A MARGO---A she devil.---"Don't mess with Margo she thinks she is tough, a real she devil."---R.

Clark (2000) Sayings "Don't mess with Margo, she is rough and tough and she don't take no stuff." A-1--- The very best---"His work is A-l"---Lloyds of London originally used this term in their shipping registry - ships were graded by letter, their cargo was graded by number. "A" meant the ship was perfect, "1" meant the cargo was also perfect. A BOLT OUT OF THE BLUE---A complete surprise.---"I didn't expect it, it just came out of the blue."---Sometimes "Out of the blue." Thomas Carlyle (1837) The French Revolution "Arrestment, sudden really as a bolt out of the blue, has hit strange victims." A CHAIN IS ONLY AS STRONG AS IT'S WEAKEST LINK---No matter how strong the components of a group or system, the weakest part is as strong as the whole thing can be.---C. Kingsley (Letter dated Dec. 1, 1856) A COWARD DIES A HUNDRED DEATHS---A person who lacks courage is disgraced each time he faces adversity.---Mortimeriados (1596.) Shakespeare (1599) Julius Caesar "Cowards die many times before their deaths." (1927). Sphere "It is true that cowards die many times before their death." Fuller (1732) "Better hazard once than be always in fear." A FACE ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE---Not good looking.---"He had a face a mother could only love on payday." A FOOL AND HIS MONEY ARE SOON PARTED---A fool will not keep his money long.---Tusser (1580) "A foole and his monie be soone at debate." A FOOLS PARADISE---Uninformed; everything is ok attitude.---"She is living in a fools paradise."---Paston (1462) "But I would not be in a folis paradyce." A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED---On who stands by you in time of need is a true friend.---Richard Whytford (1530) Werke for Householders "A true frende loueth at all tymes and neuer feyleth at nede." A FRIEND TO ALL IS A FRIEND TO NONE---They make acquaintance with all but never get close to any.---Wodroephe (1623) Spared Houres "All men's friend, no man's friend." A GOOD BEGINNING MAKES FOR A GOOD ENDING---Good planning makes for a good result.---(1320) Antique "Good beginning maketh good endyng." A JOB WORTH DOING IS WORTH DOING WELL---If a job is not worth doing well, it's not worth doing at all.---Cheales (1875) Proverb Folk Lore "Whatever is worth doing, is worth doing well." A LEOPARD CAN'T CHANGE HIS SPOTS---A person is not apt to change.---Bible Jeremiah 13:23 "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the Leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME---I got my information from an anonymous source.---"A little bird told me that you are going to ask her to marry you."--Bible: Ecclesiastes 10:20 "Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bed chamber; for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter."

A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE IS A DANGEROUS THING---Incomplete knowledge about a subject is sometimes worse than no knowledge at all.--Usually said of someone who is trying to impress someone by talking about a subject they have very little knowledge of.---Publilius Syrus (1st century B.C.) "Better be ignorant of a matter than half know it."---Alexander Pope (1711) "A little learning is a dang'rous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring, The shallow draughts intoxicate the brain; And drinking largely sobers us again." A MAN AFTER MY OWN HEART---Someone who sees things the way you do.---"Sonny is a man after my own heart."---Bible: I Samuel 13:14 "But now thy kingdom shall not continue; the Lord hath sough him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people...." A MAN AMONG MEN---An outstanding man; one with special qualities.---"He is certainly a man among men."---Shakespeare (1609) Antony and Cleopatra "By Isis, I will give thee bloody teeth, if thou with Caesar paragon again my man of men." A MAN IS KNOWN BY THE COMPANY HE KEEPS---Choose your friends wisely: your reputation can be either harmed or enhanced by association.--Cervantes (1605 - 15) Don Quizote "That is certainly the case if there's any truth in the old saying, "Tell me what company you keep and I'll tell you who you are." A MAN OF FEW WORDS---Directness; gets to the point.---"This will not be a long lecture, I am a man of few words."---Bible: Ecclesiastes 5:2 "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God; for god is in heaven and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few........" A MAN WHO IS HIS OWN LAWYER HAS A FOOL FOR A CLIENT--One cannot be objective about one's own concerns.---Leigh Hunt (1784 - 1859) Autobiography A MAN WITH A WATCH KNOWS WHAT TIME IT IS, A MAN WITH TWO ISN'T SURE A MAN'S GOT TO DO WHAT A MAN'S GOT TO DO---One must follow the dictates of conscience, whatever the consequences.---John Wayne (1907 -79) Stagecoach A MAN'S HOME IS HIS CASTLE---(1630). Dicke of Devonshire "I think long till I be at home in our castle of comfort." Cotgrave (1611) "Every man is a king in his own house." A MAN'S WORD IS AS GOOD AS HIS BOND---His word is as good as his covenant; promise; binding.---Ray (1670) "An honest man's word is as good as his bond." A NEW BROOM SWEEPS CLEAN---A new boss often makes radical changes immediately after taking control of an organization.---John Heywood (1546) Book of Proverbs A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS---Tell me what you are thinking.--Heywood (1546) Proverbs A PENNY SAVED IS A PENNY EARNED---You have truly earned it if you still have it.---(1550) Gentleness and Nobility "A penny saved is a penny got."
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A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS---Ideas are better conveyed with pictures.---Ivan Turgenev (1862) Fathers and Sons "A picture shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound." A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN IT'S PLACE---Be neat and orderly.---Samuel Smiles (19th Century). Thrift A PLAY ON WORDS---A pun; a double meaning; a stretch of a meaning.---"A little pun, a play on words."---David Hume (1739) Treatise on Human Nature "To confess that human reason is nothing but a play of words." A POOR EXCUSE IS BETTER THAN NONE AT ALL---Udall (1550) Roister Doister "A bad shift (excuse) is better than none." A ROLLING STONE GATHERS NO MOSS---A person who keeps on the move is unlikely to accumulate much.---Thomas Tusser (1573) Fiue Hundredth Pointes of Good Husbandrie "The stone that is rolling can gather no moss, for master and servant oft changing is loss." A STITCH IN TIME SAVES NINE---The sooner you deal with a problem the easier it is to solve.---Planch'e (1845) Extravag "We take a stitch in time that may save nine." A TREE IS KNOWN BY IT'S FRUIT---It is not what you say or how you look, it's what you do.---Ray (1670) "A tree is known by the fruit, and not by the leaves." A WATCHED POT NEVER BOILS---When you are impatiently waiting on something to happen it seems as though it takes forever.---Gaskell (1848) M. Barton "What's the use of watching? A watched pot never boils." A WORD TO THE WISE IS SUFFICIENT---A wise person will listen to council.---Haughton (1616) Englishmen for my Money "They say, a word to the wise is enough." ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER---When you are away and missing someone your emotions are heightened.---Fuller (1732). "Absence sharpens love, presence strengthens it." --- A tag from the song The Isle of Beauty T. Haynes Bayly (1797 - 1839) ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY---Man due to his nature, when given absolute power will become corrupt.---Howell (1659) Proverbs "Power weakeneth the wicked." ACCORDING TO HOYLE---Following the rules.---"We are going to do this according to Hoyle."---Edmon Hoyle first published the rules for the card game "Whist" in 1742 A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist Since that time he published the rules of other card games, and eventually he was recognized as the leading authority on such games. ACE IN THE HOLE---Something held in reserve for use at a strategic time.---"This isn't over yet, I am sure he has an ace in the hole."---Originally referred to playing cards but has expanded to cover many situations. ACE UP HIS SLEEVE---Basically the same meaning as ACE IN THE HOLE. ACHILLES HEEL---One weak spot in an otherwise strong character or position---"Public speaking is his Achilles heel"--- Greek mythology - Thetis, leader of the sea nymphs wanted to make sure her infant would be impervious to battle as an adult, so she dipped him in the river Styx, whose water was believed

to confer invulnerability. One heel remained dry because she held him by that heel to dip him. Achilles died as a result of an arrow wound in the heel which remained unprotected. ACID TEST---A test to prove something genuine---"Give it the acid test"--When gold was widely circulated, the question often arose as to whether the piece was genuine. Nitric acid was applied, gold remained intact while false gold decomposed. ACROSS THE BOARD---Encompassing everything or everyone.---"We are going to get an across the board pay raise."---The term originally arose from the notice board displaying odds in a horse race. A bet across the board means that the bettor stands to collect if his horse should win, place or show. ACT IN HASTE, REPENT IN LEISURE---Do something in a hurry so you can save time, which you can then use to repent of the fact that you hurried and messed up in the first place.---Chaucer (1386) Melibeus The commune proverbe seith thus: "He that sone demeth, sone shall repente." (1658). Wit Restor'd "That may be done in an hour, which may repent all our life after." Painter (1567) Pal. of Pleasure "Leaste in making hastie choice, leasure for repentaunce should follow." ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS---It's what you do that defines you, not what you say.---Draxe (1670) "Deeds are fruits, words are but the leaves." ADAM'S APPLE---The projection formed in the front of the throat by the thyroid cartilage, seen mostly in men.---So called from the supposition that a piece of the forbidden fruit stuck in Adam's throat. ADD INSULT TO INJURY---To do something insulting when a person is already down and out.---Peacock (1831) Crotchet Castle "To offer me a sandwich, when I am looking for a supper, is to add insult to injury." AFTER ALL IS SAID AND DONE, USUALLY MORE IS SAID THAN DONE---People talk a big game but when it comes to action they often come up short. AFTER THE FEAST COMES THE RECKONING---You have to pay for excessive pleasures. AGAINST THE GRAIN---Roughens; makes angry---"That really goes against my grain."---If a carpenter tries to use a plane against the grain of the wood it roughens and splinters the wood. If he uses it with the grain it will smooth it. ALBATROSS AROUND THE NECK---A burden---"He has become an albatross around my neck."---In the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a young sailer shoots an albatross, that had led the ship out of the Antarctic, with his crossbow. Trouble befell the ship and the crew, blaming him for the misfortune, they hung the dead bird around his neck as a curse. ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT---Have patience and good things will come.---Violet Fane (19th Century Poem). Taut Vent 'A Qui Sait "Ald, all things come to those who wait, I say these words to make me glad, but something answers soft and sad, they come, but often too late." ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE---The situation is out of control; everything went haywire.---"You should have been here ten minutes ago, all hell broke loose."---

Jonson (1596) Man in Humour "They should say, and swear, hell were broken loose, ere they went hence." ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR---Anything goes in this situation.---(17th Century Play) Love at a Venture by Susannah Centlivre. Beaumont & Flethcer (1630). Lovers Progress "All stratagems in love and war that the sharpest war, are lawful." ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL---Audelay (1426) Poems "For al ys good that hath good ende." ALL OVER BUT THE SHOUTING---Outcome not in doubt; predetermined.---"Our team has won, it's all over but the shouting."---Ballots were once hand counted, so the results were not announced until long after the polls had closed. Especially in a tight election, announcement of the count was likely to trigger a roar from the supporters of the winner. In a one sided contest, everybody knew the winner long before the last ballot was counted. This meant that when the polls closed, the outcome was unofficial but decided, it was all over but the shouting. ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME---center of activity.---Chaucer (1380). Astrolabe "Right as diverse pathes leden diverse folk the righte wey to Rome." ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD---People or things that look good on the outside are not always as perceived.---Chaucer (1384). H. Frame "Hit is not al gold, that glareth." ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL---Provided that nothing outweighs the matter you are considering or has a changing effect.---"All things being equal, I think we have a fair chance to win today."---Translation of Latin term: Ceteris Paribus (1889) Saturday Review "Other things being equal, the chances of any man being hit in heavy action vary.....with the rate of fire to which he is exposed." ALL THUMBS---Clumsy; awkward.---"Larry is all thumbs when it comes to repairing anything."---Sir Thomas More (1534). A treatise on the Passion "Euery fynger shalbe a thombe, and we shall fumble it up in haste." ALL WET---Wrong; don't know what they are talking about.---"She is all wet on this one."---Unknown origin, shows up in Dictionary of American Slang (1930) Old English expression: "To cover oneself with a wet sack". Meaning to make vane excuses. ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY---Dickens (1853) Letters "All work and no play may make Peter a dull boy as well as Jack." ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE---Be optimistic.---(18th Century) AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER ?---Am I responsible for my brother's deeds or welfare?---Bible Genesis 4:9 And the lord said unto Cain "Where is Abel thy brother?" And he said "I know not: am I my brother's keeper?" AN APPLE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY---E. M. Wright (1913) Rustic Speech "Ait a happle avore gwain to bed, an' you"ll make the doctor beg his bread." AN EMPTY CAN MAKES THE MOST NOISE---Usually those who talk the most know the least.---"He don't know what he is talking about, he is like an

empty can, he makes a lot of noise."---Lyly (1579) Euphues "The emptie vessell giueth a greater sound then the full barrell." AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS WORTH A POUND OF CURE--Preventing a problem is easier than correcting it.---T. Adams (1630) Works Prevention is so much better than heeling." ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DOLLAR---A hard day of work is over, and I have some money to show for it.---(Early 20th Century) ANTS IN HIS PANTS---Restless; eager.---"Settle down, have you got ants in your pants?"---Saying made popular by Army General Hugh S. Johnson head of the NRA (1933) ANY PORT IN A STORM---Whatever refuge one can find in time of trouble.--Old sailors term, appeared in a play by Elizabeth Inchbald (1780). R. L. Stevenson (1894) St. Ives "Any port in a storm was the principal on which I was prepared to act." APPEARANCES ARE DECEIVING---Things aren't always as they appear. Smollett (1750) Gil Blas "Appearances are very deceitful." APPLE OF HIS EYE---A cherished person.---"She is the apple of my eye."---In old english the pupil of the eye was called "the apple," The pupil was thought to be spherical and solid and was the main part, or crucial part, of the eye. "Who touchith you, shall touch the apple of his own eye," Coverdale Bible (1535) APPLE PIE ORDER---Neat and orderly.---"It looks good, everything seems to be in apple pie order."---Apparently comes from the French "nappes pliees" meaning folded linen. APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS---Tusser (1580) Husbandrie "Sweet April showers doo spring May flowers." AS A TWIG IS BENT SO SHALL THE TREE GROW---How a child is brought up will determine what kind of adult he or she will be.---A twig when young and tender can be bent to most any shape, as it grows it becomes increasingly difficult to bend.---T. Ingelend (1560) Disobedient Child "For as longe as the twygge is gentell and plyent...With small force and strength it may be bent." AS HONEST AS THE DAY IS LONG---Very honest.---"He can be trusted, he is as honest as the day is long" AS LUCK WOULD HAVE IT---As fate would have it. Used to describe a good or bad outcome.---(1928) American Speech "As luck would have it, we took another road." AS PURE AS THE DRIVEN SNOW---Without fault; without sin.---"That girl is as pure as the driven snow."---Shakespeare Hamlet AS RIGHT AS RAIN---Definitely correct; just the way it should be.---"He was as right as rain"---Max Beerbohm (1909) Yet Again "He looked 'fit as a fiddle', or 'right as rain'." AS THE CROW FLIES---In a straight line; shortest distance between two points.---"It's about two miles as the crow flies."---Old expression was "take the crows road".---Robert Southey (1800) Letter "About fifteen miles, the crow's road."

AS TOUGH AS NAILS---Very tough; stern.---"They say he is as tough as nails."---Dickens (1838) Twist "Hard" replied the Dodger, "As nails" added Charley. ASK ME NO QUESTIONS AND I'LL TELL YOU NO LIES---Don't question things and you won't be misled.---Oliver Goldsmith (1773) ASLEEP AT THE SWITCH---Lack of attention to duty; dereliction of duty.---"I don't know how this mess occured, someone must have been asleep at the switch."---In the past the railroads used men at switching stations to do the manual switching of trains to different tracks. If the switchman would fall asleep, two trains heading at each other on the same track, bad things happened. AT FIRST BLUSH---On first impression; at first sight.---"At first blush I thought it was my wife."---Richard Hakluyt (1598) The Principal Navigations Voiages and Discoveries of the English Nation "At the first blush we thought they had been shippes come from France." AT SEA---Bewildered; confused.---"He is at sea on this one."---Alluded to mariners who had lost their bearings trying to navigate at sea. AT YOUR BECK AND CALL---Immediately available.---"She thinks I must always be at her beck and call."---Earl of Worcester (1470) Julius Caesars Commentaryes "It should be ready at a beck." (A beck was a silent signal, like the nod of the head). AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE---Shun rigorously.---"I am going to avoid her like the plague."---It has been over three centuries since the Plague in Europe, it made such an impact that the saying exists to this day. AX TO GRIND---A hidden agenda or motive; a need to settle ---"He has his own ax to grind"---"I have got an ax to grind with him."---(He has an ax to grind) Originated from a story in Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac in which he was a central character in the story. Franklin was approached by a fellow who stopped to admire the family grindstone. Asking to be shown how it worked, the stranger offered young Ben his ax with which to demonstrate. Once the ax was sharp, the fellow walked off, laughing. He used his admiration of the grindstone to mask his real agenda of getting his ax sharpened. (I have an ax to grind) The saying has taken on, in many instances a slightly different connotation, to get someone told off or settle a score with someone, to get even. BABE IN THE WOODS---An innocent; someone in a situation he is too unsophisticated to handle.---"When it comes to women, he is like a babe in the woods."---From a popular tale of the 16th century concerning a wealthy man who dies, leaving his property to his very young son and daughter. They are to be taken care of by their uncle until they are old enough to inherit the property, but should they die before that time the uncle is to inherit. The temptation is too much for the uncle, who hires two men to do away with the children. One of the men can't bring himself to do it, so he murders his partner and leaves the children on their own in the woods. They die, being incapable of taking care of themselves in such a harsh environment, and from then on the uncle suffers one calamity after another. The truth is revealed much later when the surviving hireling is arrested for robbery and tells of the uncle's plot against the children.

BACK TO SQUARE ONE---Start over.---"Well I guess it's back to square one."---In board games you often get sent back to the start or square one. BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD---A redesign or change is necessary.---"That didn't work, I guess it's back to the drawing board."---Peter Arno (Cartoon) In the cartoon a man is walking away from an aircraft that had crashed, the caption: "Well back to the old drawing board." BACK TO THE SALT MINE---Return to work.---"It's Monday and back to the old salt mine."---In Russia certain prisoners were sent to the salt mines in Siberia to do hard labor. BACKHANDED COMPLIMENT---A compliment phrased in such a way as to suggest that it is really a criticism.---"That was a backhanded compliment if I ever heard one."---Hunt (1813) Examiner "A back handed pat on the cheek." BAD PENNY ALWAYS RETURNS---A bad person always seems to return again to the place from wence he originated.---(1766) Adams Family Correspondence BAD TO WORSE---A bad situation gets worse.---"It's one thing after another, things are going from bad to worse."---Bunyan (1678) Pilgrims Progress "Thou hast done in this according to the proverb, changed a bad for a worse." BAKERS DOZEN---A little extra, usually meaning 13---"Make it a bakers dozen and you have a deal."---Traced to an act of the English Parliament in 1266, laying down standards of weight for bread. In order to make certain of meeting the standard, bakers adopted the practice of giving 13 loaves to vendors for each dozen they bought to sell to consumers. new! BALDERDASH---Ridiculous and often pretentious type of nonsense or obscene language.---"I couldn't make any sense out of it, it was just a lot of balderdash."---Possibly from balductum an odd mixing or adulteration of liquor such as buttermilk and beer, wine and milk. Heywood (1640) "Where sope hath fayl'd without, balderdash wines within will worke no doubt."---Jamison Scottish Dictionary "Foolish, noisy talk, poured out with great fluency." BALLS TO THE WALL---As fast as it will go.---"It is a great race, they have their cars balls to the wall."---Aviation term. It alluded to the knobs or balls on the throttle levers of an aircraft. When you had the levers at full throttle they were literally against the firewall or instrument panel. BAPTISM OF FIRE---One's first taste of battle; first introduction to a tough situation.---"This is going to be his baptism of fire."---Cassell (1902) Cassell's encyclopaedic Dictionary "During the Franco-German war of 1870, Prince Louis Napoleon was first exposed, by direction of his father, Napoleon III, to the fire of the enemy at Saarbruck, the event was called a 'baptism of fire'" BARE FACED LIAR---Lies without expression; pathological liar.---"He is just a bare faced liar."---Also "bald faced liar"---Originally meant "white faced from shame."---Anglo Saxon bald meant bold. BARKING DOGS SELDOM BITE---Those who talk the most often do the least.---T. Howell (1581) Devises "Those dogs byte least, that greatest barkings keepe." BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE---A misdirected effort.---"He is barking up the wrong tree this time."---Originally referred to hunting raccoons. The

raccoon would usually take to a tree, the dogs used to hunt them would on occasion be barking up the wrong tree and the hunter would lose his prey. Davy Crockett (1833) Sketches and Eccentricities "I told him.....that he reminded me of the meanest thing on God's earth, and old coon dog barking up the wrong tree." BATS IN THE BELFRY---Unsound mind; crazy; weird.---"I fear she has bats in her belfry."---Phillpotts (1926) Peacock House "His father's sister had bats in her belfry and was put away." Belfry (belfrey) originally meant a movable tower from which projectiles were launched during a seige, later a watchman's tower and by association became a part of church architecture. BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES---Prepare for trouble.---"A storm is coming, better batten down the hatches."---Nautical term meaning to secure the cargo hatches. BATTLE ROYAL---A big fight; a fight with a number of participants.---"Last night the family across the street had a party, it turned into a battle royal."---The expression started in cock fighting. Sixteen started and fought down to the winner. BE ALL THINGS TO ALL MEN---Show different attitudes to different people in an effort to please everybody or avoid controversy.---"I can't be all things to all men."---Bible: I Corinthians 9:22 "To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak. I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. BE BUFFALOED---To be overwhelmed; cowed.---"I think she has got him buffaloed."---(1904) New York Evening Post "The newspapers were what we used to term in the Southwest 'buffaloed' by the McKinley myth, that is, silenced by the fear of incurring the resentment of a people taught to regard McKinley as a saint." BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR YOU MIGHT GET IT---Think about what you wish for, it might not be what you really want.--- Harrington (1596) Metam. of Ajax "Yet he would feel, to seek that he would not find, for fear lest they should find that they did not seek." BE CAREFUL WHO'S ASS YOU KICK ON THE WAY UP, YOU MAY HAVE TO KISS IT ON THE WAY DOWN! BE THAT AS IT MAY---Accept that point as given and leave it aside.---"Be that as it may, I think we need to move on."---Dobson Rose Leaves "Rose kissed me today, will she kiss me tomorrow? Let it be as it may, Rose kissed me today." BEAR THE BRUNT---Take the main load or thrust.---"You are going to have to bear the brunt of this."---Soldiers in the first ranks took the heaviest fighting.--Robert Barret (1598). The Theorike and Practike of Modern Warres "The first three, five or seven rankes do beare the chiefe brunt." BEAT AROUND THE BUSH---Approach an objective indirectly.---"Let's not beat around the bush."---(1532) Early example: English author George Gascoigne, "We beat about the bush, while others caught the birds." BEAT THE BAND---Out does anything around.---"It was raining to beat the band."---In the early 1900's band concerts were popular and bands often played at ceremonial events. The band would be the most audible and conspicuous entity

around. Any action or performance which out did the band was remarkable.--Geraldine Bonner (1900) Hard Pan "Doesn't that beat the band?" BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER---What is beautiful to one may not be to another.---Harper (1906) Brighton Road "It is not true that it is the prettiest place, but, of course....every eye form it's own beauty." BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP---One's real beauty comes from within.--Davies (1606) Select Sec. Husb. "Beauty is but skin deep." W. H. Hudson (1921) Traveller in Little Things "Beauty's only skin deep, but ugly goes to the bone." BED OF ROSES---Soft or enviable situation.---"This ain't no bed of roses we're in."---Marlow (1593) The Passionate Shepherd to His Love "Come live with me and be my love....And I will make thee beds of roses." BEGGARS SHOULD NOT BE CHOOSERS---One who has received something gratis should not be choosey about what he receives.---Heywood (1546) Proverbs Beggars cannot be choosers." BEHIND EVERY GREAT (SUCCESSFUL) MAN THERE IS A GREAT WOMEN---Men often owe their success to the woman who supports them.--1001 Insults "Behind every broke man there's a woman." BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL---In a difficult position.---"I am really behind the eight ball now, I can't see anyway out of this."---In one version of Kelly pool the balls must be pocketed in numerical order except for the 8, which is to be last. A player who causes another ball to touch the 8 is penalized. If he is supposed to pocket a ball that is behind the 8, he is in difficult position, since it is unlikely he can pocket his ball without hitting the 8. BELIEVE NOTHING YOU HEAR AND ONLY HALF OF WHAT YOU SEE---Question everything; take nothing at it's face value.---(1300) Proverbs of Alfred BELL THE CAT (Who will)---Who has the nerve to take on a dangerous job.---"We've decided to do it, now who is going to bell the cat."---Aesop fable, The Mice in Council The short of it is that the mice held Council because they were loosing too many of their members to the cat. They proposed to put a bell on the cat so they would know it was coming. Everyone applauded but the old mouse said, "That is a fine idea but who is going to put the bell around the cat's neck." new! BENEFICUM ACCIPERE---To except favors is to sell one's freedom. BESIDE ONE'S SELF---Angry; severely upset.---<>---"When I saw what was happening I was beside myself."---Bible: Acts 26:24 The Roman governor Festus says: "Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad." BESIDE THE POINT---Not relevant.---"Who cares, that's beside the point."--Laurence Minot (1352) Poems "But how has Sir David missed of his merkes." BEST LAID PLANS---Things don't always go well no matter how well we plan.---"The best laid plans of mice and men."---Robert Burns To a Mouse "The best laid plans o' mice and men gang aft a-gley." He was writing of a mouse's winter home destroyed by the plow. BEST OF MY ABILITY---Do as well as you can.---"I will finish it to the best of my ability.---Lord Berners (1530) The History of Arthur of Little Britain "I shall do the best of my power."

