Today without a clue means to have no knowledge of something, but it once had a different meaning. A clue (also spelled clew) was a globular ball formed from coiling worms or the like or, more specifically, a ball of … Read More
GO THE EXTRA MILE means to make more effort than is expected of you. By law a Roman soldier could force anybody to carry his equipment 1 mile. The expression probably comes from the Bible, when Jesus declares in his Sermon on the Mount, “Whoever forces … Read More
KATY BAR THE DOOR means to take precautions because there is trouble ahead. The phrase KATY BAR THE DOOR – dates back to 1437. A lady by the name of Catherine Douglas was attempting to save Scottish King James I when … Read More
The source of the idiom Laughing Stock is unclear. Stocks were a means of punishment in use at the time the phrase was coined, by which people were tortured or ridiculed. Victims were held by having their ankles, and occasionally the wrists … Read More
A ‘Drop in a bucket‘ means a very small proportion of the whole. The phrase comes from the Bible, Isaiah 40:15: (King James version) “Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of … Read More
The phrase, ‘Plain sailing‘ is used to describe a process or activity that goes well and is easy and uncomplicated. Actually, it is another nautical phrase and derives from 17-18th century, originally ‘plane sailing’, the term for a quick method of … Read More
Blue Bloods are considered the true line of aristocrats. For centuries the Arabs occupied Spain but they were gradually forced out during the Middle Ages. The upper class in Spain had paler skin than most of the population as … Read More
Mad as a hatter is not from Alice in Wonderland like I once thought. Mad as a Hatter comes from the fact that in the 18th and 19th centuries hat makers treated hats with mercury which became a hazardous occupation. … Read More
The saying ‘spick and span’ once meant new, but means extra clean today. A span was a wood shaving. If something was newly built it would have tell-tale wood chips so it was ‘span new’, Spick is an old word … Read More
Face the music means to accept the unpleasant consequences of one’s actions. The source of the phrase is not clear. Some believe that ‘face the music’ originated from the tradition of disgraced officers being ‘drummed out’ of their regiment. A … Read More
Alabama Pioneers