Like to hear how a phrase, saying, social convention came into being. Heard a good one today and thought I’d share a few.
Reason to clink glasses together- Two thousand yrs. ago, the practice came into being from the Romans. The cups were slammed together in toast so that liquid from all cups mixed together. Helped to insure no one was poisoned.
Shaking hands- I believe came from the Romans also. So that when two men not well-acquainted met(or met with someone you didn’t trust) the right hand was occupied with a clasp so the dominant hand couldn’t be used to thrust a dagger into the other guy. May be other interpretations of this. Let’s hear 'em.
Phrase “Son of a gun”- Sailors of the British Navy, that had a wife with difficulty delivering, would bring her on board. A hammock was strung b/w two cannons. She climbed in, tried to relax, and both cannons were simultaneously fired. Supposedly helped baby to be delivered. Baby was a son of a gun.
Square meal- Many sailors of the British Navy were not exactly thrilled to be in the service. Some were press-ganged. However, the Navy served excellent, hearty meals. They were served on a wooden, square plate. Hence, a square meal.
Devil’s Advocate- Comes from the Catholic Church. Not a Catholic so feel free to correct me if wrong. When an individual is up for sainthood, a discussion is held debating the merit’s for and against. The person arguing the against position is called the Devil’s Advocate.
Anyone else with interesting factoids, let’s hear 'em. If I’m wrong, or there are other interpretations, in my examples, let’s see the other explanation.
“Supposedly helped the Baby be delivered. The Baby was a “Son of a Gun””.
But sadly was born with Scurvy, came out proclaiming “AAARRRRGGGGG MATYS!!”, and sadly,where his right leg should have been from the Knee down, there was just a wooden “Pegleg”.
I heard that the Salute started in a similar way. Knights would raise their visor with their Right hand to show they had peaceful intentions. This evolved into the salute over time.
This one is a little off. While you are correct that there was a Devils Advocate in that process the original term come from the bible. If you read the bible closely(especially the OT) you will see that the Devil is actually portrayed as a tester and questioner. He would push back on people of faith to test them, even if he didn’t agree with the argument he was making. This is especially obvious in the book of Job and Genesis. Therefore the term of Devils Advocate came to be.
Ahhh I knew all those years in Private Christian schools would come in handy eventually.
To add: it was also used to show another potential combatant, that your dominate hand, was not armed with a weapon, and to demonstrate non aggressive intention.
“The real McCoy”
it was common for rum-runner captains to add water to bottles to stretch their profits, or to re-label it as better goods. One American rum-runner captain and boat builder, William S. McCoy, became famous for never watering his booze, and selling only real top-quality products. Because of this, some accounts place McCoy as the source of the term “the Real McCoy.” -wiki
a “Speakeasy” was an establishment which illegally sold alcoholic beverages during Prohibition. a patron’s manner of ordering an alcoholic drink without raising suspicion — bartenders would tell patrons to be quiet and “speak easy”
Anyone know if “The rule of thumb” really originated from an understood rule that says you couldn’t beat your wife with a stick thicker than your thumb? That was from boondock saints.
The word POSH, usually to describe someone like Victoria Beckham or similar should actually be P.O.S.H or Portside Out, Starboard Home. Back in the day in the British Empire, when traveling to colonies, people would pay large extra amounts of money to face the same side coming back home as they faced going out, I believe so that they would get either the cool wind from the open ocean, or the warmer air from the land. Thus the word POSH became to describe the ritzier type of folks.
This one is often quoted completely wrong as “runs/ran like a raped ape.”
This is a phrase used to say that somethign is fast, such as how a date you had would evacuate your presence should you have chossen to rape her.
If you were to rape (force yourself upon) an ape or any wild animal, they would not harbor the emotional distress that a human would. Why would an ape run from you if you had forced intercourse with it? It may kill you… or it may stroll away from while looking back at you as if your an idiot… but it would not have a reaction nearly as drastic as your prom date would.
OMG. You are sick. First, I’ve never even heard that one. Second, I’ve heard of “Grape Ape” I think it was a cartoon, in the opening credits they show a purple ape running alongside a car, thus indicating that perhaps Grape Ape can run very fast.
If someone, especially a Mechanic, said to me, “She runs like a raped date.” I’de start by asking him:“how would you know?” And likely finish with nothing but more blood on my hands.
No harm done. I just wanted to clear the waters. This is a good thread and I’de hate to see it get closed for something like rape commments. We can all agree that rapists only deserve an audience when at the Gallows, speaking their last words. Sorry if I was a little too spry. I had to kill a pedophile once. It just brought back bad emotions. When you are not the victim, it is painful to take a life. In Iraq, I absolved all of my sins, but I will never forget the first time I ever took a life.