BETTER A BIG FISH IN A LITTLE POND THAN A LITTLE FISH IN A BIG POND.---It's better to be an important person in a small community or company than to be a unimportant person in a large community or company. BETTER DEATH THAN DISHONOR---Better to die fighting than to give up.---P. Wylie (1931) Murderer Invisible BETTER HALF---One's spouse.---"I will have to ask the better half."---Sir Philip Sidney (1590) The Countesse of Pembrokes Arcadia "My deare, my deare, my better half, I find that I must now leave thee." BETTER LATE THAN NEVER---Chaucer (1386) Canon's Yeoman's Tale For bet than never is late." BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY---Steer clear of obvious risks.---Rory O'More (1837) "It's better to be sure than sorry." BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW THAN THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW---It is better to deal with something bad you know than with something new you don't; the new thing might be worse.---R. Taverner (1539.) Proverbs. BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE ---In difficulty no matter which way you turn.---"I'm between a rock and a hard place right now." BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA.---In a difficult position.---"I am between the devil and the deep blue sea."---(1637) Notes and Queries "Betwixt the devill and the deepe sea." BETWEEN YOU AND ME AND THE POST---Just between ourselves.---"Just between you and me and the bedpost I think he will make it this time."---Dickens (1839) Nickleby "Between you and me and the post." BETWIXT AND BETWEEN---Neither one thing or the other.---"It is betwixt and between."---Marryat (1832) Newton Forster "He took the lease of a house in a betwixt and between fashionable street." BIB AND TUCKER---Ones best clothes.---"Put on your best bib and tucker, we're going to go to the wedding."---(17th Century) Bib was an article of clothing worn over the breast. Tucker was a narrow piece of cloth at the top of a women's gown and went around the neck. Sometime in the 19th century the saying became popular. Either a man or women was said to be in their best bib and tucker if they were dressed up. BIDE YOUR TIME---Wait for a good opportunity.---"I am just going to bide my time and see what happens."---Fredrick W. Robertson (1850). Sermons "They bide their time and then suddenly present themselves." BIG BUTTER AND EGG MAN FROM THE CITY---Someone over inflated with his own ego.---(Early 1900's) A farmers saying, referring to a "city slicker" who thinks he is "hot stuff" because he has his own business and doesn't rely on farming for his livelihood. (Sub. by Marjorie C.) BIRD IN THE HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH---Don't give up what you have in hopes that something better will come along.---Aesop fable, The Hawk and the Nightingale "Pray let me go," said the Nightingale; "I am such a mite for a stomach like yours. I sing so nicely too. Do let me go, it will do you good to hear me." "Much good it will do to an empty belly," replied the Hawk; "and besides, a little bird that I have is more to me than a great one that has yet to

be caught." Heywood (1530) Witty and Witless "Better one bird in hand than ten in the wood." BIRD'S EYE VIEW---A mode of perspective drawing in which the artist is supposed to be over the objects drawn, in which case he beholds them as a bird in the air would; A good view.---"We have a bird's eye view from here."---Horace Walpole Anecdotes of Painting in England "It exhibits an almost bird's eye view of an extensive country." BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER---People with similar interests or views associate with one another.---Birds of the same species always fly with each other.---John Bunyan (1680) The Life and Death of Mr. Badman "They were birds of a feather, they were so well met for wickedness." BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW---Take on a task that is more than you can handle.---"I think I bit off more than I could chew on this job."---J. H. Beadle (1878) Western Wilds "Men, you've bit off more'n you can chew." BITE THE BULLET---Brace yourself for an unpleasant experience.---"I don't want to go see my mother in law, but I guess I will have to bite the bullet."---The term originated in battlefield surgery before anesthesia. A surgeon about to operate on a wounded soldier would urge him to bite on a lead bullet to distract him from his pain and minimize his ability to scream.---Rudyard Kipling (1890). The Light that Failed "Bite on the bullet, old man, and don't let them think you are afraid." BITE THE DUST---To die or suffer a severe setback.---"I think our team is going to bite the dust this weekend."---Homer Iliad "May his fellow warriors fall round him to the earth and bite the dust." BITTER END---Stay with something to its conclusion.---"He will hang in there to the bitter end."---Refers to the timber on early sailing ships to which the anchor rope or chain were fastened. It was called the "bitt" and when the anchor was let as far as the line or chain would go, it was played out "to the bitter end."---Capt. John Smith (1627) A Sea Grammer "A bitter is but the turne of a cable about the bits [bitts], the stout posts on a ship's deck to which ropes and cables are fastened]. And the bitters end is that part of the cable doth stay within board." new! BLACK BALLED---An old way of voting someone in or out of a club or organization. Members would drop a white or black ball in a container and according to the number of black balls the person was either accepted or denied. If you were denied you were "black balled". BLACK SHEEP---Someone who stands unfavorably in a group; oddball.---"Bob is the black sheep in our family."---Sir Walter Scott (1816) "The curates (rector, vicar) know best the black sheep of the flock." BLESSING IN DISGUISE---An apparent misfortune that turns out to have some useful purpose.---"This is a great job, if I hadn't lost my old job I never would have found this one, it was a blessing in disguise."---Cassell's Magazine (1873) "Like many similar disasters, this great calamity was in truth only a blessing in disguise." BLOOD IS THICKER THAN WATER---Being related is a strong bond. Sir Walter Scott (1815) Guy Mannering "Weel, blud's thicker than water, she's welcome to the cheeses."

BLOOD WILL TELL---What is inherited cannot be hidden; it will come to the surface sooner or later.---(15th Century) BLOW OFF STEAM---To vent one's anger or frustration.---"You need to blow of a little steam."---Old steam boilers would release excess pressure by releasing steam. Frederick Marryat (1837) Snarleyvow; or the Dogfiend "The widow sat fuming and blowing off her steam." BLOW ONE'S OWN HORN---Brag.---"Gary certainly likes to blow his own horn."---T. Knight (1799) Turnpike Gate "Or I should not blush so often as I do, by blowing the trumpet of my own praise." BLOW YOUR STACK---To show sudden anger.---"He blew his stack when he found out about it."---Originally the phrase described clearing a smokestack or the stack on a steamship by blowing air up through it. BLOWING SMOKE---Boasting without being able to back it up; deceiving.---"I don't pay any attention, I know he is just trying to blow smoke up my ---."--Magicians used to use smoke to help hide their deception. BLOWN TO SMITHEREENS---Destroyed.---"He said he is going to blow that old car to smithereens if it don't start."---Smithereens is a variant of "smithers," a word of obscure origin meaning fragments or atoms. When the expression first appeared in print, toward the middle of the 19th century, it was sometimes "gone to smithers"; it was also split, knocked, or broken into smithereens. BLUE BLOOD---An aristocrat.---"He acts like a blue blood."---The skin of the commoners often times were ruddy and weather worn, unlike the fair skin of the aristocracy. The veins in a fair skinned person are often visibly blue. BONE OF CONTENTION---A topic of dispute.---"I guess we have a little bone of contention."---William Lambard (1576) A Perambulation of Kent "This was such a bone of dissention between these deere friends." BOOBY HATCH---Mental institution; psychiatric hospital.---"Van has been behaving very strangely, they may have to put him in the booby hatch."---Sailing ships had deck openings, or hatchways, that led to sections below. Each hatch took on the name of the contents found below. On long voyages, sailors sometimes became delirious. Such "boobies" were kept in a compartment below decks for their own protection. The boobie hatch.---boobie (latin: balbus) "stammering", passed to spanish as "bobo", meaning fool, passed to modern as "booby", a foolish fellow. new! BOONDOCKS---Rural; secluded place; wilderness."Now we are stuck way out here in the boondocks."---WWII military slang. BOOT LICKER---One who sucks up to someone for favors.---"He is a real boot licker, he would do anything for a promotion."---Drake (1633) "The dog waggeth his taile, not for you, but for your bread." BORN WITH A SILVER SPOON IN HIS MOUTH---Wealth by inheritance; unearned.---"He has never done a days work in his life, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth."---It was a tradition among the wealthy for the god parents to give a silver spoon to the god child at the time of christening. Don Quixote (1615) "Every man was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth." BOSOM BUDDY---Extremely close friend.---"He is my bosom buddy."---Old concept - Bible: St. John is portrayed as the bosom friend of Jesus. Bosom

connotes the seat of one's thoughts or feelings.---Robert Green (1590) Never Too Late "There is nothing better than a bosom friend with whom to conferre." BOTTOMS UP---To drink a mixed drink or beer in one drink; till the bottom is up. BOUGHT THE FARM---To die or be killed.---It once was government policy to pay off the mortgage of any serviceman killed in action. If you were killed in action, you bought the farm. BOYS WILL BE BOYS---By nature boys will do what boys do.---W. Robinson Pheaseol Generazis "Children will do like children." BRAIN TRUST---The main thinkers or policy makers in an organization; often used in a negative context.---"We have some dandy leaders in our company, a real brain trust."---Newsweek (1933). "The President's Brain Trust, a little band of intellectuals, sat at the center of action as similar bands have done in revolutions of the past." BRAND-NEW---New; freshly made.---"Jim has a brand-new car"---Brand (flame, torch, to burn). Originally had to do with things made of metal, now covers anything new generally. When a blacksmith made a new piece it was taken out of the fire and hammered into shape and thus a new part or piece was made, it was brand-new. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost "A man of fire-new words."---The Twelfth Night "Fire-new from the mint." BREAK A LEG---Expression used by performers in the theater, a wish for good luck. (Possible) It was considered bad luck to wish a performer good luck so the term "break a leg" was used to wish good luck. If wishing good luck brought bad luck, wishing something bad would bring good luck. BREAK THE ICE---Make the first overture; remove an impediment.---"Go over and talk to her, break the ice."---Nashe (1592) Works "He that hath once broke the ice of impudence, need not care how deepe he wade in discredite." BREVITY IS THE SOUL OF WIT---Speakers are better appreciated when they keep their presentations short.---Shakespeare (1600) Hamlet "Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, and tediousness the limbs and outward flourishers, I will be brief....." BRIGHT EYED AND BUSHY TAILED---Alert; ready for action.---"You look bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning."---(1930's) A squirrel, sitting on his haunches and looking about brightly for food or the approach of trouble, is surely the inspiration for the term. BRING HOME THE BACON---To provide for oneself and family.---"I am really going to bring home the bacon today."---It was once a practice at country fairs to grease a pig and let it loose among blindfolded contestants. The man who successfully caught the pig could keep it. He would "Bring home the bacon." BRONX CHEER---Sound made by placing the tongue between the lips and blowing vigorously.---Also known as giving someone the "raspberries".---In Yankee Stadium, located in the Bronx, fans were known for this exercise, usually after a bad call by the umpire, and in mass it became known as the bronx cheer. BROWN NOSER---Overly praise someone, usually a boss or superior.---"Charlie just can't do enough for the boss, what a brown noser."--Alludes to where you might have your nose to get it brown.

BROWNIE POINTS---Going out of one's way to gain approval or favors usually from a supervisor or superior.---"Jerry took the boss to lunch today, he is trying to rack up some more brownie points."---An old Scottish superstition about a house spirit they called "Browine". He would do little good deeds around the house for the family when they were sleeping. The family would leave little offerings out for Browine in hopes that he would continue. Also the Brownies, a club for young girls, which rewarded the girls points for good behavior and achievements. BUILT LIKE A BRICK SHIT HOUSE---Well built.---"She is built like a brick shit house."---Usually referring to a well proportioned woman. BULL SESSION---Idle talk; usually by men.---"While we were waiting in the lounge, we had a real bull session."---Confined to a pen together, bulls are likely to devote much of their energy to bellowing back and forth at each other. Men assembled in one area devote a lot of their energy to idle talk, and so the parallel between this chatter and the noise of the bull pen. Spinoff word: "bullshit", worthless talk uttered in a bull session. BUMBERSHOOT---Umbrella.---Slang: Merging of Umbr(ella) and (pata)chute. BUMP ON A LOG---A non participant in activities; has no get up and go; lazy.---"That boy is a bump on a log."---A bump or knot on a log in not very interesting. BUMPED OFF---Come to a violent end; be murdered.---"He opposed the mob and they had him bumped off."---During boat races in England, boats were launched one at a time. When a crew caught up with a rival and bumped it, the bumped boat was disqualified. London's underworld borrowed the term and began to say that a person coming to a violent end had been "bumped off". It became fixed in American speech during the prohibition era. BURN THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS---Overwork oneself.---"He's been working twelve hours a day, he's burning the candle at both ends."---There are conflicting origins to this saying. One is that he was staying up after dark working and up before daylight burning the candle again. BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL---Staying up late studying or working.---"She's burning the midnight oil tonight."---English poem, Emblems by Francis Quarles (1635) "We spend our midday sweat, our midnight oil; We tire the night in thought, the day in toil." BURNING QUESTION---A topic that provokes heated discussion.---"What to do about taxes, that's the burning question." BURY THE HATCHET---End a dispute.---"Enough fighting, let's bury the hatchet."---17th century, Samuel Sewall wrote: "Meeting with the Sachem (Indian chiefs), they came to an agreement and buried two axes in the ground, which ceremony to them is more significant and binding than all the Articles of Peace, the hatchet being the principal weapon." BUSH LEAGUE---Small enterprise; not professional.---"That is a bush league operation."---Bush referred to a sparsely settled area. Small towns in rural areas, unable to support a professional baseball team, formed their own teams and leagues. A small enterprise is is likely to be disparaged as "bush league". BUSTING ONE'S CHOPS---Saying things meant to harass; hitting someone in the face or head.---"Larry has been busting my chops all day."---In the early

1900's and again in the 1960's long sideburns were in fashion. They resembled mutton or lamb chops. BUSY AS A BEE---Chaucer (1386) Merch. Tale "For ay as bisy as bees Ben they." BUSIER THAN A ONE ARMED PAPER HANGER---Very busy.---"He is busier than a one armed paper hanger. BUSIER THAN A THREE LEGGED CAT COVERING SHIT---Very busy. BUSINESS BEFORE PLEASURE---Focus on your duties first and take life's pleasures later.---(1640) Grobiana's Nuptials BUTTER WOULDN'T MELT IN HER MOUTH---A cold, aloof person.--Heywood (1546) Proverbs "She looketh as butter would not melt in her mouth." (It was so cold in New York City this winter that people were actually gathering around Hilary Clinton to get warm!) BUY IT FOR A SONG---Get something cheaply.---"He got that car for a song."---Jim Crowne (1694) Regulus "I bought it for a song." new! BY GOLLY---Minced oath for "by God". BY THE SAME TOKEN---For the same reason; making able to associate one thing with another.---"He took a chance, by the same token he went broke."--Shakespeare Troilus and Cressida Pandarus says he will return with "a token from Troilus." Cressida replies, "By the same token, you are a bawd." BY THE SKIN OF YOUR TEETH---Very close; barely making or averting something.---"I just got here by the skin of my teeth."---Bible: Job 19:20 "My bone cleaveth to my skin and my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth." BY THE SWEAT OF YOUR BROW---Through your own hard work.---One of the punishments God lays on Adam for eating the forbidden fruit. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground." Henry David Thoreau (1854) Walden "It is not necessary that a man should earn his living by the sweat of his brow unless he sweats easier than I do." CALL A HALT---Discontinue an activity.---"We are going to have to call a halt to the game."---(1709) London Gazette "The Duke of Marlborough commanded an hault." CALL A SPADE A SPADE---Describe something as it really is.---"That is the way it really is, let's call a spade a spade."---Menander (342-292 B.C.) "I call a fig a fig, a spade a spade." Dickens (1854) Hard Times "There's no imaginative sentimental humbug about me. I call a spade a spade." CALM BEFORE THE STORM---Trouble is brewing.---"This is the calm before the storm."---It was noticed that before a severe storm, the air is still and the birds stop singing and go to shelter.---(1576) "Calm continueth not long without a storm." CAME ON LIKE GANGBUSTERS---To arrive or operate in a loud or vigorous way.---"The team came on like gangbusters."---Reference to a popular old radio show Gangbusters which had an opening theme featuring gunfire and loud police sirens. CAME UP SMELLING LIKE ROSES---Everything turned out well, usually referring to a person who, no matter how bad they do something, things seem to

turn out alright.---"He could fall in a shit hole and come up smelling like roses."---(1969) The Times of London "If some disaster hit us, we would have to soldier on, pretending that everything in the column was coming up roses." CAN'T LIVE WITH THEM, CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THEM---A sort of "battle of the sexes" saying. Men and women are different in many ways but are drawn together by nature. CAN'T SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES---Unable to grasp the meaning of a situation or point of an argument because of excessive attention to details. (Unable to get the "big" picture)---"He couldn't see the forest for the trees."---Old meaning - wood for the trees. John Heywood's English Proverbs (1546) CAPTAIN OF HIS SOUL---In charge of one's destiny.---"He is the captain of his soul."---William Henley (1888) "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul. CARDINAL SIN---A major offense---"He committed a cardinal sin."---The cardinal sins as listed by Bishop Thomas Ken in 1834, Pride, envy, sloth, intemperance, avarice, ire and lust. new! CARPE DIEM---Seize the day. CARRY A TORCH---Wholehearted support for; obsessive infatuation.---"How long is he going to carry the torch for her."---A common feature of political campaigns rural America was the torchlight parade. Ardent supporters of a candidate would hold torchlight parades complete with bands. The participants proclaiming their wholehearted support for their candidate. The transition was to an ardent lover in pursuit of their object of affection. CARRY A TUNE IN A BUSHEL BASKET---Cannot sing well.---"She couldn't carry a tune in a bushel basket." CARRY COAL TO NEWCASTLE---A meaningless task---"This is like carrying coal to Newcastle."---Newcastle was the center for coal mining in England. Horace (1583) "Salt Dysart, or colles to Newcastle! new! CARTE BLANCHE---Freedom to choose; whatever you want.---"Whenever she visits her mother, it's carte blanche."---French meaning "blank paper". (MORE ??? THAN) CARTER HAS LIVER PILLS---A large amount.---"He has more troubles than Carter has liver pills."---A very popular over the counter medicine in the early 20th century. (Carter's Little Liver Pills.) CASH ON THE BARREL HEAD---Money up front.---"He won't take a check, he wants cash on the barrel head."---Many small frontier saloons consisted of small lean to sheds. It was not unusual for the barkeeper to use whisky barrels as tables or counter. Payment in advance was the rule of the road, so you had to put your cash on the barrel head if you wanted a drink. CAST ASPERSIONS---Make a damaging charge against someone.---"You're not casting aspersions on me are you?"---Asperse meant to sprinkle or spatter.--John Speed (1611) The History of Great Britaine. "Monkish humours haue aspersed other such men with bitter reproaches." CAST PEARLS BEFORE SWINE---Offer something of value to someone who can't appreciate it.---"It is like casting your pearls before swine."---Sermon on the

mount: Jesus said, "Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you." CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE---At a loss for words; unable to speak.---"You were jabbering away a minute ago, what happened, cat got your tongue."--(Possible) A whip called a "cat of nine tails" was used in punishment, the anticipation of which could render one speechless. CAT'S MEOW---A nifty idea, thing or person.---"She's the cat's meow."---"Cat's Pajamas" "Cat's Whiskers" Since the cat has the capability of looking enormously pleased, maybe the expression came from that appearance of satisfaction. CATBIRD SEAT---Position of advantage.---"I was sitting in the catbird's seat, I knew what was going to happen."---Made popular by Red Barber the radio announcer for the Brooklyn Dodgers. "Thanks for the raises, from the start I was sitting in the catbird seat." The Mockingbird is often referred to as a Catbird and they typically like to perch in the very top of the tree where they have a good vantage point. CATCH 22---Puzzling situation; paradox; conundrum.---"It's catch 22, no matter what you do it is going to be wrong."---Joseph Heller's book Catch 22 describes how anyone who applied to get out of the military service on grounds of insanity was behaving rationally and thus couldn't be insane. CATCH AS CATCH CAN---By any means available.---Old child's game; a method of wrestling where the participants were allowed any grip they could get. O'Hara (1761) "There's catch as catch can, hit or miss, luck is all." new! CATCH SOME Z'S---Get some sleep.---From the cartoons, a string of z's coming from a character's mouth signified that he was sleeping. CATTYWAMPUS OR CADDYWAMPUS---Being in disarray; not aligned properly.---"He had the thing all caddywampus. new! CAVEAT EMPTOR---Buyer beware. CHANGE OF HEART---A reversal of one's attitude or opinion.---"I have had a change of heart, I think I will take the trip now."---Duke of Vienna (1604) Measure for Measure. "Come hither, Isabel, your friar is now your prince; as I was then, advertising and holy to your business, not changing heart with habit, I am still attorney'd at your service." CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME---Take care of your responsibilities at home before you start helping others. If not you may be the one needing the charity.--John Wyclif (1380) "Charite shuld bigyne at hemself." CHARLEY HORSE---A cramp in one's muscles.---"I can't run anymore I have a charley horse."---In the 1890's an old horse named charley was used in the old Chicago White Sox ballpark to pull a roller across the infield. He was old and his muscles would get so stiff he could hardly walk. Players and spectators who caught a cramp thought of the old horse and started calling the condition a charlie horse. CHARMED LIFE---Always lucky.---"He's led a charmed life."---Shakespeare's "Macbeth." "I bear a charmed life, which must not yield to one of woman born. new! CHERRY---Perfect; untarnished.---"When I was younger, I had a cherry "58" Chevy."---Slang expression also meaning hymen; virginity.

