I don’t believe a single one of these. But they are fun!
These are collected from Whacky Whoppers (i.e., totally false) Origins of Common Phrases.
“It’ll cost you an arm and a leg” for instance probably comes from the expression, “I’d give my ... (to/for)... “
Thank you!
“Kick the tires” or “Tire kicker”
“Job of work”
“Piece of work”
You’ve been taking notes from Cliff Clavin by watching reruns of Cheers?
Chairman: the person carried in by a sedan; the chief.
Save face: originally, from “lose face,” a translation of a Chinese expression meaning to not be able to show one’s face in public out of shame.
Straight laced: mistaken form of “strait laced,” meaning having navigated “the strait and narrow.”
Not playing with a full deck: simply means handicapped in matching games.
Gossip: from “Godparents!”
Brass monkey: This just evolved to become crasser and crasser. Originally, the phrase was simply “colder than a brass monkey,” because brass convects head very efficiently, and monkey statues made out of brass were common ornaments.