And I don’t think that many peasants with thatched roofs had canopy beds. They were more upper class, from before the days of central heating. You could pull the side curtains closed and keep a bit warmer and more private.
Where did the phrase, ‘Taken with a grain of salt’ come from?
:-)
When you pulled the trigger on your flintlock rifle and only the powder in the pan went off without igniting the main charge, it was called “flash in the pan.”
If you sold your entire rifle, and not just the parts, you sold it “lock, stock and barrel.”
And of course “straight as a ram rod” came from the the loading rod used to stuff the powder charge down the barrel.
I think that tow head refers to flax or hemp, light colored fibers used to make rope.
That’s a very plausible explanation. Thanks!
Folk etymologies are fun!....and in the words of Cecil Adams, “some day one of these cute stories will actually turn out to be true!”
In Pliny it reads addito salis grano but the formula cum grano salis is better known.
“Don’t let the cat out of the bag.” is said to refer to the time of the tall ships, they kept the cat of nine tails in a bag and it was only taken out when someone on board was to be flogged.
With the most vulnerable getting the nastiest water of all, it’s no wonder so many babies died.
Great! Some stuff is just meant to be read, snopes is a bunch of libs anyhow!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.