CHERRY PICKER---In basketball, one who lays back at his own basket on a possesion transition and waits for a defensive rebound and pass for an an easy basket.---Alludes to the ease which one can access things at heights using the piece of equipment called a cherry picker. CHEW THE CUD---To think something over.---"He's chewing the cud."---From the practice of cows which regurgitate food and chew it for a second time.--(1547) In a British book of homilies: "Let us ruminate, and (as it were) chewe the cudde." CHICKEN FEED---Of little value.---"The price was very low, it was mere chicken feed."---In pioneer days table scraps and inferior grain were used to feed their chickens. The transition was to a small amount of money. CHICKEN OUT---To lose one's nerve.---"We have come this far, don't chicken out now."---Sir Thomas Stafford (1663) "Not finding the defendants to be chikins, to be afraid of every cloud or kite." CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST---Things you have done wrong or have failed to do will return and cause more problems later.---"He got by with it this time, but the chickens will come home to roost."---The Curse of Kehama (1810): "Curses are like young chickens, they always come home to roost." CHILDREN SHOULD BE SEEN AND NOT HEARD---There is nothing worse than people who do not teach their children manners and let them disrupt adults when they are visiting.---Shaw (1914) Parents and Children (Opp.) "And impudently proclaim the monstrous principle that little children should be seen and not heard." CHILD'S PLAY---Easy task.---"This project is child's play."---Chaucer (1385) The Merchant's Tale "It is no childes play to take a wyf withoute avysement." new! CHINK IN THE ARMOR---A weakness; flaw.---"I think we have found a chink in his armor."---Chink is a somewhat obscure word that means slit; fissure; weak point. CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK---He is just like his father.---"Joe is a chip off the old block."---A chip off a block of wood is of the same makeup as the block itself.---Rowley (1633) Match at Midnight "He's a chip O' Th' old block." CHIPS ARE DOWN---The situation is urgent, it must be dealt with.---"When the chips are down George will be there to help you."---In cards, when the chips are down, the bet has been made and you are committed to either win or lose according to the cards you have. new! CHOCK FULL---Very full; as close to completely full as possible.---When two blocks of a tackle meet preventing any further movement, they are said to be "two blocks" or "chock-a-block". CHOOSE THE LESSER OF TWO EVILS---Choose the less harmful of two bad options.---Chaucer (1385) Trolius and Criseyde "Of harmes two, the lesse is for to chuse." CINCH---A sure thing.---"It is a cinch that we are going to win the game."--Originally a substitute for the English style belly bands used on saddles in the east, the cinch was used by the Mexicans of the southwest. Instead of straps and buckles the cinch used twisted ropes running between rings. The cinch was more
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secure and if adjusted correctly would stay in position all day unlike the the straps and buckles that needed frequent adjustment. CLEAN AS A WHISTLE---Neatly and effectively done; pure.---"He maneuvered himself out of that sticky situation as clean as a whistle."---A whistle needs to be clean and free of moisture and debris to produce a clear sound.--Planch'e (1851) Extravaganza "Or else his head cut off, clean as a whistle." CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH---A document signed by the proper authorities to the master of a ship certifying that when the ship sailed no infectious disorder existed in the place.---"I went to the doctor today and he gave me a clean bill of health."---Used figuratively today. CLEAN SLATE---A new start.---"He is out of jail and he's starting with a new slate." Edmond Yates (1868) The Rock Ahead "He had passed the wet sponge over the slate containing any records of his early life." CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS---Often used as a Bible quote but is actually not in the Bible. Bacon (1605) Adv. of Learning "Cleanness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God." CLEAR AS A BELL---Very clear; understandable.---"It was clear as a bell to me."---Dickens (1838) Twist "Fresh, genuine port wine, clear as a bell; and no sediment!" CLEAR AS MUD---Unclear; don't understand.---"You will have to repeat that, it was clear as mud." CLEAR THE AIR---Remove obstructions that have complicated an issue.---"Lets clear the air and start working together."---John Wyclif (1380) "Winds of truth should blow away heresies, and clear the airs of holy church, which is now full troubled." CLEAR THE DECKS---Make ready for action.---"Let's clear the decks of old business so we can get started."---Old meaning was to clear the decks on sailing vessels of clutter before engaging in battle. CLIMB ON THE BANDWAGON---To show support for a popular movement or trend with intent to profit or reap easy material benefit.---"It looks as though everybody is climbing on the band wagon."---It was customary, particularly in the southern states, for a band to play on a wagon through the streets to advertise a forthcoming meeting, political or otherwise. At election time local leaders would show their support of a candidate by climbing on the wagon and riding with the band. CLIMB THE WALL---Restless; feel the need for some action.---"Find Karen something to do, she is climbing the walls."---Bible: Joel 2:7 "They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one of his ways, and they shall not break their ranks." CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR---Almost winning.---Certain games of skill at a fair or carnival would give cigars as prizes. CLOSE ONLY COUNTS IN HAND GRENADES AND HORSESHOES--Referring to a situation where precision might be needed. CLOSE SHAVE---A narrow escape.---"The car just missed him, that was a close shave."---A man who shaves too close is likely to cut himself. Charles A. Davis

(1834) Letters of Jack Downing "I did not so much as get my feet wet when the bridge fell, though it was a close shave." CLOTHES DON'T MAKE THE MAN---Some things are more important than clothing.---Greene (1617) Works "Thy estate may be great, for the hood makes not the monk, nor the apparel the man." (Opposite) Shakespeare (1602) Hamlet "For the apparel oft proclaims the man. CLOUD NINE---Extremely happy.---"She's on cloud nine."---In Dante's Paradise there were 10 heavens or steps to heaven. Clouds being logical steps, nine was as close to divine presence and one could get. COAST IS CLEAR---The way is open with no obstacles or enemies in sight.---"Let's go, the coast is clear."---Samuel Johnson (1755) Dict. of the English Language "The danger is over, the enemies have marched off." COCK AND BULL STORY---Made up story; untrue.---"Don't believe it, it is another cock and bull story."---Day (1608) Law Trickes "What a tale of a cock and bull he told my father." COCK OF THE WALK---The dominant or most noticeable figure.---"He acts like the cock of the walk."---The "walk" was an enclosure for chickens and there was one cock that was dominant. Randle Holme (1688) The Academy of Armoury "The cocks walk is the place where he is bred, which usually is a place that no other cock comes to." COCKLES OF THE HEART---Innermost feelings; cockles: Shellfish with two heart shaped shells.---"That just warms the cockles of my heart."---S. Wesley (1685) Maggots "It terrifies the cocales of my heart." new! COIN A PHRASE---To invent a phrase.---To coin or mint as in new coins---If it is a telling phrase it may "gain currency" i.e. become popular. COLD AS ICE---Unfeeling.---"He is as cold as ice."---Jerrold (1845) Mrs. Caudle "As cold too, as any ice." COLD ENOUGH TO FREEZE THE BALLS OFF A BRASS MONKEY--On old sailing ships the cannon balls were stacked next to the cannons on a pad made of brass called the "Monkey". In severe cold the iron and brass would contract a different rates and cause the pile of cannon balls to fall. COLD FEET---Unwilling to move or take some action; scared.---"We were going to buy the house but my wife got cold feet."---Old time gamblers would sometimes slip out of a game of cards when things were going bad by complaining that their feet were cold. new! COLD FISH---A person who shows little or no emotion.---"I tried to be friendly with him, but he certainly is a cold fish."---Fish are cold blooded and the water they live in is generally colder than the surroundings, therefore they are generally thought of as being cold. COLD HANDS, WARM HEART---A reserved, cool exterior may disguise a kind heart.---V. S. Lean (1903.) Collectanea new! COLD SHOULDER---Rebuff; snub; intentional indifference.---"I tried to say hello to Tom and he just gave me the cold shoulder."---Someone who is ignoring you will turn away and expose you to their shoulder.---(Possible) Allusion to a shoulder of meat. In England a common wayfarer stopping at a farmhouse and asking for a meal would probably be given cold food. Since the

wayfarer would not necessarily be welcome and since the common food would be mutton, he would be given the "cold shoulder" COLD TURKEY---To quit something abruptly; deal with something in a businesslike way.---"He quit drinking last week, he did it cold turkey."---(1928) Daily Express of London "She talked cold turkey about sex." COLDER THAN A WELL DIGGERS ASS IN JANUARY---Very cold. COLDER THAN A WHORES HEART---Very cold.---"It is colder than a whores heart out here."---A whore was not thought of as being particularly warm hearted. COME HELL OR HIGH WATER---To continue no matter what the obstacles.---"We are going to get there come hell or high water." COME OFF IT---Stop doing that; give up the idea.---(1889) Century Dictionary COOK ONE'S GOOSE---You are done; you've had it.---"He has done it this time, his goose is cooked."---Geese at one time were the dominant barnyard bird unlike the chickens of today. When a farmer or householder was down to his last goose and it was cooked, he was out of luck. The threat to cook one's goose was an expression of total defeat, or the end. new! COP A PLEA---Plead guilty to something when you know you are caught; confess.---"If she asks him where we have been tonight, you know he is going to cop a plea."---To get "copped" is to get caught by the police. COME WHAT MAY---No matter what happens; what happens, happens.---"I am going on the trip come what may."---Shakespeare (1606) Macbeth "Come what come may, time and the hour runs through the roughest day."---Heywood Proverbs "Come what come would." COMPANY AND FISH STINK AFTER THREE DAYS---No exclamation necessary. (1864) Notes & Queries "Company's good if you are going to be hanged."---Benjamin Franklin (1833) Poor Richard's Almanack "After three days men grow weary, of a wench, a guest, and weather rainy." new! CONNIPTION FIT---Fit of anger; hysteria.---"When my father found out about it he had a conniption fit."---Exact origin of conniption unknown.--Possible: In British folk lore conniptions were small furry animals that inhabited there homes. On seeing one of these creatures the lady of the house was likely to have a conniption fit. CONSPICUOUS BY ONE'S (IT'S) ABSENCE---Disapproval of an event or a persons worth by failure to attend.---"He did not bother to attend the ceremony, he was conspicuous by his absence."---John Russel (1859) (speech) "Among the defects of the bill, which were numerous, one provision was conspicuous by its presence and another by its absence." COOKED HIS GOOSE---Did him in; spoiled his plans.---"He has been found out, his goose is cooked."---An old story relates that a medieval town under siege hung a goose from a tower, symbolizing the stupidity of the attackers. The attackers were so enraged that they burned the town, thereby literally cooking the townspeople's goose.---Henry Mayhew (1851) London Labour and the London Poor "If they come here we'll cook their goose, the Pope and Cardinal Wiseman." COOL AS A CUCUMBER---Unruffled; serene.---"Nothing bothers him, he is cool as a cucumber."---The cucumber, like the watermelon, is served in the

summer and is a symbol of coolness and thus as an antidote to the heat. Beaumont and Fletcher (1615) Cupid's Revenge "Young maids were as cold as Cowcumbers." COULDN'T HIT HIS ASS WITH BOTH HANDS---Very drunk.---"Tim drank too much, he couldn't hit his ass with both hands." COUP DE GRACE---The finishing stroke; the stroke of mercy.---"That touchdown was the coup de grace."---When a prisoner was being tortured, the executioner finished him off with a coup de grace to put him out of his misery. COURAGE OF YOUR CONVICTIONS---Act in keeping with what you believe; put your words into action.---"Do what is right, have the courage of your convictions." CRACKED UP---Laughter at a joke or tale.---"That Charlie cracks me up with his jokes."---Transition from cracking a smile, laughter as cracking up. CRAZY AS A BED BUG---Acting crazy; running around aimlessly.---"He's crazy as a bed bug."---Alludes to how bed bugs would run around on a mattress when exposed. CREAM OF THE CRAP---The best of the worthless.---"He is the best player on the team, he's the cream of the crap."---The best person or thing in a group, the whole group being of little value.---Clarke (1639) "Better be the head of the ass than the tail of the horse." CREAM RISES TO THE TOP---The best usually end up on top; the richest.--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82) Essays Turds also float to the top, so take your pick. CRIME DOESN'T PAY---Inevitably, sooner or later, criminals will be caught and punished.---N. Martin (1927) Mosaic CROCODILE TEARS---False grief; insincere sympathy.---"She was crying crocodile tears."---Crocks do have a secretion that comes out of the eyes for their protection when they attack prey. This would look like tears. Thomas Cooper (1548) "A prouerbe, applied unto them, which hating an other man, whom they would destroie, or have destroied, they will seme to bee sory for hym." CROOKED AS A DOG'S HIND LEG---Dishonest.---"Don't trust him, he is crooked as a dog's hind leg."---Peacock (1889) Manley, etc., Gloss "He was also as crooked as a dog's hind leg on the turf. CRAWFISH---To back out on something.---"You just watch, he will crawfish out of this."---Crawfish swim backwards when escaping from something, thus backing out became synonymous with crawfishing. CRY WOLF---false alarm; exaggerate a danger.---Aesop fable: The short of the story is that a lad tending sheep cried wolf in jest, the men came running. When the wolf really came no one paid the lad any attention............ CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT---Don't stick your nose into something you aren't supposed to, it could get you into trouble.---The expression is a corruption of "care killed the cat," This comes from the old saying that though a cat is said to have nine lives, "care will wear them out." The change came about because a spiteful or backbiting woman is called a "cat" and women are notoriously curious. Therefore, more in hope than belief, "curiosity will kill the cat."

CUT AND DRIED---Routine; already prepared.---"The speech was cut and dried."---When crops or herbs were cut and already dried, the job was already done, ready for use. CUT AND RUN---Leave hastily.---"Here come our wives it's time to cut and run."---Alludes to old sailing days when the anchor ropes were hemp. If they were in a hurry they would cut the ropes and sail off. (1794) The Elements and Practice of Rigging and Seamanship "To cut and run, to cut the cable and make sail instantly, without waiting to weigh anchor." CUT OFF YOUR NOSE TO SPITE YOUR FACE---Self defeating gesture.---"He is just cutting off his nose to spite his face."---R. L. Stevenson (1889) Balantrae "He was in that humor when a man, in the words of the old adage, will cut off his nose to spite his face." CUT THE COAT ACCORDING TO THE CLOTH---Make the project fit the resources; live within your income.---"You are going to have to cut the coat according to the cloth."---Heywood (1546) Proverbs "I shall cut my cote after my cloth when I nauer her." (1926) Lay Thoughts "We must cut our coat according to our cloth and adapt ourselves to changing circumstances." new! CUT THE CRAP---Quit; stop fooling around. CUT THE MUSTARD---Having the ability to do something.---"He can still cut the mustard." "He's to old to cut the mustard anymore."---You were able or unable to go into the field and cut mustard. new! CUT THE SHENANIGANS---Mischief; nonsense; trickery.---"Ok, settle down and cut the shenanigans"---Another one of my father's favorites.---Irish (nachuighim) I play the fox. CUT THROUGH THE RED TAPE---A solicitor used to band case papers with a red ribbon to keep all the papers together. In order to access the papers and get things started he would cut through the red tape. (Possible) CUT TO THE CHASE---Get to the good part.---"Let's dispense with the crap and cut to the chase."---Old time movies often had a dull storyline but ended with a wild chase scene. So skip the dull stuff and cut to the chase. DANCE WITH THE ONE THAT BROUGHT YOU---Be true and loyal to those who have stood by you; stick with something that has been successful in the past. DARK HORSE---Unknown; not recognized---"He certainly is the dark horse candidate."---At one time it was the practice by some horse racing owners to dye the hair of a well known horse in order to get better odds. Such a horse became known as a dark horse since they couldn't make the horse lighter. Benjamin Disreaeli (1831) The Young Duke "A dark horse, which had never been thought of rushed past the grand stand in sweeping triumph." DAWNED ON ME---Finally became apparent.---"I should have known, but it just never dawned on me."---Harriet Beecher Stowe used the phrase in Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT---Never prepared; undependable.---"Gary is always a day late and a dollar short."---Always late, never has any money, just totally unorganized and lacks responsibility.

DEAD AS A DOORNAIL---Totally unresponsive.---"He was as dead as a doornail."---(alliteration) A large headed nail used to stud a door for decoration or reinforcement. (1350) The Romance of William of Palerne "For but ich haue bote of mi bale I am ded as a dorenail." Nashe Works "Wee'l strike it as dead as a door-nail." DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES---Get rid of a witness.---J. Wilson (1664) Andron Comminius "Twere best to knock them I' Th' head, the dead tell no tales." DEAD OF NIGHT---Quietest time of the night.---Hall (1548) Cronicle "In the dedde of the night he brake up his camp and fled." DEAD RINGER---Look exactly alike.---"He is a dead ringer for his brother."--In horse racing a better horse, that was a dead ringer for another, was substituted in a race and with the odds on the slower horse the owners would make big money. new! DEAD SOLDIER---Empty bottle of beer; empty drink.---"How long have you been drinking?, you have a lot of dead soldiers there."---Empty bottles laying on the ground reminds one of a battle field scene. DEAD TO RIGHTS---Without possibility of error; red handed.---"We've got him dead to rights."---The San Francisco newspaper City Argus (1881) news story: "A man attempted to get into Banker Sather's cash box and was caught 'dead to rights' and now languishes in the city Bastille." new! DEAR JOHN---A letter from a girlfriend or wife, usually received by a serviceman, informing him that his services would no longer be needed.---"Larry is upset today, he just got a Dear John letter."---WWII GI expression. When you got a letter from your girlfriend that started: "Dear ---------" you knew you might be in trouble. John was a common name so it was used to describe all such letters. DEEP SIX---In oblivion; discarded; bury.---"They gave him the deep six."--Originally to be buried. DEN OF THIEVES---An unsavory group; a place where one has to be on one's guard.---"The Congress has turned into a den of thieves."---Bible: Matthew 21:13 "Jesus said unto them. It is written, my house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves." new! DERRICK---A term sometimes used today when referring to power equipment used to lift, crane etc. Originally a hangman's apparatus named after Godfrey Derrick, who practiced his craft on a large clientele at Tyburn prison. Note: It has been estimatee that 50,000 people were executed there between 1196 and 1783, incluking Derrick himself in 1601. DEVIL INCARNATE---A particularly evil person.---"He was the devil incarnate."---John Purvey Remonstrances Against Romish Corruption of the Church "A son of perdicioun, and devil incarnat." DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH---An unpolished or inexperienced person who shows promise.---"He is going to go a long way in this business, he is a diamond in the rough."---John Fletcher (1624) A Wife for a Month "She is very honest, and will be hard to cut as a rough diamond." DID A SLOW BURN---Progressing from annoyed to angry.---"I could tell old Joe was doing a slow burn." (1930's) Made famous by the facial expressions of comedian Leo Carroll.

DIDDY---Small.---"How do you like this little diddy."---Originally diddy was a diaper. Diddy bag: diaper bag. DIDDLY SQUAT---Small amount; nothing.---"He knows diddly squat about history."---Carneys who traveled from town to town working county fairs developed their own private language to use in front of potential gamblers at games of chance. Diddle-e-squat seems to have referred to a nickel or a dime, the going rate for a game of chance. DIE IS CAST---No changes can be made; the step is taken---"The die has been cast, we can only wait now." Shakespeare (1594) Richard III "I have set my like upon a cast, and I will stand the hazard of the die." DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS---The approach to different people should be individualized; different people like different things. new! DINGLEBERRIES---Someone searched the site for this so here it is.--Small pieces of feces that cling to the hairs around the anal area. They may also cause "skid marks" (the marks in your underwear that resemble marks on the pavement left by a skidding automobile).---A person you hold in low esteem can also be a "dingleberry". You fill out your own syntax, i'm done with this."________________________________________________" new! DIPSTICK---Slang expression for a fool or idiot.---"My new boss is a real dipstick." DIRT CHEAP---Extremely low priced.---"I bought this car dirt cheap."---(1821) Blackwell's Magazine "Dirt cheap, indeed, it was, as well it might." DIRTY DOG---Someone judged as despicable.---"You dirty dog."---Sherard Vines (1928) Humours Unreconciled "Who's been calling me a dirty dog, I should like to know?" new! DISCOMBOBULATE---Confuse; disconcerting.---"He tries to tell me three things at once, I get all discombobulated."---Whimsical alliteration of discomfit. DISCRETION IS THE BETTER PART OF VALOR---Think hard before you jump into a heroic situation; exercise caution.---Shakespeare (1597) Henry IV "The better part of valor is discretion." Ray (1670). "Valor can do little without discretion." DIVIDE AND CONQUER---Secure a victory by causing your opponents to quarrel among themselves.---Bible: Matthew 12:25 "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand." DIZZY---Foolish; stupid.---"She sure is dizzy."---Clarke (1639) "As dizzy as a goose." DO AN ABOUT FACE---Drastically change one's attitude; make a 180 degree turn.---"He was dead set against marriage but since he met Carol he has done an about face."---In military drill one pivots about 180 degrees and faces the opposite direction.---John Strype (1790) Annals of the Reformation "He had been a very zealous protestant, but under Queen Mary came about, and was as hot the other way."
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DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO---Do as I tell you, it is the right thing, even though I do not follow my own teaching.---Heywood (1546) Proverbs "It is as folke dooe, and not as folde saie." DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT---Don't give up; never say die.---Thomas Dylan (1952) "Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light." DO OR DIE---Succeed or die trying.---Walter Scott (1577.) Robert Burns (1794.) Scots Wha Hae. "Lay the proud usurpers low!; Tyrants fall in every foe!; Liberty's in every blow!; Let us dor or die!" Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1854) The Charge of the Light Brigade "Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do or die." DOES A BEAR SHIT IN THE WOODS---Of course; yes.---Used as a response to a question with an obvious answer. DOESN'T HAVE A LEG TO STAND ON---To be in a weak position; indefensible position; not supported by law.---"He is in a mess now, he doesn't have a leg to stand on."---John Neil (1825) Brother Jonathan "As if the Yankee man were determined to leave the brigadier without a leg to stand upon, as a lawyer would say." DOG DAYS OF SUMMER---Very hottest days of summer.---The ancient Romans believed that the six or eight hottest days of summer were caused by the Dog Star, Sirius' rising with the sun and adding its heat to the day. They called these days Cuniculares Dies or "dog days." DONE TO A TURN---Perfectly done.---"The meat was done to a turn."--Usually associated with cooking. If meat is cooked on a spit there is one point in time, one last turn, when the meat is done to perfection. (1780) (magazine) The Mirror "The beef was done to a turn." DONNYBROOK---All out fracas; melee.---"They had a real donnybrook across the street last night."---The town of Donnybrook in County Dublin, Ireland, was for generations the scene of a yearly bash. In connection with a fair held there, revelers made it a custom to drink and celebrate to excess which gave rise to many fistfights. DON'T BEAT AROUND THE BUSH---Get to the point.---Wilson (1560) Retorique "If he would tell it orderly, without going about the bush." DON'T BELIEVE EVERY THING YOU HEAR---People lie.---Lord Vaux (1562) Poems "Believe not euery speache." DON'T BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW---Don't try to do more than you can realistically handle.--DON'T BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU---Be good to those who take care of you.---Fuller (1732) "Cast no dirt into the well that hath given you water." DON'T CHANGE HORSES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREAM---Once you have chosen a course of action stick with it.---"He had better stay with the team he is playing with, I don't think he will do well if he changes horses in the middle of the stream." DON'T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS UNTIL THEY ARE HATCHED--Don't depend on something until you actually have it.---Philemore Misogonous. "My chickings are not hatcht, nil to count of him as yet."

DON'T CRY OVER SPILLED MILK---Don't cry over something that has been lost or cannot be changed; get on with it.---"Let's start over, there is no use crying over spilled milk."---Aesop "The thyrd doctrine is that thou take no sorrowe of the thynge lost whiche may not be recovered. Draxe (1633) "The water that is past cannot make the mill goe." DON'T CRY UNTIL YOU ARE HURT---Don't be premature in complaining.---(1548) Reliq. Antique "You may the better understand that I cry not before I am pricked." DON'T GET YOUR SHORTS ALL BUNCHED UP---Don't get upset. DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP---Don't quit; hang in there.---Captain James Lawrence (1813.) Commander of the U.S. frigate Chesapeake being fatally wounded in a battle with the British frigate Shannon on June 1, 1813, ordered his sailors not to give up their ship. "Tell the men to fire faster and not to give up the ship; fight her till she sinks." DON'T HIT A MAN WHEN HE IS DOWN---Don't attack someone who is already hurt.---Thomas Cranmer (1551) Answer to Gairdner DON'T HOLD YOUR BREATH---If you are waiting for something to happen, don't, it is unlikely.---"They say they are going to lower taxes but don't hold your breath." DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER---Don't judge things by their appearance only.---(1929) American Speech DON'T JUDGE A MAN UNTIL YOU HAVE WALKED A MILE IN HIS SHOES---Don't criticize another person's life until you've been forced to live it; until you have been in that person's situation. DON'T KILL THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG---Don't destroy a source of future profits out of greed.---Aesop (550 B.C.) The Goose With The Golden Eggs Tells about a farmer whose goose started laying golden eggs. But he wanted all the gold he could get and he wanted it immediately. Aesop writes: "Thinking to get at once all the gold the goose could give, he killed it and opened it only to find nothing." new! DON'T KILL THE MESSENGER---Don't blame the person who brings bad news.---"Don't get upset with Harry, he is just the messenger, he had nothing to do with the situation."---Shakespeare (1598.) Henry IV. "Yet the first bringer of unwelcome news, hath but a losing office, and his tongue sounds ever after as a sullen bell, remember'd knolling a departing friend."---Shakespeare (1606) Antony and Cleopatra "Come hither , sir. Though it be honest, it is never good to bring bad news." DON'T LEAD WITH YOUR CHIN---Don't expose yourself to danger; don't expose your own vulnerability.--DON'T LET ANY GRASS GROW UNDER YOUR FEET---Keep busy.---"He is not letting any grass grow under his feet."---(1707) Spanish Bawd "I have not been idle, I have not let grass grow under my feet." DON'T LET SCHOOL STAND IN THE WAY OF YOUR EDUCATION--The things you learn in school are just a foundation for learning.---One of my fathers favorites, he believed in a well rounded education and thought people should strive to be as informed and self reliant as possible. He had some disdain

for "professional" people, who left to their own devices, didn't have enough sense to pack sand in a rat hole. DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU IN THE ASS---Get out of here and be in a hurry about it. DON'T LET THE FOX GUARD THE HENHOUSE---Don't assign a job to someone who will then be in a position to exploit it for his own needs.---(1589) Contre-League DON'T LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH---Take what is given to you without looking at it too critically.---John Standbridge (1510) "A gyuen hors may not be loked in the tethe." DON'T MAKE LOVE BY THE GARDEN GATE, BECAUSE LOVE IS BLIND BUT THE NEIGHBORS AIN'T---Someone is always watching what we do; when you get caught up in emotion you tend to ignore the things around you. DON'T PULL ANY PUNCHES---In acting a punch is pulled back and not actually struck.---"Don't pull any punches, give him what he has coming." DON'T PUT YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET---Don't rely on one source; risk everything on one venture.---"He shouldn't put all his eggs in one basket."---If someone carries two baskets and drops one, only half the eggs are lost.---Spalmer (1710) Moral Essays on Proverbs "don't venture all your eggs in one basket." DON'T START SOMETHING YOU CAN'T FINISH---Don't get involved in something without the prospect of finishing.---Draxe (1633) "Better never to begin than never to make an end." DON'T STIR SHIT, IT STINKS---Leave a bad situation alone, it may end up hurting you more or causing a bigger mess.---Heywood (1546) Proverbs "Ever the more it is stirred, the more to stink." DON'T TAKE ANY WOODEN NICKELS---A friendly warning to the unsuspecting or easily duped.---Wooden nickels were said to have been make by those unwilling to earn an honest living. As the nickel piece of 1857 was only worth a cent it was a unrewarding enterprise, but gave rise to the phrase. DON'T THROW CAUTION TO THE WIND---Don't make careless and risky moves.---B. Grebanier (1965) The Great Shakespeare DON'T THROW THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATH WATER---Keep what is good, don't get rid of everything because of some bad things.---There was a time, due to the amount of work to secure and heat bath water, when everyone in the family would use the same bath water. The head of the house bathed first, the other men, the women and then the children. When it came time to bathe the children one can easily see the somewhat comical picture of the baby being lost in the murky water and being thrown out with it. DON'T TRY TO TEACH A PIG TO SING (It irritates the pig and wastes your time.) new! DOODAD---Trinket or any object which one forgets the name for.---"He has a bunch of those little doodads laying around." new! DORK---One who is ungainly.---"Jim is a real dork."---Possibly from "dorking" a breed of domestic fowl that is ungainly in appearence.

