“Raining cats and dogs”
In old England, animals would drown in flooded streets and wind up in gutters, leading people to believe they fell from the sky. Sorry to start the post on a bit of a downer there.
“Bite the bullet”
Before anesthesia, soldiers literally bit bullets to endure surgery. Nothing like dental trauma and an amputation to top off a rough year on the battlefield…
“Saved by the bell”
Not boxing, but burials! Fearing premature burial, people were buried with bells to ring if they “woke up.” Victorian
horror vibes.
“Mad as a hatter”
8th-century hatmakers used mercury in felt hats, causing tremors, hallucinations, and general lunacy. Hence: Mad hatters.
“Pulling your leg”
Some say it comes from 18th-century thieves who literally pulled victims down by the leg to rob them. Not so funny now, is it? I think not!
“Caught red-handed”
Originated in old Scottish law, if you were caught with blood on your hands after a murder or poaching, no excuses could save you.
“Cost an arm and a leg”
Portrait painters used to charge more to include limbs in paintings. Want arms and legs? That’ll be extra.
“Let the cat out of the bag”
This one stems fro market trickery: Shady vendors would swap a piglet for a cat in a sack. If you opened the bag—surprise!—the scam was up.
“Under the weather”
Sailors who felt sick were sent below deck to recover. They were literally “under” the weather. Sea sickness or not, it stuck.
“Sleep tight”
Old beds were held together by ropes. You had to tighten them regularly or sink into a saggy mess. Sleep tight = no rope sag.
“Butter someone up”
Ancient India had a ritual of throwing butterballs at statues of gods to seek favor. Divine flattery, literally.
“Barking up the wrong tree”
Hunting dogs chasing prey would sometimes bark at an empty tree while the clever critter had already escaped to
another. Oops.
“Pleased as punch”
This one comes from Punch and Judy puppet shows. Punch was a violent little guy who found joy in chaos, and oddly enough, he was always thrilled.
“By and large”
A nautical term: “by” means sailing into the wind, and “large” means with it. A ship that could sail by and large was well-equipped.
“Steal someone’s thunder”
In 1700s theatre, a playwright invented a new sound effect for thunder only to have other productions steal it. Literally. Petty and perfect.
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What does "divine flattery" have to do with "throwing butterballs at statues of gods?"
e.g. "Arm and a leg" has been found in newspaper archives since 1901. Not ancient, and certainly not related to battle carnage in the World Wars.
This will likely get worse now that AIs are being trained on the hallucinations of other AIs.