Pig in a poke means an offering or deal that is foolishly accepted without being examined first. A poke is a sack or bag. It has a French origin as ‘poque’ and, like several other French words, its diminutive is formed by adding ‘ette’ or ‘et’ – hence ‘pocket’ began life with the meaning ‘small […]
He was born in a coal mining town in Shropshire, England and one of his neighbors prophesied that he would grow up to be a thief because when he was a baby, his mother cut his finger nails instead of biting them off. Worked in a coal mine at eleven years of age When he […]
Handle with kid gloves means to handle a situation, or a person or an object, delicately and gingerly. The phrase comes from the 1730’s when kid gloves were made from the skin of a young goat. They were not intended for use when you were working and wearing kid gloves usually indicated that the wearer […]
He was a trifle fat but he had a way with women, and this French novelist loved to boast that he had over 500 children. French Nobleman His grandfather was a French nobleman and his grandmother was an enslaved African woman. Thomas, his father was taken to France where he was educated in a military […]
In 1917, after the death of 3.3 million of his people, this leader’s armies revolted and refused to fight. A few minutes before midnight on March 14, 1917, a committee of generals met with him in the drawing-room of a private train and told him he would have to renounce his power and give up […]
Alabama Contributing Author, Dorothy Graham Gast, provides another interesting story about Shell Homes in Alabama. Do you remember them? SHELL HOMES by Dorothy Gast During the years after World War II, rural families in the South were still living in substandard housing. Many homes were no more than two-room shacks with lean-to areas that had […]
As a child, it is reported that he was serious and never took part in athletic games. He studied law and spoke four languages—French, German, Russian, and English. For years he was hounded and driven from one country to another, living at various times in Germany, Austria, France, Poland, Switzerland and England. Disguised as a […]
Are you planning a vacation? This is what you would have to deal with when traveling by car in 1943 in America. EASING OF GAS BRINGS TROUBLES Easterners Want To Make Short Trips (Article from The Tuscaloosa News July 7, 1943) WASHINGTON, July 7, 1943 – (AP) – The Office of Price Administration (OPA) headed […]
The phrase Straight-laced was originally STRAIT laces. The old English word strait meant tight or narrow. In Tudor times buttons were mostly for decoration. Laces were used to hold clothes together. If a woman was STRAIT laced she was prim and proper. VINEGAR OF THE FOUR THIEVES: Recipes & curious tips from the past Check […]
King George VI was the King who had the stutter depicted in the movie The King’s Speech and the father of Queen Elizabeth II who recently had her 90th birthday. News from May 12, 1937, King George VI and Elizabeth’s coronation. From The Tuscaloosa News in Alabama of May 12, 1937 Solemn Coronation Rites Followed By Heavy […]