DOSE OF HIS OWN MEDICINE---Treat him the way he has treated others.---"He should have a dose of his own medicine."---Paul L. Ford (1894) The Honorable Peter Stirling "He snubbed me,' explained Miss DeVoe, smiling slightly at the thought of treating Peter with a dose of his medicine." DOT THE I'S AND CROSS THE T'S---Be thorough; pay attention to detail.---"Don't forget to dot your i's and cross your t's."---William Tyndale (1540) The Obedience of a Christian Man "They have so narrowlye loked on my transplatyon, that there is not so much as one I therin if it lacke a thrle over his hed, but they have noted it." DOWN AND OUT---In poor financial, social or physical condition.---"He has lost his job, he is down and out now."---Usually a change from a position one was in previously. Related to a boxer being knocked out in the ring.---O. Henry (1904) Heart of the West "Then he delivered the good Saxon knock out blow and Garcia was down and out. DOWN IN THE DUMPS---Dispirited; unhappy.---"She is all down in the dumps over the breakup."---Sir Thomas More (1529) A Dialoge of Comforte Against Tribulation "What heapes of heauyness, hath of late fallen among us already, with which some of our poore familye bee fallen into suche dumpes." DOWN IN THE MOUTH---Glum; dispirited.---"Joe looks all down in the mouth this morning."---Bishop Joseph Hall (1649) Cases of Conscience "The Roman Orator was down in the mouth; finding himself thus cheated by the money changer." new! DOWN THE HATCH---Drink it all.---Down the throat, an allusion to throwing something down the hatch of a ship. new! DOWN TO A GNAT'S ASS---Fine detail; precision.---"It fits perfectly, he's got it down to a gnats ass." DRAGGED THROUGH A KNOTHOLE BACKWARD---Looking very bad---"She looks as though she was dragged through a knothole backwards." DRESSED FIT TO KILL---Spiffily turned out; nattily or showily attired.---"Did you see Karen, she was dressed fit to kill."---"Kill" means to wow or impress as in "Kill them with kindness".---Sir Richard Steele (1711) The Spectator "If they [handsome people] do not kill at first sight, as the phrase is , a second interview disarms them of all their power." John Keats (1818) "One chap was dressed to kill for the king in bombasts." DRESSED TO THE NINES---Nattily turned out. (see dressed fit to kill).---"She showed up at the dance dressed to the nines."---(Possible) "eyne" the old plural for eye, and the phrase "to the eyne" meant to the eyes. DRIVE UP A WALL---Annoy severely.---"I can't help it, that guy just drives me up a wall."---Old saying: Drive to the wall. Heywood (1546) Proverbs "That deede without woords shall drive him to the wall. And further than the wall he can not to." DROP IN THE BUCKET---Insignificant amount.---"That's just a drop in the bucket."---Bible: Isaiah 40:15 "Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance...."

DRY AS A BONE---It is hard for your bones to get wet.---"I thought it was leaking but it is as dry as a bone."---Marryat (1834) Simple "Here, Peter, take mine, it's as dry as a bone." new! DROP THE HAMMER---To shoot; severely punish or chastise.---"He goofed up again, she's going to drop the hammer on him this time."---Originally referred to the hammer on a gun. You cocked the hammer and when the trigger was pulled the hammer came down firing the weapon. new! DUKES---Fists; hands.---The old expression was, "put up your dukes". This would occur in preparation for a fist fight. Certainly a reference to the Duke of York. His prowess with dueling and fist fighting were legendary. new! DUKES MIXTURE---A little bit of this and a little bit of that; no particular formula.---"I don't know what breed of dog he is, he's a dukes mixture."--(Possible) Dukes are referred to as fists or hands. Someone grabbing up handfuls of ingredients, throwing them together and mixing them by hand may be an origin for this expression? DUMB LIKE A FOX---Smart and resourceful; one who plays dumb but knows exactly what he is doing.---"He knows what is going on, he is dumb like a fox."--(Oxy.) The fox has been celebrated for centuries as a crafty animal. It was remarked about in the Trinity College Homilies, dating from about 1200. DUMBER THAN A BOX OF ROCKS---Not very intelligent.---"The boy is dumber than a box of rocks."---No caption necessary. DUTCH TREAT---An entertainment for which each participant pays his own share.---"Linda and I are going on a date, we are going Dutch treat."---(19th Century). An expression probably referring to the thrifty habits of the Dutch immigrants DUTCH UNCLE---One who gives tough advice; stern disciplinarian.---"I am going to have to talk to him like a Dutch uncle."---Joseph C. Neal (1837) "If you keep cutting didoes (tricks; pranks), I must talk to you both like a Dutch uncle." DYED IN THE WOOL---Having deeply ingrained habits or traits.---"He's really dyed in the wool."---Wool dyed raw before processing penetrated more thoroughly and lasted longer than wool dyed after processing. Sir Thomas north (1579) Plutarch's Lives "If he had not through institution and education died in wool the manners of children." E PLURIBUS UNUM---Out of many, one; from many, one.---Poem Moretum new! EAGER BEAVER---Ambitious; hard working.---"The new salesman is an eager beaver."---Beavers are known for their industriousness. EARLY TO BED, EARLY TO RISE, MAKES A MAN HEALTHY, WEALTHY AND WISE---Early risers get a jump on everyone else.--Fitzherbert (1523) Husbanddrie "Erly rysyng maketh a man hole in body, loler in soule, and rycher in goodes." EARMARKED---A thing set aside for a definite use.---"That material has been earmarked for the new project."---English farmers used to notch the ears of their cattle to identify them. Hogs are earmarked to this day. EASIER SAID THAN DONE---Easier to talk about than to do.---"Most things are easier said than done."---Also used as "No sooner said than done." It will be

done right away; easy. Heywood (1546) l Proverbs "That is, sooner said then doone." new! EASTER EGGS---(story) Saint Simon of Cyrene, an eggler by trade, was a bystander as Jesus carried the cross bound for Calvary. A theory promoted by a medieval Gnostic sect suggested that Simon not only carried the cross but, by somehow exchanging bodies, endured the crucifixion. When he later "returned" to his own body, he found that his eggs had been fantastically decorated, a story that led to the coloring of eggs tradition. EASY AS DUCK SOUP---Requiring no effort---"This is duck soup."---The old analogy is that a pond or puddle is called "duck soup." A puddle caused by rainfall will materialize without human effort. EASY AS FALLING OFF A LOG---Very easy.---Bridge (1917) Cheshire Proverbs "They'd find it as easy as falling off a log, you see!" EASY AS PIE---A pleasantly uncomplicated task.---"This is going to be easy as pie."---The eating of the pie is pleasant and easy. (1895) (magazine) Outing "Green dogs are pie for him (the raccoon). EASY COME, EASY GO---That which comes to one easily is easily spent.--Heywood (1546) Proverbs "Light come, light go." EASY PICKINGS---A person or thing easily mastered.---"That was easy pickings."---Picking fruit is a good example. Easy pickings are those you can reach without climbing. EAT CROW---Admit wrong doing; submit to humiliation.---"I guess I am going to have to eat some crow."---Crow is not a popular fare, one would have to lower oneself to eat crow. (1888) Atlanta Constitution An American soldier in the war of 1812 bagged a crow while hunting; a British officer who saw the deed complimented the soldier on the shot (an armistice was in force) and asked to see the gun. The soldier handed it to him, whereupon the British officer trained it on the soldier, upbraided him for trespassing and forced him to take a bit of the crow. The officer gave back the gun, and then the soldier turned the gun on the officer and forced him to eat the rest of the crow. EAT HUMBLE PIE---Acknowledge an error; be apologetic; submit to humiliation---"He messed up and had to eat humble pie."---The original word was "umble" an umble pie was made from the umbles of the deer, the heart,liver and entrails. The huntsman dined on umble pie while the lord and lady dined on venison. (16th century) EAT ONE'S OWN WORDS---Make a bad statement.---"I spoke to fast, now I am going to have to eat my words."---E. Ward (1710) Nuptial Dialogues "I'll make you eat your own words before I've done." EAT YOU OUT OF HOUSE AND HOME---Heavy eaters.---"Those two kids would eat you out of house and home."---(1400) Towneley Plays "But were I not more gracyus and rychere berfar, I were eten outt of howse and of harbar." Shakespeare Henry IV "He hath eaten me out of house and home; he hath put all my substance into that fat belly of his." EAT YOUR HAT---Expression used when one is sure of his position or prediction.---"If it doesn't rain today I will eat my hat."---Charles Dickens

Pickwick Papers "Well, if I knew as little of life as that, I'd eat my hat and swallow the buckle." EAT YOUR HEART OUT---Concern; worry.---"I won this time, eat your heart out."---Taverner (1539) Proverbs "Eate not thy harte, consume not thy selfe wyth cares." EATING HIGH ON THE HOG---Able to afford the more expensive cuts of meat; living lavishly."He is living high on the hog since he got his raise. EGG IN YOUR BEER---Not satisfied with what you have.---"So what do you want, egg in your beer."---Joseph Bishop (1946) American Speech "An answer to any and all complaints." John L. Riordan American Speech. "According to the superstition prevailing in certain strata, the eating of eggs lends on sexual power. The idea is strikingly demonstrated by the bartender's lingo for an order of beer with an egg in it: 'One sexy!'" EGG ON---Encourage someone to do something they are unsure of or undecided about.---"He just keeps egging him on and he is going to get upset." EIGHTY SIX THAT IDEA---Throw it out; don't use it.---During prohibition Chumleys Bar and Restaurant located at 86 Bedford St. in Greenwich Village, New York City, was a popular Speakeasy. When agents were seen by lookouts they would give the signal "Eighty Six" and the patrons would exit and the booze would be hidden. So to eighty six something was to get rid of it. ELBOW GREASE---The physical effort applied when rubbing, polishing, etc.---"Come on, use a little elbow grease, let's get this done."---When someone is working at polishing or scrubbing it looks as though the elbow may need some lubrication. ELEVENTH HOUR---Last possible time to make a decision; close to the end.---"They always wait till the eleventh hour to decide."---Babylonians, Greeks and Hebrews adopted the use of sundials whose faces were divided into twelve segments. Hours were counted from daylight to dusk, with darkness coming at the twelfth hour.---Bible: Matthew 20:1Parable of the labourers in the vineyard, mentions the eleventh hour. END OF ONE'S ROPE---Exhausted all resources; the end.---"I am not going to fight this anymore, i've reached the end of my rope."---With his horse tied to a post with a length of rope, a rider could rest while his horse grazed. A horse would graze all the grass in his reach and could be found straining to eat grass barely within his reach. This picture alludes to a human who has exhausted all his resources and is at the end of his rope. END OF YOUR STRING---To have exhausted all options.---"I don't know what I am going to do, I am at the end of my string."---John Fitzherbert (1523) A Newe Tracte or Treatyse Moost Profytable for All Husbande Men "As long as thou eatest within thytedure, that thou nedest not to begge nor borowe of noo man." Benjamin Malkin (1809) Adventures of Gil Blas "At length she got to the end of her tether...." ENOUGH IS ENOUGH---The limit has been reached.---"I have had it with this income tax, enough is enough."---Heywood (1546) Proverbs "As for money, enough is enough; no man can enjoy more."

EUREKA!---(Greek) I have found it.---Archimedes (287-212 B.C.) Archimedes was taking a bath, some of the water ran over, and he exclaimed "Eureka!" he concluded that a body must displace its own bulk in water. This method is used to test the purity of gold. ET TU, BRUTE?---You also, Brutus?---Allegedly, exclaimed Julius Caesar when he recognized his close friend Marcus Brutus among the conspirators who in 44 B.C. stabbed him to death.---Often used today to express dismay that a friend or associate has turned against you. Often used in jest. EVEN A BLIND SQUIRREL (PIG) FINDS AN ACORN ONCE IN A WHILE---Even the most inept have success once in a while. EVEN A BROKEN CLOCK IS CORRECT TWICE A DAY---Everyone is right once in a while. EVEN STEVEN---Fair; even; equitable.---"Here is the money I borrowed, now we are even steven."---Alliteration. EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING---Some good may come out of any gloomy situation.---John Milton (1634) Comus EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY---A good day comes to everyone once in a while.---Heywood (1546) Proverbs "A dog hath a daie." EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS---O'Keeffe (1791) Wild Oats "Here, it's not much!, but every little helps." EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF---You are on your own; don't expect help.---"It looks like it is every man for himself."---(Chaucer (1386) Knight's Tale "At the Kynges court, my brother, ech man for hymself, ther is noon oother." EVERY MOTHER'S SON---Almost everyone; everyone.---"Every mother's son must have been at the meeting."---T. Wilson (1560) Rhetorique "Die we must euery mothers sonne of us." (Also Every Man Jack) EVERY TOM, DICK AND HARRY---Anyone who comes along; no specific person; everyone in general.---"I put an ad in the paper and every Tom, Dick and Harry called me."---In some form this can be traced back as far as the 16th century. Mark Twain (1885) Letters "His simple pleasure in the flowers and general ruck sent to him by Tom, Dick and Harry from everywhere." EVERYBODY AND HIS BROTHER---Most everybody; everybody.---"It sure was crowded, everybody and his brother must have been there."---(See Every mother's son.) EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT THE WEATHER, BUT NOBODY DOES ANYTHING ABOUT IT---Everybody complains about things, but nothing is done about it.---Mark Twain EVERYTHING'S HUNKY-DORY---Everything is fine.---(1868) Hunkidori was the name of a breath freshener introduced in 1868.---Honkidori was the name of a street in Yokohama, japan, waterfront district where a sailor on shore leave could find about anything his heart desired. new! EVIL EYE---Evil look; glare.---"I said something funny about my mother in law and my wife gave me the evil eye."---Originally from the Scottish yelder ee'd which meant one who had unusual ocular characteristics and were considered to be possessed by demons. They were able to cast a spell by looking at someone.

EYES ARE THE WINDOW TO THE SOULA persons thoughts can be ascertained by looking in his or her eyes.---Cicero (106-43 B.C.) "Ut imago est animi voltus sic indices oculi." (The face is a picture of the mind as the eyes are its interpreter.) EYE FOR AN EYE---An equal exchange; the punishment should match the crime.---"I believe in an eye for an eye."---Bible: Exodus 21:23-25 "And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand,foot for foot..........." EYE OF A NEEDLE---Bible: Matthew 19:24 "And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." The needles eye was a small pedestrian opening in the walls of Jerusalem. A small camel could by kneeling down struggle through the opening. A rich man is less likely to humble himself before his maker. EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER---One learns more from experience than from books.---Roger Ascham (1568) The Schoolmaster EXPERIENCE KEEPS A DEAR SCHOOL BUT FOOLS WILL LEARN IN NO OTHER---Fools learn the hard way.---Franklin (1736) Way of Wealth in Works My father used this saying quite often, do you suppose he was trying to tell me something? FACE THE MUSIC---To confront or deal with a difficult situation.---"You made a mistake and now it is time to face the music."---There are a couple of possible meanings. It takes a certain amount of courage for one to get on stage in front of an audience, you would be facing the orchestra pit as well as the audience. Facing the music. When a soldier was being dismissed from his regiment it was sometimes the practice for the band to play "Rogue's March." He had to face the music. FAINT HEART NEVER WON FAIR MAIDEN---If you don't speak up because you are afraid of rejection, you will never get a lady's attention.---(1570) Black Letter "Faint harte fair ladies never win." FAIR AND SQUARE---Straightforward; honest.---"I think he treated me fair and square."---Oliver Cromwell (1604) There will clearly be no living for the Portugal unless he do that which is fair and square." FAIR SHAKE---To treat fairly.---"Let's give him a fair shake."---When rolling dice you are advised to give the dice a fair shake, no sliding, making sure you cannot set them up. FAIR TO MIDDLING---Average; tolerable.---"I feel fair to middling today."--Fair is moderately good, middling is mediocre. Also used as a term to grade cotton in the mills. Fair to middling was a grade just above average. FAIR-WEATHER FRIEND---One who is loyal only when it involves no trouble for him.---"He certainly turned out to be a fair-weather friend.--Alexander Pope (1736) "My fair weather friends of the summer are going away for London." FALL GUY---Loser; dupe; victim.---"You just wait, I am going to end up being the fall guy."---Originated in the late 19th century. Many of the wrestling matches were "rigged", the loser agreed to take a fall, and anyone who ends up with the blame or the lose is referred to as a fall guy.

FALLING APART LIKE A CHEAP SUIT---Someone loosing their composure; coming apart emotionally.---"Gary has had a tough time of it, he is coming apart like a cheap suit."---A suit not well made, when put under stress, will come apart at the seams. FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT---When you get to know someone you are privy to all their faults and may have contempt for them, when you first meet someone you have no basis on which to dislike them for whatever faults they may have. G. Harvey (1593) Works "Truth begetteth hatred; vertue enuy, familiaritie cotempt." FAR BE IT FROM ME---Not something I'm likely to do.---"Far be it from me to tell him his wife has a boy friend."---Bible: Job 34:10 "Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness." FAR CRY---Long distance---"We are a long cry from being finished"---"Cry" was a loud shout, it could not be heard at a long distance. Sir Walter Scott (1819) The Legend of Montrose "One of the Campbells replied, 'It is a far cry to Lochow'; a proverbial expression of the tribe, meaning that their ancient hereditary domains lay beyond the reach of an invading enemy." FAR FETCHED---Not believable; built up story. Originally meant expensive goods bought from afar. Heywood (1546) Proverbs "Dere bought and far fet are deinties for ladies. Now generally means far off the mark or unbelievable. new! FARCE---Absurd; ridiculous.---"This whole situation is a farce."--Originally from the Latin, "farcire", meaning "to stuff". Early plays were stuffed with jokes and low comedy scenes and were referred to as farces. FAST AND FURIOUS---Intense; heated.---"It was busy, everything was going fast and furious."---Robert Burns (1793) Tam O'Shanter "As Tammie glow'red, amazed, and curious, the mirth and fun grew fast and furious." FAT IS IN THE FIRE---Something has happened that is going to cause things to intensify, flare up.---"He told her he is leaving, the fat's in the fire now."---The analogy is that fat dripping from meat cooking over an open fire blazes up and burns the meat. Dekker (1603) Works "Then must he trudge to get gossips, such as she will appoint, or else all the fatte is in the fire." FAUX PAS---A false step; a breach of manners of good conduct.---"I made a huge faux pas at the party last night." FEAST OR FAMINE---Extremes of success or failure.---"Lately it seems as though it is either feast or famine."---Thomas Fuller (1732). Gnomologia. "Is there no mean, but fast or feast?" FEATHER IN HIS CAP---Reward---"That's another feather in his cap."---The American Indians added a feather to their headgear whenever an enemy was slain. (1657) Catalogue of British Books. "It's recorded that Solomons Library was the feather in the plume of his glorious enjoyments." new! FEED A COLD, STARVE A FEVER---Old wives tale about how to treat these illnesses; if you want to recover from a cold you eat well, if you have a fever, abstain from food. ---J. Withals (1574) Short Dictionary.---Mark Twain (1865) The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavaras County "It was policy to feed a cold and starve a fever.

FEEL ONE'S OATS---Full of energy: spry.---"He is up and at em today, he is feeling his oats."---A horse that is fed well on grain and oats is lively and full of energy. Oats have an invigorating effect on horses. FEEL THE PINCH---Suffer a hardship or deprivation.---"Since inflation went up I can really feel the pinch."---Shakespeare King Lear "Necessity's sharp pinch." (1861) London Times "So much money having been spent, all the classes felt the pinch." FERRET OUT---To find; find a solution; force out of hiding.---"I am going to try to ferret out this problem."---Comes from a corruption of an old expression used to describe "a thief with fur". This pink eyed animal was brought from Africa to Europe by the Crusaders. It was found to be fond of eggs and the egg stealer became know as a ferret. The ferret was adept at, and widely used, to hunt rats, rabbits and other burrowing animals. new! FESS UP---Tell what you know; tell the truth.---"If he fesses up things will go easier on him." FEW AND FAR BETWEEN---Rare; infrequent.---"On Tybee Island crimes are few and far between."---Thomas Campbell (1799) The Pleasure of Hope "Cease, ever joy, to glimmer on my mind, but leave, oh! leave the light of hope behind! What though my winged hours of bliss have been, like angel visits, few and far between." FIDDLE WHILE ROME BURNS---To display callousness or indifference in the face of crisis.---"He fiddled while Rome burned."---In A.D. 64 a great fire laid waste to much of Rome. It was believed that the emperor Nero was involved and that he played his lyre while watching the city burn. new! FIELD DAY---Celebration; happy occasion; occasion of triumph; exposition.---"He is having a field day with his new motorcycle."---Often associated with "Hay Day" when farmers celebrated the harvest of hay, a party was held in the fields and new farm equipment was demonstrated. FIFTH WHEEL---Useless; not necessary.---"I don't know why they hired him, he is like a fifth wheel."---Taylor (1644) Crop-care Curried "As much pertinent as the fifth wheele in a coach." FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE---Respond to harsh or underhanded attacks with similar methods.---Shakespeare (1607) Coriolanus "One fire drives out one fire; one nail, one nail; Rights by rights falter, strengths by strengths do fail." FIGHT TOOTH AND NAIL---Fight fiercely; cling tenaciously.---"We had to fight tooth and nail to keep our business open."---Ninian Winget (1562) Certaine Tractates "Contending with tooth and naill." Erasmus (1533) Enchiridion Militis Christiani "Take and holde this with toth and nayle, that to be honour onely which springeth to true vertue." FIGURES LIE AND LIARS FIGURE---Don't always trust figures, liars may be doing the figuring.---Charles H. Grosvenor (1833 - 1917) Governor of Ohio. "Figures won't lie, but liars will figure." FILE 13---Trash can.---"Just put that report in file 13." FILL THE BILL---Meet the need; serve the purpose.---"That new piece of machinery will certainly fill the bill."---(1860) Transactions of th Illinois

Agricultural Society "Austin Seedling, Fr. W. hopes well from because of its great vigor, but doubts if it fills the bill." FINE TOOTH COMB---Figurative tool with which one conducts a thorough search or investigation.---"I have looked everywhere, I went through the house with a fine tooth comb."---(1891) Century Magazine "I'll go through this town like a fine tooth comb but what I'll find him." FINDERS KEEPERS, LOSERS WEEPERS---Old children's saying, if you found something it was yours.---J. T. Brockett (1825) Glossary of North Country Words FINISHING TOUCH---Final bit of work to finish something.---"It is almost finished now, I am just putting on the finishing touches."---horace Walpole (1707) Reflexions upon Ridicule "A mind well turn'd, receives the finishing stroke and polish from science." FIRE AND WATER ARE GOOD SERVANTS BUT BAD MASTERS---They are good if under control.---(1562) Bulwarke of Defense "Fire and water is a very good servant, but it is a cruell maister." FIRST AND FOREMOST---A leading person or point.---"But first and foremost I want to thank Jim for his help."---William Caxton (1483) "And such one is that weneth first and formest that often fyndeth her the last of all." FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED---(1475) Paston Letters "For who comyth fyrst to the mylle, fyrst must grynd." FISH OR CUT BAIT---Make a choice; do something useful; don't be idle.--Joseph G. Cannon (Congressman from Illinois) (1876) "Now I want you gentlemen on the other side of the House to 'fish or cut bait.'" FIT AS A FIDDLE---Very well.---"What a morning, I feel fit as a fiddle today."---Haughton (1616) Eng. For Money "this is excellent, I' faith; as fit as a fiddle!" new! FIT TO A TEE---Exact; perfect.---"When he finished the suit it fit to a T."---Alluded to a T-square used by architects and draftsmen to make lines perfectly on a drawing or set of plans. new! FIT TO BE TIED---Upset; angry.---"When she saw the mud I tracked in, she was fit to be tied."---Those prone to "fits" were sometimes tied down during these episodes. FLABBERGASTED---Made speechless with amazement; astonish.---"I was absolutely flabbergasted by the events that occurred."---(18th Century slang). FLASH IN THE PAN---A temporary success or attraction.---"He was just a flash in the pan."---The "pan" was a part of an old flintlock musket or rifle. The flint would ignite the gunpowder in the pan and ignite the main charge. Sometimes the powder in the pan went off, or flashed, but the weapon failed to fire. Charles James (1810) A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary "An explosion of gunpowder without any communication beyond the touch hole." FLAT AS A PANCAKE---Udall (1542) "His nose as flat as a cake, bruised or beaten to his face." FLATTERY WILL GET YOU NOWHERE---Don't bother with flattery it isn't going to have any effect.---Shakespeare (1593) Richard III "He does me double wrong that wounds me with the flatteries of his tongue."

