Did You Know? – Why We Say That

We use some phrases commonly and most of us never stop to think about what they really mean or where it is they came from.  Here are some clues as to why we say what we say.1.  High on the hog – The source of this phrase is often said to be the fact that the best cuts of meat on a pig come from the back and upper leg and that the wealthy ate cuts from ‘high on the hog’.

2.  A feather in one’s cap – A symbol of honour and achievement.  This saying came from the Native American tradition of adding a feather to the head-dress of any warrior who performed a brave act.

3.  Caught red handed – To be caught in the act of committing a misdemeanour, with the evidence there for all to see. Red-handed is a straightforward allusion to having blood on one’s hands after the execution of a murder or a poaching session.

4.  The acid test – In the California Gold Rush in the second half of the 19th century, prospectors and dealers needed to be able to distinguish gold from base metal. Gold doesn’t react to most acids as other metals do.  To confirm that, and to find out if it was gold, it was given ‘the acid test’.

5.  Throw in the towel – in old boxing days many bruised fighters couldn’t get to their feet when the bell rang for the new round to begin.  Their managers knew they could do nothing but give up since they were too weak to continue.   As a signal, one of them would toss in an article used to soak up blood – usually a towel.

6.  Spill the beans – In ancient Greece, voting for membership into some organizations was done via beans.  White beans were dropped into a container if you favored the candidate and brown or black beans if you didn’t.  Apparently the jar was not clear and when you went to vote you kept your hands folded so no one knew if you dropped a white or black bean.  Only the officials knew the actual vote results of black vs. white beans.  However….on a few occasions a clumsy voter would knock over the jar and reveal all the beans!   This is how the phrase got to refer to someone who reveals the truth or hidden secrets.

7.  Black balled – Along the lines of voting by dropping beans into a jar, many exclusive clubs voted on their new members by dropping white or black balls into a hat or box.  A white ball was a Yes and a black ball was a No.   After all the votes were cast, if a candidate had so much as one more black ball than white, he wasn’t accepted into the club and the term “he got black balled” came into being.

8.  Laid an egg – The term goes back to the game of Cricket in which one was given “a duck’s egg”  if you had no runs, because a ZERO looked like an egg.  So rather than saying a team had no score, they would say, “They laid an egg”.   Today, any type of failure in any adventure (sports or not) means to “lay an egg”.

9.  Red Letter Day – Back in the old days, calendars were only made by monks and made by hand in monasteries or convents.  Scribes often emphasized days of Saints or other important events by using a reddish ink made from ocher (a mineral of oxide of iron).  A quick look at the calendar instantly showed all the red marks from the black, so that preparation or anticipation of those important days could be acted upon.  Today, we consider a “red letter day” as any important day in our lives such as birthdays, weddings, anniversaries or the beginning of vacations or ending of school years.

10.  Wrong side of the bed – We live in a right-handed world.  In the ancient world, the left-side of the body or anything “left” was considered sinister, mysterious, dangerous or evil.   So, innkeepers pushed the left sides of the bed against the walls so that a guest HAD to get up on the right side.  Today, with queen and king size beds, most people get up on either side and don’t bother to think about it.  But the term today of “getting up on the wrong side of the bed” refers to someone when they are irritable or grumpy.

And now you know “why we say that”…