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THE ORIGINS OF COMMON SAYINGS

Added on: 20th May 2015

 

RUB THE WRONG WAY

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Meaning: To irritate, bother, or annoy someone

History: In colonial America, servants were required to wet-rub

and dry-rub the oak-board floors each week. Doing it against

the grain caused streaks to form, making the wood look

awful and irritating the homeowner.

 

 

RULE OF THUMB

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Meaning: A common, ubiquitous benchmark

History: Legend has it that 17th century English Judge Sir Francis

Buller ruled it was permissible for a husband to beat his wife

with a stick, given that the stick was no wider than his thumb.

 

 

RUN AMOK

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Meaning: Go crazy

History: Comes from the Malaysian word amoq, which describes

the behaviour of tribesmen who, under the influence of opium,

became wild, rampaging mobs that attacked anybody in their path.

 

 

SAVED BY THE BELL

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Meaning: Rescued from an unwanted situation

History: As scary as it sounds, being buried alive was once

a common occurrence. People who feared succumbing to such

a fate were buried in special coffins that connected to a bell above

ground. At night, guards listened for any bells in case they had to

dig up a living person and save them “by the bell.”

 

 

SHOW YOUR TRUE COLOURS

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Meaning: To reveal one’s true nature

History: Warships used to fly multiple flags to confuse their enemies.

However, the rules of warfare stated that a ship had to hoist its true

flag before firing and hence, display its country’s true colours.

 

 

SLEEP TIGHT

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Meaning: Sleep well

History: During Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on

bed frames by ropes. In order to make the bed firmer, one had

to pull the ropes to tighten the mattress.

 

 

SPILL THE BEANS

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Meaning: To reveal a secret

History: In Ancient Greece, beans were used to vote for

candidates entering various organizations. One container for

each candidate was set out before the group members,

who would place a white bean in the container if they approved

of the candidate and a black bean if they did not. Sometimes a

clumsy voter would accidentally knock over the jar, revealing all

of the beans and allowing everyone to see the otherwise

confidential votes.

 

 

WAKING UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BED

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Meaning: Waking up in a bad mood

History: The left side of the body or anything having to do with the

left was often associated considered sinister. To ward off evil,

innkeepers made sure the left side of the bed was pushed

against a wall, so guests had no other option but to get up

on the right side of the bed.

 


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