FLIVER---A small cheap automobile. FLUKE---A chance happening.---"Joe made it through high school, that was a fluke."---Word from the Northern English dialect.---John Mill (18th Century) "The transfer of power has gone on by flukes and leaps in the dark.---(Nautical) The wind at sea when it is light and variable; a wind that has not settled and is not blowing from one direction. FLY BY NIGHT---Undependable; one who sets up a business operation, makes some money and departs abruptly.---"That was sure a fly by night operation, they left town over the weekend."---Thomas Love Peacock (1823) Maid Marian "Would you have her married to a wild fly by night that accident made and earl and nature a deer stealer?" FLY IN THE OINTMENT---A hitch in ones plans; an obstacle.---"There is a fly in the ointment somewhere."---Bible: Ecclesiastes 10:1 "Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour." FLY OFF THE HANDLE---Get very angry.---"He really flew off the handle when he found out."---Alluded to taking out one's frustrations chopping wood and to do it so vigorously that the axe head would actually fly off the handle. FLY THE COOP---Escape.---"He flew the coop and nobody has seen him since."---As pigeons do when the door of the coop is opened. FOAM AT THE MOUTH---Show anger.---"He was foaming at the mouth, he was so mad."---An analogy to a dog with distemper or rabies. Such a dog drooled and acted in an erratic manner. (1440) Jacob's Well "the man fomyd out at his mowth." FOOL ME ONCE SHAME ON YOU, FOOL ME TWICE SHAME ON ME---Baily (1713) Dict. "If a man deceive me once shame on him, if he deceives me twice, shame on me." Baily (1736) "The wise man is deceived but once, the fool twice." FOOLS LIVE POOR TO DIE RICH---A fool will hord his money and not enjoy the fruits of his labor.---Bohn (1855) FOOLS PARADISE---Living in a dream world; unable to realize one's surroundings.---"The boy is living in a fools paradise."---The saying was known as early as 1462. It appeared in the Paston Letters. "I would not be in a fools paradise." FOOT IN MOUTH DISEASE---The capacity for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.---"The Senator has foot in mouth disease."---(1970) Manchester Guardian Weekly "President Nixon's latest onset of foot in mouth disease unfortunately came just as the American Trial lawyers Association was about to hold its annual meeting in Miami." FOOTLOOSE AND FANCY FREE---At liberty, particularly with respect to romance.---Footloose: Ready to move. Fancy: Old - being in love. Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream "And the imperial votaress passed on in maiden meditation, fancy free." FOR THE BIRDS---Worthless; overstated.---"His new policy concerning the job is for the birds."---J. D. Salinger (1951). Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caulfield is quoting and then commenting on a blurb issued by his preparatory school. "'Since
new! new!

1888 we have been molding boys into splendid, clear thinking young men.' Strictly for the birds." FOR THE LIFE OF ME---I can't do it.---"For the life of me I can't understand her."---William Lithgow (1632) "For my life I could never attain to any perfect knowledge thereof." FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME---Having to repeat over and over.---"I have told you for the umpteenth time to quit that."---Slang. FOR WANT OF A NAIL THE KINGDOM WAS LOST---In any undertaking, no detail is to small to ignore.---John Gower (1390) Confessio Amantis "Par ung seul clou perd on ung bon cheval." (By just one nail one loses a good horse.) FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH---Take it for whatever you think it's worth.---"Don't believe every thing Harry says, take it for what it's worth."---William Langland (1377) Piers Plowman "Take we her wordes at worthe, for her witnesse be trewe." FOR CRYING OUT LOUD---What you are saying is preposterous.---(20th Century) Possibly a minced oath for "For Christ's Sake." new! FOR LOVE NOR MONEY---Something you wouldn't do for either.---"I wouldn't be in his shoes for love nor money" FOR WANT OF A NAIL THE SHOE WAS LOST---Something insignificant can sometimes cause a lot of trouble.---T. Adams (1630) Works " The want of a nayle looseth the shooe, the losse of a shoe troubles the horse, the horse endangereth the rider, the rider breaking his ranke molests the company, so far as to hazard the whole army." FORGIVE AND FORGET---Put aside your hard feelings and don't hold grudges for past infractions.---William Langland (1546.) Piers Plowman. Shakespeare (1605) King Lear Lear: "You must bear with me: Pray you now, forget and forgive; I am old and foolish." FOREGONE CONCLUSION---Something already decided.---"It is a foregone conclusion that they are going to raise taxes."---Shakespeare Othello Iago: "Nay, this was but his dream."nbsp; Othello: But this denoted a foregone conclusion: "Tis a shrewd doubt, though it be but a dream." FORK OVER---Pay; make restitution.---"He made me fork over the money I owed him."---Peasants who rented land from the nobility were required to promise pay in silver. At harvest time, landlords sent collection agents for the annual rent. If the tenant had not sold his crop and had no silver he had to make payment in kind with his harvest. Shrewd agents often allowed less than market value for grain or produce accepted in lieu of silver. So a peasant was literally forced to deliver his rent with a pitchfork. FORTY WINKS---Nap.---"I think I will lay down and take forty winks."--Pierce Egan (1828) "An uncommonly big gentleman, told out, taking forty winks. FREE AS A BIRD---Able to do whatever one pleases.---"I am out of the service now, I am as free as a bird."---Heywood (1533) A Mery Play between the Pardoner and the Frere, the Curate and Neybour Pratte "As free as be the byrdes that in the ayre flee." new! FRICK AND FRACK---A pair; always together.---"When you see one you see the other, we call them frick and frack."---A skating comedy team that

performed with a traveling show called the Ice Follies which started in 1936. Alliteration obviously accounts for the popularity of this expression. FROM BAD TO WORSE---The situation is deteriorating.---"Things have gone from bad to worse since the day began."---Edmund Spenser (1579) Shepheardes Calendar "Must not the world wend in him common course, from good to badde, and from badde to worse?" FROM HAND TO MOUTH---Saving nothing, using up resources as quickly as they are acquired; economically precarious way of living.---"They are living from hand to mouth."---Arbuthnot (1712) John Bull "He has a numerous family, and lives from hand to mouth." FROM PILLAR TO POST---From one thing to another.---"I have been going from pillar to post all day."---Hazlitt (1575) Appius and Virginia "Thus in hurly burly, from pillar to post, poor Haphazard daily was toss'd." new! FROM STEM TO STERN---Completely; everything.---"We cleaned the house from stem to stern."---Nautical term: The stem is the vertical member to which the plates or side beams of a ship are attached to form the prow or forward part of a ship. The stern is of course the rear of the ship.---Tennison "Idylls of the King." Describing Arthurs sombre barge: "...dark as a funeral scarf from stem to stern." FROM THE BOTTOM OF ONE'S HEART---With deep feeling.---"I love her from the bottom of my heart."---(1545) Book of Common Prayer "If on of the parties be content to forgive from the bottom of the heart all that the other hath trespassed against him...." FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH---The truth; straight dope.---"I am telling you, I got it straight from the horse's mouth."---You can tell the age of a horse accurately by looking at its teeth. The horse's pairs of permanent teeth appear in succession at definite ages. FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS---From great to small; success to failure; noble to ignoble.---"This situation has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous."---Thomas Payne "The Age of Reason" (1794) "The sublime and the ridiculous are often so nearly related, that it is difficult to class them separately. One step above the sublime makes the ridiculous, and one step above the ridiculous makes the sublime again." FROM THE WORD GO---From the outset; from the start.---"He has been a pain in the butt since the word go."---(1838) Knickerbocker Magazine "You have perjured yourself, from the word go; you have equivocated from Dan to Beersheba." Dan is the northernmost and Beersheba the southernmost city of the Holy land. FULL HEAD OF STEAM---Having power; getting about ready to do something.---"He's getting up a full head of steam now."---Mark Twain (1889) A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur "I had got a good head of reserved steam on." FULL OF BEANS---Energetic.---"He is really full of beans today."---Beans were always known to be an energy producing food. Not to mention other things. new! FULL TILT---Full speed; all out.---"By the time we got to the bottom of the hill we were going full tilt."---Originated in ancient times when jousting, or

tilting, was in vogue. The contestants coming at each other on horseback with lances as fast as the horses could carry them, at "full tilt". FACE THE MUSIC---To confront or deal with a difficult situation.---"You made a mistake and now it is time to face the music."---There are a couple of possible meanings. It takes a certain amount of courage for one to get on stage in front of an audience, you would be facing the orchestra pit as well as the audience. Facing the music. When a soldier was being dismissed from his regiment it was sometimes the practice for the band to play "Rogue's March." He had to face the music. FAINT HEART NEVER WON FAIR MAIDEN---If you don't speak up because you are afraid of rejection, you will never get a lady's attention.---(1570) Black Letter "Faint harte fair ladies never win." FAIR AND SQUARE---Straightforward; honest.---"I think he treated me fair and square."---Oliver Cromwell (1604) There will clearly be no living for the Portugal unless he do that which is fair and square." FAIR SHAKE---To treat fairly.---"Let's give him a fair shake."---When rolling dice you are advised to give the dice a fair shake, no sliding, making sure you cannot set them up. FAIR TO MIDDLING---Average; tolerable.---"I feel fair to middling today."--Fair is moderately good, middling is mediocre. Also used as a term to grade cotton in the mills. Fair to middling was a grade just above average. FAIR-WEATHER FRIEND---One who is loyal only when it involves no trouble for him.---"He certainly turned out to be a fair-weather friend.--Alexander Pope (1736) "My fair weather friends of the summer are going away for London." FALL GUY---Loser; dupe; victim.---"You just wait, I am going to end up being the fall guy."---Originated in the late 19th century. Many of the wrestling matches were "rigged", the loser agreed to take a fall, and anyone who ends up with the blame or the lose is referred to as a fall guy. FALLING APART LIKE A CHEAP SUIT---Someone loosing their composure; coming apart emotionally.---"Gary has had a tough time of it, he is coming apart like a cheap suit."---A suit not well made, when put under stress, will come apart at the seams. FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT---When you get to know someone you are privy to all their faults and may have contempt for them, when you first meet someone you have no basis on which to dislike them for whatever faults they may have. G. Harvey (1593) Works "Truth begetteth hatred; vertue enuy, familiaritie cotempt." FAR BE IT FROM ME---Not something I'm likely to do.---"Far be it from me to tell him his wife has a boy friend."---Bible: Job 34:10 "Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness." FAR CRY---Long distance---"We are a long cry from being finished"---"Cry" was a loud shout, it could not be heard at a long distance. Sir Walter Scott (1819) The Legend of Montrose "One of the Campbells replied, 'It is a far cry to Lochow'; a proverbial expression of the tribe, meaning that their ancient hereditary domains lay beyond the reach of an invading enemy."

FAR FETCHED---Not believable; built up story. Originally meant expensive goods bought from afar. Heywood (1546) Proverbs "Dere bought and far fet are deinties for ladies. Now generally means far off the mark or unbelievable. new! FARCE---Absurd; ridiculous.---"This whole situation is a farce."--Originally from the Latin, "farcire", meaning "to stuff". Early plays were stuffed with jokes and low comedy scenes and were referred to as farces. FAST AND FURIOUS---Intense; heated.---"It was busy, everything was going fast and furious."---Robert Burns (1793) Tam O'Shanter "As Tammie glow'red, amazed, and curious, the mirth and fun grew fast and furious." FAT IS IN THE FIRE---Something has happened that is going to cause things to intensify, flare up.---"He told her he is leaving, the fat's in the fire now."---The analogy is that fat dripping from meat cooking over an open fire blazes up and burns the meat. Dekker (1603) Works "Then must he trudge to get gossips, such as she will appoint, or else all the fatte is in the fire." FAUX PAS---A false step; a breach of manners of good conduct.---"I made a huge faux pas at the party last night." FEAST OR FAMINE---Extremes of success or failure.---"Lately it seems as though it is either feast or famine."---Thomas Fuller (1732). Gnomologia. "Is there no mean, but fast or feast?" FEATHER IN HIS CAP---Reward---"That's another feather in his cap."---The American Indians added a feather to their headgear whenever an enemy was slain. (1657) Catalogue of British Books. "It's recorded that Solomons Library was the feather in the plume of his glorious enjoyments." new! FEED A COLD, STARVE A FEVER---Old wives tale about how to treat these illnesses; if you want to recover from a cold you eat well, if you have a fever, abstain from food. ---J. Withals (1574) Short Dictionary.---Mark Twain (1865) The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavaras County "It was policy to feed a cold and starve a fever. FEEL ONE'S OATS---Full of energy: spry.---"He is up and at em today, he is feeling his oats."---A horse that is fed well on grain and oats is lively and full of energy. Oats have an invigorating effect on horses. FEEL THE PINCH---Suffer a hardship or deprivation.---"Since inflation went up I can really feel the pinch."---Shakespeare King Lear "Necessity's sharp pinch." (1861) London Times "So much money having been spent, all the classes felt the pinch." FERRET OUT---To find; find a solution; force out of hiding.---"I am going to try to ferret out this problem."---Comes from a corruption of an old expression used to describe "a thief with fur". This pink eyed animal was brought from Africa to Europe by the Crusaders. It was found to be fond of eggs and the egg stealer became know as a ferret. The ferret was adept at, and widely used, to hunt rats, rabbits and other burrowing animals. new! FESS UP---Tell what you know; tell the truth.---"If he fesses up things will go easier on him." FEW AND FAR BETWEEN---Rare; infrequent.---"On Tybee Island crimes are few and far between."---Thomas Campbell (1799) The Pleasure of Hope "Cease, ever joy, to glimmer on my mind, but leave, oh! leave the light of hope behind!

What though my winged hours of bliss have been, like angel visits, few and far between." FIDDLE WHILE ROME BURNS---To display callousness or indifference in the face of crisis.---"He fiddled while Rome burned."---In A.D. 64 a great fire laid waste to much of Rome. It was believed that the emperor Nero was involved and that he played his lyre while watching the city burn. new! FIELD DAY---Celebration; happy occasion; occasion of triumph; exposition.---"He is having a field day with his new motorcycle."---Often associated with "Hay Day" when farmers celebrated the harvest of hay, a party was held in the fields and new farm equipment was demonstrated. FIFTH WHEEL---Useless; not necessary.---"I don't know why they hired him, he is like a fifth wheel."---Taylor (1644) Crop-care Curried "As much pertinent as the fifth wheele in a coach." FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE---Respond to harsh or underhanded attacks with similar methods.---Shakespeare (1607) Coriolanus "One fire drives out one fire; one nail, one nail; Rights by rights falter, strengths by strengths do fail." FIGHT TOOTH AND NAIL---Fight fiercely; cling tenaciously.---"We had to fight tooth and nail to keep our business open."---Ninian Winget (1562) Certaine Tractates "Contending with tooth and naill." Erasmus (1533) Enchiridion Militis Christiani "Take and holde this with toth and nayle, that to be honour onely which springeth to true vertue." FIGURES LIE AND LIARS FIGURE---Don't always trust figures, liars may be doing the figuring.---Charles H. Grosvenor (1833 - 1917) Governor of Ohio. "Figures won't lie, but liars will figure." FILE 13---Trash can.---"Just put that report in file 13." FILL THE BILL---Meet the need; serve the purpose.---"That new piece of machinery will certainly fill the bill."---(1860) Transactions of th Illinois Agricultural Society "Austin Seedling, Fr. W. hopes well from because of its great vigor, but doubts if it fills the bill." FINE TOOTH COMB---Figurative tool with which one conducts a thorough search or investigation.---"I have looked everywhere, I went through the house with a fine tooth comb."---(1891) Century Magazine "I'll go through this town like a fine tooth comb but what I'll find him." FINDERS KEEPERS, LOSERS WEEPERS---Old children's saying, if you found something it was yours.---J. T. Brockett (1825) Glossary of North Country Words FINISHING TOUCH---Final bit of work to finish something.---"It is almost finished now, I am just putting on the finishing touches."---horace Walpole (1707) Reflexions upon Ridicule "A mind well turn'd, receives the finishing stroke and polish from science." FIRE AND WATER ARE GOOD SERVANTS BUT BAD MASTERS---They are good if under control.---(1562) Bulwarke of Defense "Fire and water is a very good servant, but it is a cruell maister." FIRST AND FOREMOST---A leading person or point.---"But first and foremost I want to thank Jim for his help."---William Caxton (1483) "And such one is that weneth first and formest that often fyndeth her the last of all."

FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED---(1475) Paston Letters "For who comyth fyrst to the mylle, fyrst must grynd." FISH OR CUT BAIT---Make a choice; do something useful; don't be idle.--Joseph G. Cannon (Congressman from Illinois) (1876) "Now I want you gentlemen on the other side of the House to 'fish or cut bait.'" FIT AS A FIDDLE---Very well.---"What a morning, I feel fit as a fiddle today."---Haughton (1616) Eng. For Money "this is excellent, I' faith; as fit as a fiddle!" new! FIT TO A TEE---Exact; perfect.---"When he finished the suit it fit to a T."---Alluded to a T-square used by architects and draftsmen to make lines perfectly on a drawing or set of plans. new! FIT TO BE TIED---Upset; angry.---"When she saw the mud I tracked in, she was fit to be tied."---Those prone to "fits" were sometimes tied down during these episodes. FLABBERGASTED---Made speechless with amazement; astonish.---"I was absolutely flabbergasted by the events that occurred."---(18th Century slang). FLASH IN THE PAN---A temporary success or attraction.---"He was just a flash in the pan."---The "pan" was a part of an old flintlock musket or rifle. The flint would ignite the gunpowder in the pan and ignite the main charge. Sometimes the powder in the pan went off, or flashed, but the weapon failed to fire. Charles James (1810) A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary "An explosion of gunpowder without any communication beyond the touch hole." FLAT AS A PANCAKE---Udall (1542) "His nose as flat as a cake, bruised or beaten to his face." FLATTERY WILL GET YOU NOWHERE---Don't bother with flattery it isn't going to have any effect.---Shakespeare (1593) Richard III "He does me double wrong that wounds me with the flatteries of his tongue." new! FLIVER---A small cheap automobile. new! FLUKE---A chance happening.---"Joe made it through high school, that was a fluke."---Word from the Northern English dialect.---John Mill (18th Century) "The transfer of power has gone on by flukes and leaps in the dark.---(Nautical) The wind at sea when it is light and variable; a wind that has not settled and is not blowing from one direction. FLY BY NIGHT---Undependable; one who sets up a business operation, makes some money and departs abruptly.---"That was sure a fly by night operation, they left town over the weekend."---Thomas Love Peacock (1823) Maid Marian "Would you have her married to a wild fly by night that accident made and earl and nature a deer stealer?" FLY IN THE OINTMENT---A hitch in ones plans; an obstacle.---"There is a fly in the ointment somewhere."---Bible: Ecclesiastes 10:1 "Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savor: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour." FLY OFF THE HANDLE---Get very angry.---"He really flew off the handle when he found out."---Alluded to taking out one's frustrations chopping wood and to do it so vigorously that the axe head would actually fly off the handle.

FLY THE COOP---Escape.---"He flew the coop and nobody has seen him since."---As pigeons do when the door of the coop is opened. FOAM AT THE MOUTH---Show anger.---"He was foaming at the mouth, he was so mad."---An analogy to a dog with distemper or rabies. Such a dog drooled and acted in an erratic manner. (1440) Jacob's Well "the man fomyd out at his mowth." FOOL ME ONCE SHAME ON YOU, FOOL ME TWICE SHAME ON ME---Baily (1713) Dict. "If a man deceive me once shame on him, if he deceives me twice, shame on me." Baily (1736) "The wise man is deceived but once, the fool twice." FOOLS LIVE POOR TO DIE RICH---A fool will hord his money and not enjoy the fruits of his labor.---Bohn (1855) FOOLS PARADISE---Living in a dream world; unable to realize one's surroundings.---"The boy is living in a fools paradise."---The saying was known as early as 1462. It appeared in the Paston Letters. "I would not be in a fools paradise." FOOT IN MOUTH DISEASE---The capacity for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.---"The Senator has foot in mouth disease."---(1970) Manchester Guardian Weekly "President Nixon's latest onset of foot in mouth disease unfortunately came just as the American Trial lawyers Association was about to hold its annual meeting in Miami." FOOTLOOSE AND FANCY FREE---At liberty, particularly with respect to romance.---Footloose: Ready to move. Fancy: Old - being in love. Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream "And the imperial votaress passed on in maiden meditation, fancy free." FOR THE BIRDS---Worthless; overstated.---"His new policy concerning the job is for the birds."---J. D. Salinger (1951). Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caulfield is quoting and then commenting on a blurb issued by his preparatory school. "'Since 1888 we have been molding boys into splendid, clear thinking young men.' Strictly for the birds." FOR THE LIFE OF ME---I can't do it.---"For the life of me I can't understand her."---William Lithgow (1632) "For my life I could never attain to any perfect knowledge thereof." FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME---Having to repeat over and over.---"I have told you for the umpteenth time to quit that."---Slang. FOR WANT OF A NAIL THE KINGDOM WAS LOST---In any undertaking, no detail is to small to ignore.---John Gower (1390) Confessio Amantis "Par ung seul clou perd on ung bon cheval." (By just one nail one loses a good horse.) FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH---Take it for whatever you think it's worth.---"Don't believe every thing Harry says, take it for what it's worth."---William Langland (1377) Piers Plowman "Take we her wordes at worthe, for her witnesse be trewe." FOR CRYING OUT LOUD---What you are saying is preposterous.---(20th Century) Possibly a minced oath for "For Christ's Sake." new! FOR LOVE NOR MONEY---Something you wouldn't do for either.---"I wouldn't be in his shoes for love nor money"

FOR WANT OF A NAIL THE SHOE WAS LOST---Something insignificant can sometimes cause a lot of trouble.---T. Adams (1630) Works " The want of a nayle looseth the shooe, the losse of a shoe troubles the horse, the horse endangereth the rider, the rider breaking his ranke molests the company, so far as to hazard the whole army." FORGIVE AND FORGET---Put aside your hard feelings and don't hold grudges for past infractions.---William Langland (1546.) Piers Plowman. Shakespeare (1605) King Lear Lear: "You must bear with me: Pray you now, forget and forgive; I am old and foolish." FOREGONE CONCLUSION---Something already decided.---"It is a foregone conclusion that they are going to raise taxes."---Shakespeare Othello Iago: "Nay, this was but his dream."nbsp; Othello: But this denoted a foregone conclusion: "Tis a shrewd doubt, though it be but a dream." FORK OVER---Pay; make restitution.---"He made me fork over the money I owed him."---Peasants who rented land from the nobility were required to promise pay in silver. At harvest time, landlords sent collection agents for the annual rent. If the tenant had not sold his crop and had no silver he had to make payment in kind with his harvest. Shrewd agents often allowed less than market value for grain or produce accepted in lieu of silver. So a peasant was literally forced to deliver his rent with a pitchfork. FORTY WINKS---Nap.---"I think I will lay down and take forty winks."--Pierce Egan (1828) "An uncommonly big gentleman, told out, taking forty winks. FREE AS A BIRD---Able to do whatever one pleases.---"I am out of the service now, I am as free as a bird."---Heywood (1533) A Mery Play between the Pardoner and the Frere, the Curate and Neybour Pratte "As free as be the byrdes that in the ayre flee." new! FRICK AND FRACK---A pair; always together.---"When you see one you see the other, we call them frick and frack."---A skating comedy team that performed with a traveling show called the Ice Follies which started in 1936. Alliteration obviously accounts for the popularity of this expression. FROM BAD TO WORSE---The situation is deteriorating.---"Things have gone from bad to worse since the day began."---Edmund Spenser (1579) Shepheardes Calendar "Must not the world wend in him common course, from good to badde, and from badde to worse?" FROM HAND TO MOUTH---Saving nothing, using up resources as quickly as they are acquired; economically precarious way of living.---"They are living from hand to mouth."---Arbuthnot (1712) John Bull "He has a numerous family, and lives from hand to mouth." FROM PILLAR TO POST---From one thing to another.---"I have been going from pillar to post all day."---Hazlitt (1575) Appius and Virginia "Thus in hurly burly, from pillar to post, poor Haphazard daily was toss'd." new! FROM STEM TO STERN---Completely; everything.---"We cleaned the house from stem to stern."---Nautical term: The stem is the vertical member to which the plates or side beams of a ship are attached to form the prow or forward part of a ship. The stern is of course the rear of the ship.---Tennison "Idylls of the

King." Describing Arthurs sombre barge: "...dark as a funeral scarf from stem to stern." FROM THE BOTTOM OF ONE'S HEART---With deep feeling.---"I love her from the bottom of my heart."---(1545) Book of Common Prayer "If on of the parties be content to forgive from the bottom of the heart all that the other hath trespassed against him...." FROM THE HORSE'S MOUTH---The truth; straight dope.---"I am telling you, I got it straight from the horse's mouth."---You can tell the age of a horse accurately by looking at its teeth. The horse's pairs of permanent teeth appear in succession at definite ages. FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE RIDICULOUS---From great to small; success to failure; noble to ignoble.---"This situation has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous."---Thomas Payne "The Age of Reason" (1794) "The sublime and the ridiculous are often so nearly related, that it is difficult to class them separately. One step above the sublime makes the ridiculous, and one step above the ridiculous makes the sublime again." FROM THE WORD GO---From the outset; from the start.---"He has been a pain in the butt since the word go."---(1838) Knickerbocker Magazine "You have perjured yourself, from the word go; you have equivocated from Dan to Beersheba." Dan is the northernmost and Beersheba the southernmost city of the Holy land. FULL HEAD OF STEAM---Having power; getting about ready to do something.---"He's getting up a full head of steam now."---Mark Twain (1889) A Yankee at the Court of King Arthur "I had got a good head of reserved steam on." FULL OF BEANS---Energetic.---"He is really full of beans today."---Beans were always known to be an energy producing food. Not to mention other things. new! FULL TILT---Full speed; all out.---"By the time we got to the bottom of the hill we were going full tilt."---Originated in ancient times when jousting, or tilting, was in vogue. The contestants coming at each other on horseback with lances as fast as the horses could carry them, at "full tilt". GADGET---A small mechanical contrivance or device.---If we can't think of the name of a useful device we often call it a gadget. Sailors in Britains merchant marine gave us this term. It was adopted from the French gachettemeaning a small mechanism from guns or locks. new! GALOOT---An awkward, uncouth or foolish fellow.---"The big galoot nearly knocked me down."---Naval slang. J. R. Vaux (1812) Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue---Fredrick Marryat (1835) Jacob Faithful Four greater galoots were never picked up." GAG A MAGGOT---Stink.---"That smell would gag a maggot." new! GALLIVANT---To gad about with the opposite sex; to go in search of excitement or amusement.---"You had better quit your gallivanting around."---On of my mother's favorites.---some corruption of gallant. GATHER ROSEBUDS WHILE YOU CAN---Take advantage of your opportunities; live for the present.---Apocrypha: The Wisdom of Solomon 2:8 "Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be withered."

