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 … Read More
The 26th of December, also called St. Stephen’s Day. Boxing Day is a public holiday that forms part of the Christmas festivities in most of the countries that were once part of the British Empire. It was originally the first … Read More
To SET THE TABLE means to place plates, glasses, napkins, etc., on the table before a meal. In olden days, space was limited so to “set the table” meant you had to take the board hanging from the rafter in the … Read More
The phrase RING OF TRUTH means – does something seem to be believable or have credibility. It comes from the time when coins were made of gold, silver or other metals. Their value depended on the amount of gold or … Read More
RULE OF THUMB means a general or approximate principle, procedure, or rule based on experience or practice, as opposed to a specific, scientific calculation or estimate It is believed that in olden days, brewers estimated the temperature of a brew by … Read More
To give the cold shoulder means to behave towards someone in a way that is not at all friendly, sometimes for reasons that this person does not understand. In olden days if you were served a cold shoulder of mutton instead … Read More
MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE is a common expression meaning that people need more than material things to truly live. The phrase comes from the Bible, Deuteronomy 8: 2-3: And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and … Read More
The phrase BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES means to prepare for trouble. It has a nautical background. ‘Hatch’ is an ‘opening in the deck of a ship’ meaning. Ships’ hatches, more formally called hatchways, were commonplace on sailing ships and … Read More
The idiom ‘Chip on your shoulder’ means to be angry about something that happened in the past. The phrase appears to have originated with a 19th U.S. practice of spoiling for a fight by carrying a chip of wood on one’s … Read More
KNOCK ON WOOD – Traditionally, when you speak of your own good fortune, you follow up with a quick knock on a piece of wood to keep your luck from going bad. Before Christianity and Islam, many pagan groups and other … Read More
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