GEE WHIZ---A minced oath for Jesus Christ.---As with all minced oaths they originated because it was an abomination to use the lords name in vain. GENIUS IS ONE PERCENT INSPIRATION AND NINETY-NINE PERCENT PERSPIRATION---Ideas are necessary to be successful, but hard work and tenacity are what get things done.---Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931) GET A HANDLE ON IT---Get a grasp on something.---"I tried to solve the problem, but I just couldn't get a handle on it."---Probably from the early days of football, announcers would say that they ought to put a handle on the ball so the players could hold on to it. GET A LEG UP ON---Head start; having help making a start on something.---"He has a leg up on the rest of the field." --- "He just needs a leg up."---Charles Dickens (1837) Pickwick Papers "The wall is very low, sir, and your servant will give you a leg up." GET INTO THE SWING OF THINGS---Develop a rhythm or momentum in some activity.---"He will soon get into the swing of things."---Thomas H. Huxley (1864) "My lectures tire me, for want of practice. I shall soon get into the swing." GET A MOVE ON---Hurry up.---"Get a move on, we don't have much time." GET OFF SCOT FREE---To escape payment of punishment.---"He committed the crime and now he is going to get away scot free."---Comes from the Anglo Saxon sceot meaning "money put into the general fund," a tax. It was levied upon the people according to their ability to pay. "Scot free" first meant "tax free." Notion appears in Charter of 1066 as "Scotfre". William Tyndale (1531) "The poore synner shulde go Scot fre without oughte at all." GET ONES GOAT---To upset someone.---"She really got his goat this time."--Horse racers will often place a goat in the stall with a nervous horse. The horse soon becomes accustomed to having the goat there and finds it comforting. He becomes less nervous and is not so easily upset. If a rival owner can steal or "get" this goat, then the horse gets nervous and upset and is likely to loose the race. Christy Mathewson (1912) Pitching in a Pinch "The Lobert stopped at third with a mocking smile which would have gotten the late Job's goat." new! GET THE HANG OF IT---Learn how to do something; understand how something works.---"He will be able to do it on his own now, I think he has the hang of it."---When tools were made by blacksmiths, farmers etc., it was very important that the tool be balanced and feel right in order to make the use of it as easy as possible. If a tool were picked up and had good balance and feel it was said to have a good hang. If you got the hang of it, you got the feel and balance just right. new! GET THE WRINKLES OUT---Put on the finishing touches; fix any minor problems.---As in ironing, get everything smooth and neat. GET THE SACK---Fired or dismissed.---"Jim is probably going to get the sack this morning."---(1576) Common Conditions "This tinkerly trade, wee geue it the bagge." GET THE WRONG END OF THE STICK (Short)---At a disadvantage.---"I think I am getting the short end of the stick on this deal."---J. Wilson (1664) Cheats "If at any time you find you have the worst end of the staff, leave off your cause and fall upon the person of your adversary."
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GET UP AND GO---Energy; drive; motivation.---"I just don't seem to have any get up and go this morning."---John Beadle (1873) The Undeveloped West "If you have any get up about you, and can an will work, there's a show for you in rural Nebraska. GET WHILE THE GETTIN'S GOOD---Escape while you can; get something while the opportunity presents itself.---"The storm is coming, we had better get while the gettin's good." GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER---Get organized; work coherently.---"If Joe would get his act together we could finish this project."---Theater: Reflecting the feelings of an actor who is nervous or thought his performance could be better. (1978) Manchester Guardian Weekly "It merely requires that the administration get its act together."---Also, "get your shit together". GET YOUR DANDER UP---Become irritated, stubborn or angry.---"Linda has got her dander up today, stay clear."---Seba Smith (1830) The Letters of Major Jack Downing "He was as spunky as thunder, and when a Quaker gets his dander up, it's like a Northwester." GET YOUR EARS LOWERED---Get a haircut.---"He looks better since he got his ears lowered." GET YOUR SECOND WIND---Feel renewed vigor.---"I think I am getting my second wind."---It is a common after running, or doing something physically demanding, to be winded and ready to quit after a period of time. If you persist that temporary feeling soon passes and you feel that you can continue on. Thomas Hood (1830) The Epping hunt "I am much gratified to learn from you, the Epping hunt has had such a run that is quite exhausted, and that you intend therefore to give the work what might be called 'second wind' by a new impression." GILD THE LILY---To overdo something; add to something that is already perfect. Shakespeare King John "Therefore, to be poss'd with double pomp, to guard a title that was rech before, to guld refined gold, to paint the lily, to throw perfume on the violet,......is wasteful and ridiculous excess." GIMMICK---Deception; secret device; ruse.---"Roy has always go a gimmick."---At carnivals, grifters and confidence men vied with one another in attracting customers and spoke a language of their own. Showy but worthless prizes, known as gimcracks, were used to attract customers. Every gimcrack peddler kept his hand on his gimmick, a little brake like control that enabled him to stop the wheel at any point he wished, thus cheating the people out of their money. GIVE A CHILD ALL HE SHALL CRAVE, AND A DOG WHILE HIS TAIL DOTH WAVE; AND YOU'LL HAVE A FAIR DOG AND A FOUL KNAVE---Brunne (1303). GIVE A MAN A FISH, AND YOU FEED HIM FOR A DAY; TEACH HIM HOW TO CATCH FISH, AND YOU FEED HIM FOR A LIFETIME. ---The best way to help people is to teach them skills, not offer handouts.---(Lyndon Johnson should have read this one.)---Ancient Chinese proverb.

GIVE A MAN A FISH, AND YOU FEED HIM FOR A DAY; TEACH HIM TO FISH AND HE WILL SIT IN A BOAT AND DRINK BEER ALL DAY---No explanation necessary. GIVE HER THE GUN---Rev up an engine.---"Give her the gun and see how she runs."---An engine without a muffler when throttled up sounds like a machine gun, especially an aircraft engine. GIVE HIM AN INCH AND HE WILL TAKE A MILE---Make a small exception to a rule and soon there will be no rule; give a child some freedom and some will expand it as far as they can.---"If you let Bill come back from lunch a few minutes late today and he will be a half hour late tomorrow, give him an inch and he will take a mile."---Heywood (1546) Proverbs "Whan I gaue you an ynche ye tooke an ell." (mile) GIVE HIM ENOUGH ROPE AND HE WILL HANG HIMSELF---Given enough freedom and time and a person will get caught in a misdeed.---"Just give him enough rope, he will hang himself."---If you tie up a horse, or any animal, and give them enough rope they will eventually become entangled in it.---Thomas Fuller (1639) The History of the Holly War new! GIVE IT A LICK AND A PROMISE---Do the minimum necessary to finish a job or project; superficial.---"I don't think the plumbing is going to work long, the plumber just gave it a lick and a promise." new! GIVE IT THE ONCE OVER---See (Give it a lick and a promise) GIVE LIP SERVICE---All talk, no action.---"He is just giving you lip service, nothing will be done about it."---Sidney (1580) Arcadia "All is but lip wisdom that wants experience." GIVE NO QUARTER---Killing without any process---"If they are captured they will be given no quarter"---Originally meant to give quarter. Enemy soldiers were sent to a special section or "quartered" until their fate was determined. They could be set free, ransomed or enslaved. Those who were killed instead were given "no quarter" GIVE THE BAG---Dismiss; to fire.---"The boss is going to give him the bag this time."---Brandl (1576) Common Conditions "This tinkerly trade, wee giue it the bagge." GIVE THE DEVIL HIS DUE---(1589) Pap with a Hatchet "Give them their due though they were deuels. GIVE THEM A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY---Make it a contest. GO ALONG FOR THE RIDE---Being present without contributing; join an activity for no particular reason.---"He's just along for the ride."---(20th Century slang). GO BANANAS---Going out of one's mind because of a situation.---"He's going bananas."---Possibly alludes to the actions caused by throwing a banana into a cage full of monkeys.(1970) (magazine) Time Liza Minelli moved into the sheltered, regimented Barbizon hotel for Women, Liza says: 'I went bananas!'" GO FOR BROKE---Risk everything.---"Let's go for broke." GO HAYWIRE---In disarray; tangled up.---"Everything around here has gone haywire today."---When the wire is cut from bales of hay it invariably ends up in a tangled mess.---H. L. Mencken (1946) The American Language "No one who
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has ever opened a bale of hay with a hatchet, and had the leaping wire whirl about him and its sharp ends poniard him, will ever have any doubt as to how to go haywire originated." GO LIKE THE WIND---Move fast.---"Here they come, let's go like the wind."---Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream "About the wood go swifter than the wind." GO OFF HALF COCKED---Act too hastily; without planning.---"He never thinks ahead, he is always going off half cocked."---James Lowell (1848) The Bigelow Papers "No, don't go off Half-cock." A gun that is not fully cocked is not ready to fire. GO TO THE DOGS---Declining; come to a bad end.---"Sometimes I think this country is going to the dogs."---Food not fit for people to eat is thrown to the dogs. Thomas Cooper (1565) Thesaurus "Addicere aliquem canibus" (To bequeath him to the dogs). GO WHOLE HOG---Go all out.---"He has gone whole hog this time."---Marryat (1836) Japhet "As you are not prepared, as th Americans say, to go the whole hog, we will part good friends." new! GOBBLEDY GOOK---Talk or writing that is pompous, wordy or full of Latinized words.---"Tell me in plain English, don't give me all that gobbledy gook."---Maury Maverick (1895 - 1954) GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES---No one who has not made a genuine effort to accomplish something cannot expect God's assistance.--Aesop (550 B.C.) "It is better to be self-reliant than to pray for divine intervention". GOD MOVES IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS---God's plan in unfathomable.--William Cowper (1779.) Olney Hymns "God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm." GOD'S MILL GRINDS SLOW BUT SURE---In our finite lives we are unable to see the plan but it is moving along just the same.---Herbert (1640) Prudentum The ancient Greek one: "The mill of God grinds late, but grinds to powder." GOES WITHOUT SAYING---Obvious or well known.---"I love my wife, that goes without saying."---(1897) (magazine) Literature "It goes without saying that the books are not ordinary ones." GOING AROUND IN CIRCLES---Not getting anything accomplished; ineffectual.---"I have been going around in circles all day."---Patricia Wentworth (1942) Pursuit of a Parcel "He had been rushing around in circles." GOING TO HELL IN A HAND BASKET (HAND BAG) new! GONE BY THE BOARD---Past; over.---"Our chances of securing the contract have gone by the board."---Nautical term: The boards or sides of the ship. When you passed something at sea, it went by the board. new! GONE SOUTH---Declining; failure.---"I think our business is about to go south."---North is commonly thought of as up, south as down. i.e. map. GONE TO POT---Ruined; gone to the bad.---"Charlie is really going to pot."--Allusion to the pot in which leftovers of cooked meat are put ready for their last appearance as hash. (1649) Somers Tracts "Many a wiser man than I hath gone to pot."

GONE WITH THE WIND---Said of something that has been swept away and is no longer here.---"He was here a minute ago, now he is gone with the wind."--Ernest Dowson (1896) Cynara "I have been faithful to thee, Cynara, in my fashion. I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind, Flung roses, roses, riotously, with the throng." GOOD AS GOLD---Very good.---"Jim's little boy is as good as gold."---Dickens (1843) Carol "And how did little Time behave?" asked Mrs. Cratchit. "As good as gold," said Bob. GOOD, BAD OR INDIFFERENT---No matter what; take a person or thing as he or it comes.---"We will have to live with the results, good, bad or indifferent."---Spinoza (1677) Ethics "One and the same thing can at the same time be good, bad, and indifferent, e.g. music is good to the melancholy, bad to those who mourn, and neither good nor bad to the deaf. GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD NEIGHBORS---Fences give one privacy from nosey neighbors.---S. Palmer (1710) Moral Essays on Proverbs "A wall between preserves love." GOOD LORD WILLING AND THE CREEK DON'T RISE---Will get something done or get somewhere if nothing unforseen happens. new! GOOD OLD BOY---Southern expression: A regular fellow; accepted member of a group; a closed group or click of southern men.---"Never mind city hall, the good old boys run things down here."---(1976) Time Magazine "The core of the good ole boy's world is with his buddies, the comfortable, hyper hearty, all-male camaraderie, joshing and drinking and regaling one another with tales of assorted, exaggerated prowess." GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH---Who needs you? I'm glad you're leaving; that thing is worthless, I'm glad it's gone.---Charles Dickens (1848) Dombey and Son GOODIE TWO SHOES---Exceptionally good person; a person who likes to flaunt their virtues and point out your shortcomings. (Especially after a person has reformed)---"She is certainly a goodie two shoes."---Oliver Goldsmith or John Newberry (1765) The History of Little Goodie Two Shoes A children's story about Goodie who had one shoe; then when she was given a pair of new shoes, ran around showing them off to everyone she met saying, "Two shoes! Two shoes!" GOT UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BED---Having a bad day; the day started out wrong.---"I must have got up on the wrong side of the bed today."--Long ago it was believed that evil resided in the left side of the body. One should not get up from the left side of the bed or put one's left foot on the floor first. Inn keepers sometimes put the left side of the bed against the wall to protect the guest from starting the day with such a curse. A. Behn (1676) Town-Fop "Sure I rose the wrong way today, I have had such damn'd ill luck." GRANDSTAND---Showy or unnecessary action to draw attention.---"Let's get on with the presentation and quit grandstanding."---Long before baseball offered million dollar contracts, players were popular heros. Most of the accolades went to pitchers and batters, some fielders developed a way of attracting the attention of the spectators. With a little practice, a player could learn to make an easy

fielding play look as though it required a lot of skill and effort. Such actions did not effect the final outcome, but it would be the talk of the town among fans who were thrilled by it. GRASP AT STRAWS---Act in desperation; clinging onto any little chance of hope.---"I don't think it will work, I am just grasping at straws now."---If someone is drowning they will grab onto anything that floats by, even a straw.---C. Brooke (1614) Richard The Third "And now like a man (ready to drown) catch at a helpless thing." GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCEOther peoples lives always seem more desirable than our own; we're never satisfied with what we have.---Ovid (43 B.C. - A.D. 18.) Fertilior seges est alenis semper in agris (The harvest is always more fruitful in another man's fields.) GRAVEYARD SHIFT---Late night work shift.---Adulteration of "gravy eyed".---In ancient times any thick liquid was called gravy. Humour running from the eyes (sleep) was called gravy eye. Sailors who had the watch that started at midnight were often gravy eyed as they went on watch. The middle watch was referred to as the "gravy eyed shift". The transition to landlubbers was graveyard shift. GRAVY TRAIN---Obtaining something with little or no effort.---"He is on the gravy train now."---Meat and potatoes being necessities, gravy is an extra. Someone who not only has all the necessities of life but the extras also is said to be on the gravy train. Benjamin Bodkin (1945) Lay My Burden Down "They is on the gravy train and don't know it. GREASED LIGHTNING---Very fast.---"He is quicker than greased lightning." (1833) Boston, Lincoln and Louth Herald "He spoke as quick as greased lightning." new! GREAT GUNS!---Expletive meaning something great, unusual or progressing well.---"We were going great guns till the fifth inning."---William Smyth The Sailor's Wordbook. "heavy cannons and officers of notable repute".--Charles Dickens (1841) Barnaby Rudge "It blows great guns, indeed. There'll be many a crash in the forest tonight." GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE---People of the same mind tend to share similar ideas, make the same decisions.---(1640) Winthrop Papers GREAT OAKS FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW---Great successes often develop from something very small; no matter how small or insignificant one may be, one can become great.---Chaucer (1385) Troilus and Criiseyde "Tall oaks from little acorns grow." GREAT SCOTT---Exclamation of praise or wonderment; startled.---Army commander Winfield S. Scott is responsible for this expression. Vain and disliked by many of his subordinates, he was resented for becoming a brevet major general at age twenty eight. It was claimed that he spent his time and energy strutting and swaggering instead of looking after his troops. Nicknamed Old Fuss and Feathers, he ran for president in 1852, and later became known as Great Scott. Became a civilian exclamation that punctuated speech during the Gay Nineties.

GREEK TO ME---Not understandable.---"It's all Greek to me."---Shakespeare Julius Caesar. The character Casca, who is among the group conspiring to kill Caesar, tells Brutus and Cassius how Caesar thrice refused the crown of emperor. Asked if Cicero said anything at the time (Cicero did, speaking in Greek to prevent passersby from understanding him), Casca replies: "Those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but for mine own part, it was Greek to me." Shakespeare (1603) Caesar "But for my own part it is greek to me." GREEKS BEARING GIFTS---Beware of someone who wants to do you a kindness for no apparent reason.---"Beware of Greeks bearing gifts."---Virgil's story of the Trojan Horse The Greeks who had besieged Troy for a decade, indicated that would withdraw. They offered the people of Troy a large wooden horse as a gesture of peace. Some of the wiser men urged the people to reject it saying "Beware the Greeks, even when they bear gifts." The people excepted the gift and inside it were soldiers who killed the guards and set fire to the city. GREEN EYED MONSTER---Jealousy.---"Don't let the green eyed monster control you."---Shakespeare Othello "Oh beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on....." GRIN AND BEAR IT---Make the best of a bad situation.---"I guess we will just have to grin and bear it." GRIND TO A HALT---Stop laboriously.---"If something isn't done soon, this whole operation will grind to a halt."---As a ship as it runs aground or a machine the stops due to loss of lubrication. Harriet Martineau (1837) Society in America "We went aground grinding, grinding, till the ship trembled in every timber." GROGGY---Shaky or dizzy, as from lack of sleep; intoxicated.---"I can't get with it this morning, I am a little groggy."---In the 18th century British Admiral Edward Vernon was given the nickname "Old Grog" which identified him with the luxurious grogram coat he wore. At the height of his career, he issued an order that stipulated that every cask of rum must be diluted with water before the rum was rationed. The watered down beverage was given the name of the man who invented it. If you drank too much you were said to be "groggy". new! GROOPY---A female fan of rock groups or other popular personalities, who follows them about.---"She and her sisters seem to follow him around, I think they are his groupies." GULLY WASHER---Severe rain storm.---"Let's get to the house this is going to be a gully washer."---A heavy rain fills the gully with runoff water and washes down the gully. GUNG HO---Enthusiastic; cooperative; overly zealous.---"I think he is getting a little to gung ho."---As Europeans managed to get into China, they were awed by the Great Wall and other public works. These projects were constructed by vast numbers of workers or coolies. At an overseer's signal, they shouted "Gung ho!" in unison in order to synchronize movements. The expression became popular in the west during the construction of the railroad and was adopted by the Marines under General E. Carlson in WWII. The expression which meant "work together" now means "enthusiasm".

GUT REACTION---Something you feel intuitively; can not be explained logically, not based in fact.---"My gut reaction is to believe him."---Also "gut feeling". GYP JOINT---Unethical business place.---"I told him he would get burnt if he kept going to that gyp joint."---Gypsies appeared in England in the early 16th century, and were thought to be from Egypt because of their features, thus the name gypsies. A person swindled by one of these wanderers was gypped (played for a sucker). Their name got attached to any shop or tavern where customers got the short end ot the stick. GADGET---A small mechanical contrivance or device.---If we can't think of the name of a useful device we often call it a gadget. Sailors in Britains merchant marine gave us this term. It was adopted from the French gachettemeaning a small mechanism from guns or locks. new! GALOOT---An awkward, uncouth or foolish fellow.---"The big galoot nearly knocked me down."---Naval slang. J. R. Vaux (1812) Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue---Fredrick Marryat (1835) Jacob Faithful Four greater galoots were never picked up." GAG A MAGGOT---Stink.---"That smell would gag a maggot." new! GALLIVANT---To gad about with the opposite sex; to go in search of excitement or amusement.---"You had better quit your gallivanting around."---On of my mother's favorites.---some corruption of gallant. GATHER ROSEBUDS WHILE YOU CAN---Take advantage of your opportunities; live for the present.---Apocrypha: The Wisdom of Solomon 2:8 "Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds, before they be withered." new! GEE WHIZ---A minced oath for Jesus Christ.---As with all minced oaths they originated because it was an abomination to use the lords name in vain. GENIUS IS ONE PERCENT INSPIRATION AND NINETY-NINE PERCENT PERSPIRATION---Ideas are necessary to be successful, but hard work and tenacity are what get things done.---Thomas Edison (1847 - 1931) GET A HANDLE ON IT---Get a grasp on something.---"I tried to solve the problem, but I just couldn't get a handle on it."---Probably from the early days of football, announcers would say that they ought to put a handle on the ball so the players could hold on to it. GET A LEG UP ON---Head start; having help making a start on something.---"He has a leg up on the rest of the field." --- "He just needs a leg up."---Charles Dickens (1837) Pickwick Papers "The wall is very low, sir, and your servant will give you a leg up." GET INTO THE SWING OF THINGS---Develop a rhythm or momentum in some activity.---"He will soon get into the swing of things."---Thomas H. Huxley (1864) "My lectures tire me, for want of practice. I shall soon get into the swing." GET A MOVE ON---Hurry up.---"Get a move on, we don't have much time." GET OFF SCOT FREE---To escape payment of punishment.---"He committed the crime and now he is going to get away scot free."---Comes from the Anglo Saxon sceot meaning "money put into the general fund," a tax. It was levied upon the people according to their ability to pay. "Scot free" first meant "tax free."
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Notion appears in Charter of 1066 as "Scotfre". William Tyndale (1531) "The poore synner shulde go Scot fre without oughte at all." GET ONES GOAT---To upset someone.---"She really got his goat this time."--Horse racers will often place a goat in the stall with a nervous horse. The horse soon becomes accustomed to having the goat there and finds it comforting. He becomes less nervous and is not so easily upset. If a rival owner can steal or "get" this goat, then the horse gets nervous and upset and is likely to loose the race. Christy Mathewson (1912) Pitching in a Pinch "The Lobert stopped at third with a mocking smile which would have gotten the late Job's goat." new! GET THE HANG OF IT---Learn how to do something; understand how something works.---"He will be able to do it on his own now, I think he has the hang of it."---When tools were made by blacksmiths, farmers etc., it was very important that the tool be balanced and feel right in order to make the use of it as easy as possible. If a tool were picked up and had good balance and feel it was said to have a good hang. If you got the hang of it, you got the feel and balance just right. new! GET THE WRINKLES OUT---Put on the finishing touches; fix any minor problems.---As in ironing, get everything smooth and neat. GET THE SACK---Fired or dismissed.---"Jim is probably going to get the sack this morning."---(1576) Common Conditions "This tinkerly trade, wee geue it the bagge." GET THE WRONG END OF THE STICK (Short)---At a disadvantage.---"I think I am getting the short end of the stick on this deal."---J. Wilson (1664) Cheats "If at any time you find you have the worst end of the staff, leave off your cause and fall upon the person of your adversary." GET UP AND GO---Energy; drive; motivation.---"I just don't seem to have any get up and go this morning."---John Beadle (1873) The Undeveloped West "If you have any get up about you, and can an will work, there's a show for you in rural Nebraska. GET WHILE THE GETTIN'S GOOD---Escape while you can; get something while the opportunity presents itself.---"The storm is coming, we had better get while the gettin's good." GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER---Get organized; work coherently.---"If Joe would get his act together we could finish this project."---Theater: Reflecting the feelings of an actor who is nervous or thought his performance could be better. (1978) Manchester Guardian Weekly "It merely requires that the administration get its act together."---Also, "get your shit together". GET YOUR DANDER UP---Become irritated, stubborn or angry.---"Linda has got her dander up today, stay clear."---Seba Smith (1830) The Letters of Major Jack Downing "He was as spunky as thunder, and when a Quaker gets his dander up, it's like a Northwester." GET YOUR EARS LOWERED---Get a haircut.---"He looks better since he got his ears lowered." GET YOUR SECOND WIND---Feel renewed vigor.---"I think I am getting my second wind."---It is a common after running, or doing something physically demanding, to be winded and ready to quit after a period of time. If you persist

that temporary feeling soon passes and you feel that you can continue on. Thomas Hood (1830) The Epping hunt "I am much gratified to learn from you, the Epping hunt has had such a run that is quite exhausted, and that you intend therefore to give the work what might be called 'second wind' by a new impression." GILD THE LILY---To overdo something; add to something that is already perfect. Shakespeare King John "Therefore, to be poss'd with double pomp, to guard a title that was rech before, to guld refined gold, to paint the lily, to throw perfume on the violet,......is wasteful and ridiculous excess." GIMMICK---Deception; secret device; ruse.---"Roy has always go a gimmick."---At carnivals, grifters and confidence men vied with one another in attracting customers and spoke a language of their own. Showy but worthless prizes, known as gimcracks, were used to attract customers. Every gimcrack peddler kept his hand on his gimmick, a little brake like control that enabled him to stop the wheel at any point he wished, thus cheating the people out of their money. GIVE A CHILD ALL HE SHALL CRAVE, AND A DOG WHILE HIS TAIL DOTH WAVE; AND YOU'LL HAVE A FAIR DOG AND A FOUL KNAVE---Brunne (1303). GIVE A MAN A FISH, AND YOU FEED HIM FOR A DAY; TEACH HIM HOW TO CATCH FISH, AND YOU FEED HIM FOR A LIFETIME. ---The best way to help people is to teach them skills, not offer handouts.---(Lyndon Johnson should have read this one.)---Ancient Chinese proverb. new! GIVE A MAN A FISH, AND YOU FEED HIM FOR A DAY; TEACH HIM TO FISH AND HE WILL SIT IN A BOAT AND DRINK BEER ALL DAY---No explanation necessary. GIVE HER THE GUN---Rev up an engine.---"Give her the gun and see how she runs."---An engine without a muffler when throttled up sounds like a machine gun, especially an aircraft engine. GIVE HIM AN INCH AND HE WILL TAKE A MILE---Make a small exception to a rule and soon there will be no rule; give a child some freedom and some will expand it as far as they can.---"If you let Bill come back from lunch a few minutes late today and he will be a half hour late tomorrow, give him an inch and he will take a mile."---Heywood (1546) Proverbs "Whan I gaue you an ynche ye tooke an ell." (mile) GIVE HIM ENOUGH ROPE AND HE WILL HANG HIMSELF---Given enough freedom and time and a person will get caught in a misdeed.---"Just give him enough rope, he will hang himself."---If you tie up a horse, or any animal, and give them enough rope they will eventually become entangled in it.---Thomas Fuller (1639) The History of the Holly War new! GIVE IT A LICK AND A PROMISE---Do the minimum necessary to finish a job or project; superficial.---"I don't think the plumbing is going to work long, the plumber just gave it a lick and a promise." new! GIVE IT THE ONCE OVER---See (Give it a lick and a promise)

GIVE LIP SERVICE---All talk, no action.---"He is just giving you lip service, nothing will be done about it."---Sidney (1580) Arcadia "All is but lip wisdom that wants experience." GIVE NO QUARTER---Killing without any process---"If they are captured they will be given no quarter"---Originally meant to give quarter. Enemy soldiers were sent to a special section or "quartered" until their fate was determined. They could be set free, ransomed or enslaved. Those who were killed instead were given "no quarter" GIVE THE BAG---Dismiss; to fire.---"The boss is going to give him the bag this time."---Brandl (1576) Common Conditions "This tinkerly trade, wee giue it the bagge." GIVE THE DEVIL HIS DUE---(1589) Pap with a Hatchet "Give them their due though they were deuels. GIVE THEM A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY---Make it a contest. GO ALONG FOR THE RIDE---Being present without contributing; join an activity for no particular reason.---"He's just along for the ride."---(20th Century slang). GO BANANAS---Going out of one's mind because of a situation.---"He's going bananas."---Possibly alludes to the actions caused by throwing a banana into a cage full of monkeys.(1970) (magazine) Time Liza Minelli moved into the sheltered, regimented Barbizon hotel for Women, Liza says: 'I went bananas!'" GO FOR BROKE---Risk everything.---"Let's go for broke." GO HAYWIRE---In disarray; tangled up.---"Everything around here has gone haywire today."---When the wire is cut from bales of hay it invariably ends up in a tangled mess.---H. L. Mencken (1946) The American Language "No one who has ever opened a bale of hay with a hatchet, and had the leaping wire whirl about him and its sharp ends poniard him, will ever have any doubt as to how to go haywire originated." GO LIKE THE WIND---Move fast.---"Here they come, let's go like the wind."---Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream "About the wood go swifter than the wind." GO OFF HALF COCKED---Act too hastily; without planning.---"He never thinks ahead, he is always going off half cocked."---James Lowell (1848) The Bigelow Papers "No, don't go off Half-cock." A gun that is not fully cocked is not ready to fire. GO TO THE DOGS---Declining; come to a bad end.---"Sometimes I think this country is going to the dogs."---Food not fit for people to eat is thrown to the dogs. Thomas Cooper (1565) Thesaurus "Addicere aliquem canibus" (To bequeath him to the dogs). GO WHOLE HOG---Go all out.---"He has gone whole hog this time."---Marryat (1836) Japhet "As you are not prepared, as th Americans say, to go the whole hog, we will part good friends." new! GOBBLEDY GOOK---Talk or writing that is pompous, wordy or full of Latinized words.---"Tell me in plain English, don't give me all that gobbledy gook."---Maury Maverick (1895 - 1954)

GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES---No one who has not made a genuine effort to accomplish something cannot expect God's assistance.--Aesop (550 B.C.) "It is better to be self-reliant than to pray for divine intervention". GOD MOVES IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS---God's plan in unfathomable.--William Cowper (1779.) Olney Hymns "God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm." GOD'S MILL GRINDS SLOW BUT SURE---In our finite lives we are unable to see the plan but it is moving along just the same.---Herbert (1640) Prudentum The ancient Greek one: "The mill of God grinds late, but grinds to powder." GOES WITHOUT SAYING---Obvious or well known.---"I love my wife, that goes without saying."---(1897) (magazine) Literature "It goes without saying that the books are not ordinary ones." GOING AROUND IN CIRCLES---Not getting anything accomplished; ineffectual.---"I have been going around in circles all day."---Patricia Wentworth (1942) Pursuit of a Parcel "He had been rushing around in circles." GOING TO HELL IN A HAND BASKET (HAND BAG) new! GONE BY THE BOARD---Past; over.---"Our chances of securing the contract have gone by the board."---Nautical term: The boards or sides of the ship. When you passed something at sea, it went by the board. new! GONE SOUTH---Declining; failure.---"I think our business is about to go south."---North is commonly thought of as up, south as down. i.e. map. GONE TO POT---Ruined; gone to the bad.---"Charlie is really going to pot."--Allusion to the pot in which leftovers of cooked meat are put ready for their last appearance as hash. (1649) Somers Tracts "Many a wiser man than I hath gone to pot." GONE WITH THE WIND---Said of something that has been swept away and is no longer here.---"He was here a minute ago, now he is gone with the wind."--Ernest Dowson (1896) Cynara "I have been faithful to thee, Cynara, in my fashion. I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind, Flung roses, roses, riotously, with the throng." GOOD AS GOLD---Very good.---"Jim's little boy is as good as gold."---Dickens (1843) Carol "And how did little Time behave?" asked Mrs. Cratchit. "As good as gold," said Bob. GOOD, BAD OR INDIFFERENT---No matter what; take a person or thing as he or it comes.---"We will have to live with the results, good, bad or indifferent."---Spinoza (1677) Ethics "One and the same thing can at the same time be good, bad, and indifferent, e.g. music is good to the melancholy, bad to those who mourn, and neither good nor bad to the deaf. GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD NEIGHBORS---Fences give one privacy from nosey neighbors.---S. Palmer (1710) Moral Essays on Proverbs "A wall between preserves love." GOOD LORD WILLING AND THE CREEK DON'T RISE---Will get something done or get somewhere if nothing unforseen happens. new! GOOD OLD BOY---Southern expression: A regular fellow; accepted member of a group; a closed group or click of southern men.---"Never mind city

hall, the good old boys run things down here."---(1976) Time Magazine "The core of the good ole boy's world is with his buddies, the comfortable, hyper hearty, all-male camaraderie, joshing and drinking and regaling one another with tales of assorted, exaggerated prowess." GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH---Who needs you? I'm glad you're leaving; that thing is worthless, I'm glad it's gone.---Charles Dickens (1848) Dombey and Son GOODIE TWO SHOES---Exceptionally good person; a person who likes to flaunt their virtues and point out your shortcomings. (Especially after a person has reformed)---"She is certainly a goodie two shoes."---Oliver Goldsmith or John Newberry (1765) The History of Little Goodie Two Shoes A children's story about Goodie who had one shoe; then when she was given a pair of new shoes, ran around showing them off to everyone she met saying, "Two shoes! Two shoes!" GOT UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BED---Having a bad day; the day started out wrong.---"I must have got up on the wrong side of the bed today."--Long ago it was believed that evil resided in the left side of the body. One should not get up from the left side of the bed or put one's left foot on the floor first. Inn keepers sometimes put the left side of the bed against the wall to protect the guest from starting the day with such a curse. A. Behn (1676) Town-Fop "Sure I rose the wrong way today, I have had such damn'd ill luck." GRANDSTAND---Showy or unnecessary action to draw attention.---"Let's get on with the presentation and quit grandstanding."---Long before baseball offered million dollar contracts, players were popular heros. Most of the accolades went to pitchers and batters, some fielders developed a way of attracting the attention of the spectators. With a little practice, a player could learn to make an easy fielding play look as though it required a lot of skill and effort. Such actions did not effect the final outcome, but it would be the talk of the town among fans who were thrilled by it. GRASP AT STRAWS---Act in desperation; clinging onto any little chance of hope.---"I don't think it will work, I am just grasping at straws now."---If someone is drowning they will grab onto anything that floats by, even a straw.---C. Brooke (1614) Richard The Third "And now like a man (ready to drown) catch at a helpless thing." GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FENCEOther peoples lives always seem more desirable than our own; we're never satisfied with what we have.---Ovid (43 B.C. - A.D. 18.) Fertilior seges est alenis semper in agris (The harvest is always more fruitful in another man's fields.) GRAVEYARD SHIFT---Late night work shift.---Adulteration of "gravy eyed".---In ancient times any thick liquid was called gravy. Humour running from the eyes (sleep) was called gravy eye. Sailors who had the watch that started at midnight were often gravy eyed as they went on watch. The middle watch was referred to as the "gravy eyed shift". The transition to landlubbers was graveyard shift.

GRAVY TRAIN---Obtaining something with little or no effort.---"He is on the gravy train now."---Meat and potatoes being necessities, gravy is an extra. Someone who not only has all the necessities of life but the extras also is said to be on the gravy train. Benjamin Bodkin (1945) Lay My Burden Down "They is on the gravy train and don't know it. GREASED LIGHTNING---Very fast.---"He is quicker than greased lightning." (1833) Boston, Lincoln and Louth Herald "He spoke as quick as greased lightning." new! GREAT GUNS!---Expletive meaning something great, unusual or progressing well.---"We were going great guns till the fifth inning."---William Smyth The Sailor's Wordbook. "heavy cannons and officers of notable repute".--Charles Dickens (1841) Barnaby Rudge "It blows great guns, indeed. There'll be many a crash in the forest tonight." GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE---People of the same mind tend to share similar ideas, make the same decisions.---(1640) Winthrop Papers GREAT OAKS FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW---Great successes often develop from something very small; no matter how small or insignificant one may be, one can become great.---Chaucer (1385) Troilus and Criiseyde "Tall oaks from little acorns grow." GREAT SCOTT---Exclamation of praise or wonderment; startled.---Army commander Winfield S. Scott is responsible for this expression. Vain and disliked by many of his subordinates, he was resented for becoming a brevet major general at age twenty eight. It was claimed that he spent his time and energy strutting and swaggering instead of looking after his troops. Nicknamed Old Fuss and Feathers, he ran for president in 1852, and later became known as Great Scott. Became a civilian exclamation that punctuated speech during the Gay Nineties. GREEK TO ME---Not understandable.---"It's all Greek to me."---Shakespeare Julius Caesar. The character Casca, who is among the group conspiring to kill Caesar, tells Brutus and Cassius how Caesar thrice refused the crown of emperor. Asked if Cicero said anything at the time (Cicero did, speaking in Greek to prevent passersby from understanding him), Casca replies: "Those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but for mine own part, it was Greek to me." Shakespeare (1603) Caesar "But for my own part it is greek to me." GREEKS BEARING GIFTS---Beware of someone who wants to do you a kindness for no apparent reason.---"Beware of Greeks bearing gifts."---Virgil's story of the Trojan Horse The Greeks who had besieged Troy for a decade, indicated that would withdraw. They offered the people of Troy a large wooden horse as a gesture of peace. Some of the wiser men urged the people to reject it saying "Beware the Greeks, even when they bear gifts." The people excepted the gift and inside it were soldiers who killed the guards and set fire to the city. GREEN EYED MONSTER---Jealousy.---"Don't let the green eyed monster control you."---Shakespeare Othello "Oh beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock the meat it feeds on....." GRIN AND BEAR IT---Make the best of a bad situation.---"I guess we will just have to grin and bear it."

GRIND TO A HALT---Stop laboriously.---"If something isn't done soon, this whole operation will grind to a halt."---As a ship as it runs aground or a machine the stops due to loss of lubrication. Harriet Martineau (1837) Society in America "We went aground grinding, grinding, till the ship trembled in every timber." GROGGY---Shaky or dizzy, as from lack of sleep; intoxicated.---"I can't get with it this morning, I am a little groggy."---In the 18th century British Admiral Edward Vernon was given the nickname "Old Grog" which identified him with the luxurious grogram coat he wore. At the height of his career, he issued an order that stipulated that every cask of rum must be diluted with water before the rum was rationed. The watered down beverage was given the name of the man who invented it. If you drank too much you were said to be "groggy". new! GROOPY---A female fan of rock groups or other popular personalities, who follows them about.---"She and her sisters seem to follow him around, I think they are his groupies." GULLY WASHER---Severe rain storm.---"Let's get to the house this is going to be a gully washer."---A heavy rain fills the gully with runoff water and washes down the gully. GUNG HO---Enthusiastic; cooperative; overly zealous.---"I think he is getting a little to gung ho."---As Europeans managed to get into China, they were awed by the Great Wall and other public works. These projects were constructed by vast numbers of workers or coolies. At an overseer's signal, they shouted "Gung ho!" in unison in order to synchronize movements. The expression became popular in the west during the construction of the railroad and was adopted by the Marines under General E. Carlson in WWII. The expression which meant "work together" now means "enthusiasm". new! GUT REACTION---Something you feel intuitively; can not be explained logically, not based in fact.---"My gut reaction is to believe him."---Also "gut feeling". GYP JOINT---Unethical business place.---"I told him he would get burnt if he kept going to that gyp joint."---Gypsies appeared in England in the early 16th century, and were thought to be from Egypt because of their features, thus the name gypsies. A person swindled by one of these wanderers was gypped (played for a sucker). Their name got attached to any shop or tavern where customers got the short end ot the stick. HAD ME STUMPED---Difficult---"This problem really has me stumped"--Alluded to the difficulty a farmer had trying to plow a field that had not been completely cleared of stumps. Seba Smith (1833). Major Jack Downing. "My good old friend, I'm stumped. I jest got a letter from the General....." HAIR OF THE DOG---Cure---"You need a little hair of the dog."---The ancients believed that one of the best cures for hydrophobia, or any disease contracted from dog bite, consisted of taking a hair of the dog that bit you and placing it in the wound. Today's meaning is to cure a hangover in the morning by having a drink of the same thing you were drinking to get the hangover. Scott (1817). Rob Roy. "He poured out a large bumper of brandy, exhorting me to swallow, a hair of the dog that bit me."

HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THAN NONE---It is better to have part of what you want than none.---"You had better take it, half a loaf is better than none."--John Heywood (1546) "Throw no gift at the giver's head; Better is half a loaf than no bread." HALF BAKED---Not all there.---"That boy is about half baked."---(1864), Notes & Queries. "He is only half baked; he would take a brush more." Caroline M. Kirkland (1842). Forest Life. "It is sometimes a term of reproach with us, in speaking of a silly fellow, that he is not half baked." HALF THE BATTLE---Something that contributes toward an objective.---"Getting started is half the battle." Marryat (1849). Valerie. "Youth is half the battle." HAMMER AND TONG---Busy; agressive.---"He is going at that job hammer and tong."---Alludes to a blacksmith while working a piece of iron. He is very busy and must keep in motion so that the iron does not cool.---(1708) The British Apollo. "I'm now coming at you, with hammer and tongs." HAND OVER FIST---Taking something in rapidly. (money)---"He's making money hand over fist."---Nautical Sailors went up the rigging or brought in a line quickly. The idea of someone gathering money in quickly, stuffing a fist full of money in their pocket while reaching for more with the other. HAND OVER HAND---Giving excessively.---"I have been giving that boy money hand over hand."---W. Robertson (1681). Phraseol Generalis. "Give mot your alms hand over hand; do good with discretion." HAND TO MOUTH---An economically precarious way of life; living from day to day.---"I don't know how they make it, they live from hand to mouth."---Just enough to live, not enough to save, the food goes from hand to mouth. Alexander Barclay (1509). The Shyp of Folys. "Theyr vayne myndes to farther thynges is dull save on that which from hande to mouth is brought." HANDSOME IS AS HANDSOME DOES---It is what you do that counts, not how you look.---Munday (1680). Sundry Examples. "But as the auncient adage is, goodly is he that goodly dooth." HANDWRITING IS ON THE WALL---A forewarning, usually something ominous.---"The handwriting is on the wall."---Bible: Daniel 5:5. "In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the kings palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote." Daniel is called upon, by King Belshazzar, to interpret the message. (Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin) "God has numbered the days of his kingdom, and it will be divided between the Medes and the Persians. HANG IN THERE---Be tenacious, don't give up.---"Hang in there, don't give up now." (1971). The Atlantic. "He (Nixon) has a long history of coming from behind, they say, and it would be in his nature to hang in there and fight." HANG LOOSE---Have a relaxed attitude.---"Let's just hang loose for a while and see what happens."---(1972) The New Yorker. "In the meantime, my survival plan is to hang loose." HANG THE FIDDLE AT THE DOOR---One who is happy go lucky out and about, but an ogre when he gets home.---"Jim is a happy man when he is with the boys, but he hangs the fiddle at the door when he gets home."

HANGING FIRE---Pending; the sense that something is hot happening as soon as expected.---It is from the days of muzzle loading guns, when the charge of powder in the breech sometimes did not explode as quickly as the gunner thought it would; the gun was said to hang fire. HAPPY AS A PIG IN SLOP---Very Happy.---"Take Joe to a ball game and he is happier than a pig in slop." Carr (1828). Craven Dialect. "As happy as a pig in muck." HAPPY GO LUCKY---Carefree; unconcerned; not given to formality.---"He is just happy go lucky."---Herman Melville (1851). Moby Dick. "A happy-golucky; neither craven nor valiant." HARD AND FAST RULE---Rigid; fixed.---"There is no changing it, it has always been a hard and fast rule around here."---Henry Smyth (1867). The Sailors Word Book. "Said of a ship grounded on shore." HARD WORK NEVER HURT ANYONE HARDER THAN CHINESE ARITHMETIC---Very hard.---"That job was harder than Chinese arithmetic." HASTE MAKES WASTE---Think before you act; plan carefully.---Don't jump into something, things done in haste more often than not, will have to be done over again. Also see: Study long you study wrong.---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "As good undone as do it too soon." HAUL OVER THE COALS---To discipline someone.---"He is going to get hauled over the coals."---A form of punishment. Fuller (1639). Holy War. "If they should say the Templars were burned wrongfully, the may be fetched over the coals themselves for charging his Holinesse so deeply." HAVE ONE IN STITCHES---Excessive laughter.---"That comedian had me in stitches."---The Old English word "stitch" meaning to stick as with a knife. One characteristic stab like pain, caused by acute spasms of rib muscles, occurs after violent exercise. Prolonged laughter may lead to the same symptoms, thus the expression. new! HAVE THE WILLIES---Something that makes one's stomach feel uneasy; creepy feeling.---"Something about that guy gives me the willies."---Transition from "wiffle woffles" or "collie wobbles". If your stomach is upset you have the "colic" and your stomach seems to wobble. HAVING A BONE TO PICK---Having a point to argue about; a complaint to settle.---"I have a bone to pick with you."---Suggestive of two dogs and one bone. Old meaning: In British politics, giving one a bone to pick, meant that an annoying opponent or colleague was given a high sounding position to keep him out of the way. Calfhill (1565). Answer to Martiall. "Only therefore will I add this, which may be a bone for you to pick on." HAVE A FIELD DAY---Have a particularly enjoyable day.---"I'm having a field day."---19th century. An occasion when troupes gathered onto open ground for a grand review.---William Thackeray (1848). The Book of Snobs. "The mean pomp and ostentation which distinguish our banquets on grand field days." HAVE YOUR HEART IN YOUR MOUTH---Be frightened; very anxious.---"The car just missed here, my heart was in my mouth."---Gaius Petronius (A.D. 66). "My heart was in my mouth."

HAYMAKER---A punch that puts you on the ground or canvas.---"He caught him with a real haymaker." ---When hay or grain is cut it falls to the ground. HE HASN'T GOT A CHINA MAN'S CHANCE---No chance at all.---During the gold rush in California many Chinese immigrants tried their hand at mining. They were disliked and scorned, partly because they worked for such low pay. The likelihood that they would escape ostracism or be given the opportunity to find much gold was almost nil. HE IS AFRAID OF HIS OWN SHADOW---A person who seems to be afraid of every little thing.---"Jim won't come, he is afraid of his own shadow."---G. Fenton (1567). Bandello. "He returned with more fear of his shadow than the reporte of that he had in charge." HE IS MAKING AN ASS OF HIMSELF---To do something stupid.---Fuller (1732). "He makes himself an ass must not take ill if men ride him. HE LOOKS LIKE DEATH WARMED OVER---Look ill or exhausted.--Nagaio Marsh (1942). Death and the Dancing Footman. "I look like death warmed up and what I feel is nobody's business." HE MET HIS WATERLOO---He suffered a decisive defeat or setback."I think that Gary has met his waterloo this time."---In June 1815, Napoleon's army was defeated at Waterloo, Belgium, by British troops led by the Duke of Wellington. Napoleon was exiled to the island of St. Helena, where he died in 1821. HE THAT FIGHTS AND RUNS AWAY MAY LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY---Get your licks in and get away.---(1440). Gesta Rom. "It is an old sawe, he fightith wele that fleith faste." HE WHO DOES NOT WORK, NEITHER SHOULD HE EAT---One must earn one's keep.---Chaucer (1386.) Tale of Melibee. HE WHO HESITATES IS LOST---Swift and resolute action leads to success; self-doubt is a prelude to disaster.---Joseph Addison (1713.) Cato. HE WHO LAUGHS LAST LAUGHS BEST---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "Better is the last smile than the first laughter." HE WHO LIVES BY THE SWORD DIES BY THE SWORD---Those who view war as a solution to a problem will ultimately be destroyed by their own violence.---Anthony Munday (1601.) Death of Robert, Earl of Huntington HE WHO SERVES GOD FOR MONEY WILL SERVE THE DEVIL IF THE WAGES ARE RIGHT---When you do something for money it begs a conflict of interest.---"The preacher used to tell it like it was, now that the church is growing he is telling people what they want to hear."---L'Estrange (1692). Aesop. "He that serves god for money, will serve the devil for better wages." HE WOULD COMPLAIN IF YOU HUNG HIM WITH A NEW ROPE.--Some people are never satisfied.---Fuller (1732). "He that always complains is never pitied." HE WOULD SQUEEZE A NICKEL TILL THE BUFFALO CRIED---Very miserly; cheap. HEAR A PIN DROP---Very quiet. ---"It was so quiet in the auditorium, you could hear a pin drop."---Leigh Hunt (1816). The Story of Rimini. "A pin drop silence strikes all o'er the place."

HEART AS BIG AS ALL OUTDOORS---referring to an extremely generous or compassionate person. (Often times used in the negative context)---"His heart is big as the whole outdoors."---John Neil (1825). Brother Jonathan. "Big as all out o'doors." HEART OF GOLD---Generous; kindly.---"That guy has a heart of gold."--Shakespeare King Henry V. "The king's a bawcock, and a heart of gold, a lad of life, and imp of fame;......." HEART TO HEART---A frank, intimate conversation.---"We are going to have to have a heart to heart."---A. H. Lewis (1902). Wolfville Days. "He don't own no real business to transact; he's out to have a heart to heart interview with the great Southwest." HEAVENS TO BETSY---That's astonishing.---R.T. Cooke (1892). Huckleberries from New England Hills.. "'Heavens to Betsy!' gasped Josiah." HELL BENT FOR ELECTION---Moving or acting recklessly; with great speed.---"There goes Sam, he is hell-bent for election."---Dates from 1840, when Edward Kent was running for governor of Maine. He won, and the event was marked by a song: "Oh have you herd how old Maine went? She went hell-bent for Governor Kent." HELL HATH NO FURRY LIKE A WOMAN SCORNED---This needs no explanation.---William Congreve (1697) "Heav'n has no rage, like love to hatred turn'd, nor Hell a fury, like a woman scorned. HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS (The road to)---It is of no use to intend to do good, you must do it.---John Wesley in his journal, "It is a true saying, Hell is paved with good intentions." HELL ON WHEELS---Used today as a kind of complimentary expression meaning incredible skill or extremely fast movement.---"He is hell on wheels."--As soon as the transcontinental railroad was completed fortune hunters and pioneers flocked to the west. There were not many outposts or settlements along the route, but this did not stop the unscrupulous operators from the east. They rented railcars to carry mini brothels and casinos west. They parked these railcars anywhere there might be potential customers and were truly, hell on wheels. Has an opposite connotation to it's the original meaning. HELL TO PAY---A reckoning is coming; the consequences will be severe.---"When his mother finds out there will be hell to pay."---Duke of Ellington (1811). "Unless the design has been altered we shall have the Emperor in Spain and hell to pay before much time elapses." HEM AND HAW (Hum haw)---To delay giving a response; to be undecided; avoid getting to the point.---"Don't hem haw around about it."---Several origins and changes over the years. Gervase Babington (1580). A Profitable Exposition of the Lord's Prayer. "We gape and we yawne, we hem and we hawke." new! HEN PECKED---A man who is domineered over by his wife.---"I have become henpecked in my old age."---Florio (1578.)First Fruites. "It is a sad house where the hen crows louder than the cock." HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE---All over.---"He needs to settle down, he is here, there and everywhere."---Christopher Marlowe (1590). Tragical history of Dr. Faustus. "That I may be here and there and everywhere."

HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW---All things are temporary and fleeting; we have no promise of tomorrow.---John Calvin (1549.) Life and Conversion of a Christian Man. HERE'S MUD IN YOUR EYE---(Drinking toast) To your good health and success.---Mud in the eye would have a blinding effect much as drinking sometimes does.---H.V. Morton (1927). In Search of England. "Here's mud in your eye!' said one of the modern pilgrims, tossing down his martini" HIDE NOR HAIR---Haven't seen someone.---"We haven't seen hide nor hair of Jim for a week."---Josiah G. Holland (1857). The Bay Path. "I haven't seen hide nor hair of the piece ever since." HIGH AND DRY---Stranded.---"He left me high and dry."---The connection is with ships tossed ashore or aground. They were left high and dry. Anthony Trollope (1857). Barchester Towers. "That party which is now scandalously called the high and dry church." HIGH AND MIGHTY---Arrogant; haughty; to proud for one's own good.---"He has gotten high and mighty since he won the lottery."---Richard Whitlock (1654). Zootomia. "Book learned Physitians, against which they bring in their high and mighty word experience." HIGH HORSE---Act in a superior or arrogant way.---"You can get off your high horse anytime."---Persons of nobility or high rank were often mounted on horses of large stature to emphasize their prominence. James Kelly (1721). "He is upon his high horse, spoken when people fall into a passion." HIGH JINKS---Frolic; revelry.---"You can cut the high jinks now." (My father loved to use this one.) ---High Jinks was the name given to the activities that accompanied drinking parties in the 17th century. A throw of the dice determined who should do a stunt for the group or chug a lug a goodly quantity of liquor. HIND SIGHT IS 20/20---A clear view, once a problem has been dealt with, or a situation is over, of what should or could have been done better.---"I can see now how we could have handled that a little better, but hind sight is 20/20.---Perfect vision is 20/20. HIS BARK IS WORSE THAN HIS BITE---Someone who acts tough but are not as tough as they act.---Fuller (1655). Church History. "Because politically presumed to bark the more that he might bite the less."---Clarke (1639). "He bellows like a bull, but is as weak as a bulrush." HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF---History follows a pattern of events which repeat themselves.---(1553.) Rufus Historie. HIT THE SPOT---Satisfy fully.---"That meal really hit the spot."(1863). Putnam's Magazine. "I hope that last corjul set you up?' 'Yes, Mr. Plunkitt, it went right to the spot.'" HIT BELOW THE BELT---To act unfairly or against the rules.---"Hey, that's hitting below the belt."---In (1865) the rules of boxing were laid down by the Marquess of Queensberry. The rules forbade hitting below the belt. HIT OR MISS---Random; haphazardly; to do something in awareness that one may succeed of fail.---"This is going to be strictly a hit or miss operation."--Thomas Wilson (1553). The Arte of Rhetorique. "Which shot in the open and plaine fields at all adventures hittie missie."

HIT PAY DIRT---Find something of value; succeed.---"I think I have hit pay dirt."---Term in use in the 19th century, obvious connection with mining for gold and silver. (1884). Century Magazine. "He lives in a style that proves that he has lots of pay dirt somewhere." HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD---To do something just right.---"You hit the nail on the head."---Not easy to do sometimes.---Camden (1605). Remains. "Every man cannot hit the nail on the head." HITCH IN ONES GIDDYUP---Lame; injury that effects one's walking.---"You have a little hitch in your giddyup today."---A command given to a horse to speed it up. If one has a hitch in their stride they are not moving smoothly. HITHER AND YON---Here and there; back and forth.---"He's hither and yon."---15th century. Hither meant here, yon meant yonder. (1836). Tait's Magazine. "She swayed hither and yon, and so coggly that I had fears of a catastrophe on the floor." Coggly: (shaky). HITTING CLOSE TO HOME---Something someone says that comes awfully close to describing yourself, usually not good.---"What the preacher said hit pretty close to home." HOCUS POCUS---Magic word used in slight of hand tricks; trickery; deception.---"Give me the straight facts and stop all this hocus pocus."--Borrowed from the Latin phrase used in the service of Holy Communion, a ritual where ordinary bread is transformed. Magicians took the word hocus, meaning "here is the body" and coined for use in slight of hand tricks. The alliteration to "hocus pocus" gave magicians this magical expression which loosely means watch out, you are going to be fooled by this transformation or trick. HOGWASH---Useless information; false information; I don't believe it.---"He spoke for half an hour and everything he said was hogwash."---Male swine are castrated so that their meat will remain tender and juicy. The castrated males are called hogs. This practice used to be followed by a ceremonial washing, after which the water was thrown out as tainted and worthless. HOLD A CANDLE TO HIM---One person cannot compare in worth or skill to another.---"He can't hold a candle to his brother."---In the days before street lighting lads called link boys were hired by the well to do. They would walk ahead of their employer with a link (torch) or candle lighting the way. The obvious negative connotation prevailed. John Byrum (1725). "Some say that Seignior Bononcini compar'd to Handel's a mere ninny; others aver, to him that Handel is scarcely fit to hold a candle. HOLD AT BAY---Keep a difficult or threatening situation from getting worse.---"I think we can win this game if we can just hold them at bay."---From the French abai meaning the baying sounds hounds make when they are pursuing or have cornered a quarry.---John Palsgreve (1530). "Yonder stagge is almost yelden, I here the houndes hold hym at beye." HOLD THE BAG---To be left in a foolish position; stuck with a responsibility; left in a lurch.---"He got away and I was left holding the bag."---The old meaning may have been a reference to a pig in a poke, where a vendor had a buyers money and the buyer was left holding a bag with something worthless in it.

HOLD THE FORT---Keep things safe while I am away.---"You hold the fort while I am gone."---Originated with General Sherman at the battle of Kennesaw Mountain in 1864 when he signaled another general from the top of the mountain "Hold the Fort". HOLD YOUR HORSES---Take it easy; stay calm.---"Just hold your horses there son."---In past days this is something you had to do if your horse got excited or nervous in an attempt to calm him down. (1844). New Orleans Picayune. "Oh, hold your horses, Squire. There's no use gettin' riled, no how." HOLD YOUR OWN---Withstand attack or pressure.---"You are going to have to go in that meeting and hold your own."---(1526). Pilgrimage of Perfection. "Be never overcome in any mater, but holde thyne owne." HOLE IN THE HEAD---Something undesirable; something you don't want.---"I need that like I need a hole in the head." HOLLOW LEG---No end to the amount of food or liquor a man can hold.---"I swear I think the guy has a hollow leg." HOLY COW HOLY TOLEDO HONEST TO GOODNESS---Really; the real thing; for sure.---"He was a real honest to goodness cowboy."---B.M. Bower (1916). "The real honest to goodness twelve month in the year West. HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY---D. Tubvill (1599). Vade Mecum. "He would ever say that honesty is the best policy." HOODLUM---Scoundrel; wretch.---One of the most notorious ruffians of the San Francisco waterfront (also know as the Barbary Coast ) was known as Muldoon. During a clean up campaign led by a San Francisco newspaper, a reporter had the idea of spelling the name backwards and changed the N to an H instead of referring to him directly. Readers soon figured who the mysterious "Hoodlum" was and talk of his exploits propelled the made up word into general speech. HOOK OR CROOK---By any means.---"I am going to get it by hook or crook."---English law regulating the kings forests. Peasants were allowed to harvest any dead wood on the ground or any dead branches that could be reached by reaper's hook or shepherd's hook.---John Wyclif (1380). "With hook or with crook". HOOK LINE AND SINKER---Everything.---"I told him the story and he took it hook, line and sinker."---Fishing term used to explain how gullible a person is, like a fish. John Lyly (1579). Eughues. "You have made both me and Philautus to swallow a Gudgen." HONEST TO GOODNESS---Really; the real thing; for sure.---"He was a real honest to goodness cowboy." HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY---D. Tubvill (1599). Vade Mecum. "He would ever say that honesty is the best policy." HOPE AGAINST HOPE---To hope something against enormous odds.---"I hope against hope that he will survive the operation."---Bible: Romans 4:18. "Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken."

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL---Optimism in the face of adversity.---Alexander Pope (1733). Essay on Man. "Hope springs eternal in the human breast. HOPPING MAD---Really angered.---"He was hopping mad when he got his bill."---When you are angry you tend to raise your voice, when you become irate you tend to become animated and pace about. HORSE FEATHERS---Ridiculous; unbelievable. HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR---Altogether different thought or subject.---"Now that is a horse of a different color."---Barham (1840). Legends. "They are manifest asses; but you, good Leech, you are a horse of another colour." HORSE PLAY---Rough, boisterous play.---"Settle down and cut the horse play."---I heard this a lot.---To see a horse frisking about a field, wallowing in the dust with all four legs flailing, or one running up to nuzzle another gives on the picture of horse play. HORSE SENSE---Common sense.---"That is just plain old ordinary horse sense."---A horse has enough sense to avoid a situation which might cause him harm. (1870). Nation. "Born in the west, we believe horse sense, which is applied to the intellectual ability of men who exceed others in practical wisdom." HOT SHOT---Someone who talks a good game; someone who may or may not be good at something but either way lets everyone know how good or important he is.---"Harry is a real hot shot isn't he?"---Ray (1678). "He's a hot shot in a mustard pot, when both his heels stand right up." HOTTER THAN A POPCORN FART---Uncomfortably hot.---"Boy, its hotter than a popcorn fart out here."---Don't even ask. HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES---A comparison to.---(1930's). The American Dream. Grandma says to Mrs. Barker: "They wanted satisfaction; they wanted their money back." Mrs. Barker responds: "My, my, my." Grandma says: "How do you like them apples." HOW NOW BROWN COW---What's up; what's next.---"Brown Cow" is an obsolete term for a barrel of beer, and is likely that the saying was originally meant as a suggestion that everybody have another beer in order to prolong a pleasant interlude at the tavern. It perseveres because of its catchy repetition of the "ow" sound. Allan Ramsay, who collected Scottish poems and sayings, said in his play The Gentle Shepherd (1725): "The idea of 'what next' apparently derives from the question of whether or not to have another beer." HUE AND CRY---An uproar or to-do over something.---"The hue and cry has gone up all over the country since a tax hike was proposed."---In the Middle Ages the hu e cri (a norman-english phrase combining the French huer and cri, which mean respectively to shout and cry out) was a means of summoning help when one was the victim of a crime or a constable pursuing a criminal. Indeed, one who heard the call and failed to join the chase was subject to punishment. HUNKY DORY---All right; safe.---"Everything here is hunky dory."---John Farmer (1889). Americanisms. "Both these strange words stand for superlatively good." HAD ME STUMPED---Difficult---"This problem really has me stumped"--Alluded to the difficulty a farmer had trying to plow a field that had not been

completely cleared of stumps. Seba Smith (1833). Major Jack Downing. "My good old friend, I'm stumped. I jest got a letter from the General....." HAIR OF THE DOG---Cure---"You need a little hair of the dog."---The ancients believed that one of the best cures for hydrophobia, or any disease contracted from dog bite, consisted of taking a hair of the dog that bit you and placing it in the wound. Today's meaning is to cure a hangover in the morning by having a drink of the same thing you were drinking to get the hangover. Scott (1817). Rob Roy. "He poured out a large bumper of brandy, exhorting me to swallow, a hair of the dog that bit me." HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THAN NONE---It is better to have part of what you want than none.---"You had better take it, half a loaf is better than none."--John Heywood (1546) "Throw no gift at the giver's head; Better is half a loaf than no bread." HALF BAKED---Not all there.---"That boy is about half baked."---(1864), Notes & Queries. "He is only half baked; he would take a brush more." Caroline M. Kirkland (1842). Forest Life. "It is sometimes a term of reproach with us, in speaking of a silly fellow, that he is not half baked." HALF THE BATTLE---Something that contributes toward an objective.---"Getting started is half the battle." Marryat (1849). Valerie. "Youth is half the battle." HAMMER AND TONG---Busy; agressive.---"He is going at that job hammer and tong."---Alludes to a blacksmith while working a piece of iron. He is very busy and must keep in motion so that the iron does not cool.---(1708) The British Apollo. "I'm now coming at you, with hammer and tongs." HAND OVER FIST---Taking something in rapidly. (money)---"He's making money hand over fist."---Nautical Sailors went up the rigging or brought in a line quickly. The idea of someone gathering money in quickly, stuffing a fist full of money in their pocket while reaching for more with the other. HAND OVER HAND---Giving excessively.---"I have been giving that boy money hand over hand."---W. Robertson (1681). Phraseol Generalis. "Give mot your alms hand over hand; do good with discretion." HAND TO MOUTH---An economically precarious way of life; living from day to day.---"I don't know how they make it, they live from hand to mouth."---Just enough to live, not enough to save, the food goes from hand to mouth. Alexander Barclay (1509). The Shyp of Folys. "Theyr vayne myndes to farther thynges is dull save on that which from hande to mouth is brought." HANDSOME IS AS HANDSOME DOES---It is what you do that counts, not how you look.---Munday (1680). Sundry Examples. "But as the auncient adage is, goodly is he that goodly dooth." HANDWRITING IS ON THE WALL---A forewarning, usually something ominous.---"The handwriting is on the wall."---Bible: Daniel 5:5. "In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the kings palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote." Daniel is called upon, by King Belshazzar, to interpret the message. (Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin) "God has numbered the days of his kingdom, and it will be divided between the Medes and the Persians.

HANG IN THERE---Be tenacious, don't give up.---"Hang in there, don't give up now." (1971). The Atlantic. "He (Nixon) has a long history of coming from behind, they say, and it would be in his nature to hang in there and fight." HANG LOOSE---Have a relaxed attitude.---"Let's just hang loose for a while and see what happens."---(1972) The New Yorker. "In the meantime, my survival plan is to hang loose." HANG THE FIDDLE AT THE DOOR---One who is happy go lucky out and about, but an ogre when he gets home.---"Jim is a happy man when he is with the boys, but he hangs the fiddle at the door when he gets home." HANGING FIRE---Pending; the sense that something is hot happening as soon as expected.---It is from the days of muzzle loading guns, when the charge of powder in the breech sometimes did not explode as quickly as the gunner thought it would; the gun was said to hang fire. HAPPY AS A PIG IN SLOP---Very Happy.---"Take Joe to a ball game and he is happier than a pig in slop." Carr (1828). Craven Dialect. "As happy as a pig in muck." HAPPY GO LUCKY---Carefree; unconcerned; not given to formality.---"He is just happy go lucky."---Herman Melville (1851). Moby Dick. "A happy-golucky; neither craven nor valiant." HARD AND FAST RULE---Rigid; fixed.---"There is no changing it, it has always been a hard and fast rule around here."---Henry Smyth (1867). The Sailors Word Book. "Said of a ship grounded on shore." HARD WORK NEVER HURT ANYONE HARDER THAN CHINESE ARITHMETIC---Very hard.---"That job was harder than Chinese arithmetic." HASTE MAKES WASTE---Think before you act; plan carefully.---Don't jump into something, things done in haste more often than not, will have to be done over again. Also see: Study long you study wrong.---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "As good undone as do it too soon." HAUL OVER THE COALS---To discipline someone.---"He is going to get hauled over the coals."---A form of punishment. Fuller (1639). Holy War. "If they should say the Templars were burned wrongfully, the may be fetched over the coals themselves for charging his Holinesse so deeply." HAVE ONE IN STITCHES---Excessive laughter.---"That comedian had me in stitches."---The Old English word "stitch" meaning to stick as with a knife. One characteristic stab like pain, caused by acute spasms of rib muscles, occurs after violent exercise. Prolonged laughter may lead to the same symptoms, thus the expression. new! HAVE THE WILLIES---Something that makes one's stomach feel uneasy; creepy feeling.---"Something about that guy gives me the willies."---Transition from "wiffle woffles" or "collie wobbles". If your stomach is upset you have the "colic" and your stomach seems to wobble. HAVING A BONE TO PICK---Having a point to argue about; a complaint to settle.---"I have a bone to pick with you."---Suggestive of two dogs and one bone. Old meaning: In British politics, giving one a bone to pick, meant that an annoying opponent or colleague was given a high sounding position to keep him

out of the way. Calfhill (1565). Answer to Martiall. "Only therefore will I add this, which may be a bone for you to pick on." HAVE A FIELD DAY---Have a particularly enjoyable day.---"I'm having a field day."---19th century. An occasion when troupes gathered onto open ground for a grand review.---William Thackeray (1848). The Book of Snobs. "The mean pomp and ostentation which distinguish our banquets on grand field days." HAVE YOUR HEART IN YOUR MOUTH---Be frightened; very anxious.---"The car just missed here, my heart was in my mouth."---Gaius Petronius (A.D. 66). "My heart was in my mouth." HAYMAKER---A punch that puts you on the ground or canvas.---"He caught him with a real haymaker." ---When hay or grain is cut it falls to the ground. HE HASN'T GOT A CHINA MAN'S CHANCE---No chance at all.---During the gold rush in California many Chinese immigrants tried their hand at mining. They were disliked and scorned, partly because they worked for such low pay. The likelihood that they would escape ostracism or be given the opportunity to find much gold was almost nil. HE IS AFRAID OF HIS OWN SHADOW---A person who seems to be afraid of every little thing.---"Jim won't come, he is afraid of his own shadow."---G. Fenton (1567). Bandello. "He returned with more fear of his shadow than the reporte of that he had in charge." HE IS MAKING AN ASS OF HIMSELF---To do something stupid.---Fuller (1732). "He makes himself an ass must not take ill if men ride him. HE LOOKS LIKE DEATH WARMED OVER---Look ill or exhausted.--Nagaio Marsh (1942). Death and the Dancing Footman. "I look like death warmed up and what I feel is nobody's business." HE MET HIS WATERLOO---He suffered a decisive defeat or setback."I think that Gary has met his waterloo this time."---In June 1815, Napoleon's army was defeated at Waterloo, Belgium, by British troops led by the Duke of Wellington. Napoleon was exiled to the island of St. Helena, where he died in 1821. HE THAT FIGHTS AND RUNS AWAY MAY LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY---Get your licks in and get away.---(1440). Gesta Rom. "It is an old sawe, he fightith wele that fleith faste." HE WHO DOES NOT WORK, NEITHER SHOULD HE EAT---One must earn one's keep.---Chaucer (1386.) Tale of Melibee. HE WHO HESITATES IS LOST---Swift and resolute action leads to success; self-doubt is a prelude to disaster.---Joseph Addison (1713.) Cato. HE WHO LAUGHS LAST LAUGHS BEST---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "Better is the last smile than the first laughter." HE WHO LIVES BY THE SWORD DIES BY THE SWORD---Those who view war as a solution to a problem will ultimately be destroyed by their own violence.---Anthony Munday (1601.) Death of Robert, Earl of Huntington HE WHO SERVES GOD FOR MONEY WILL SERVE THE DEVIL IF THE WAGES ARE RIGHT---When you do something for money it begs a conflict of interest.---"The preacher used to tell it like it was, now that the church is growing he is telling people what they want to hear."---L'Estrange (1692). Aesop. "He that serves god for money, will serve the devil for better wages."

HE WOULD COMPLAIN IF YOU HUNG HIM WITH A NEW ROPE.--Some people are never satisfied.---Fuller (1732). "He that always complains is never pitied." HE WOULD SQUEEZE A NICKEL TILL THE BUFFALO CRIED---Very miserly; cheap. HEAR A PIN DROP---Very quiet. ---"It was so quiet in the auditorium, you could hear a pin drop."---Leigh Hunt (1816). The Story of Rimini. "A pin drop silence strikes all o'er the place." HEART AS BIG AS ALL OUTDOORS---referring to an extremely generous or compassionate person. (Often times used in the negative context)---"His heart is big as the whole outdoors."---John Neil (1825). Brother Jonathan. "Big as all out o'doors." HEART OF GOLD---Generous; kindly.---"That guy has a heart of gold."--Shakespeare King Henry V. "The king's a bawcock, and a heart of gold, a lad of life, and imp of fame;......." HEART TO HEART---A frank, intimate conversation.---"We are going to have to have a heart to heart."---A. H. Lewis (1902). Wolfville Days. "He don't own no real business to transact; he's out to have a heart to heart interview with the great Southwest." HEAVENS TO BETSY---That's astonishing.---R.T. Cooke (1892). Huckleberries from New England Hills.. "'Heavens to Betsy!' gasped Josiah." HELL BENT FOR ELECTION---Moving or acting recklessly; with great speed.---"There goes Sam, he is hell-bent for election."---Dates from 1840, when Edward Kent was running for governor of Maine. He won, and the event was marked by a song: "Oh have you herd how old Maine went? She went hell-bent for Governor Kent." HELL HATH NO FURRY LIKE A WOMAN SCORNED---This needs no explanation.---William Congreve (1697) "Heav'n has no rage, like love to hatred turn'd, nor Hell a fury, like a woman scorned. HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS (The road to)---It is of no use to intend to do good, you must do it.---John Wesley in his journal, "It is a true saying, Hell is paved with good intentions." HELL ON WHEELS---Used today as a kind of complimentary expression meaning incredible skill or extremely fast movement.---"He is hell on wheels."--As soon as the transcontinental railroad was completed fortune hunters and pioneers flocked to the west. There were not many outposts or settlements along the route, but this did not stop the unscrupulous operators from the east. They rented railcars to carry mini brothels and casinos west. They parked these railcars anywhere there might be potential customers and were truly, hell on wheels. Has an opposite connotation to it's the original meaning. HELL TO PAY---A reckoning is coming; the consequences will be severe.---"When his mother finds out there will be hell to pay."---Duke of Ellington (1811). "Unless the design has been altered we shall have the Emperor in Spain and hell to pay before much time elapses." HEM AND HAW (Hum haw)---To delay giving a response; to be undecided; avoid getting to the point.---"Don't hem haw around about it."---Several origins

and changes over the years. Gervase Babington (1580). A Profitable Exposition of the Lord's Prayer. "We gape and we yawne, we hem and we hawke." new! HEN PECKED---A man who is domineered over by his wife.---"I have become henpecked in my old age."---Florio (1578.)First Fruites. "It is a sad house where the hen crows louder than the cock." HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE---All over.---"He needs to settle down, he is here, there and everywhere."---Christopher Marlowe (1590). Tragical history of Dr. Faustus. "That I may be here and there and everywhere." HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW---All things are temporary and fleeting; we have no promise of tomorrow.---John Calvin (1549.) Life and Conversion of a Christian Man. HERE'S MUD IN YOUR EYE---(Drinking toast) To your good health and success.---Mud in the eye would have a blinding effect much as drinking sometimes does.---H.V. Morton (1927). In Search of England. "Here's mud in your eye!' said one of the modern pilgrims, tossing down his martini" HIDE NOR HAIR---Haven't seen someone.---"We haven't seen hide nor hair of Jim for a week."---Josiah G. Holland (1857). The Bay Path. "I haven't seen hide nor hair of the piece ever since." HIGH AND DRY---Stranded.---"He left me high and dry."---The connection is with ships tossed ashore or aground. They were left high and dry. Anthony Trollope (1857). Barchester Towers. "That party which is now scandalously called the high and dry church." HIGH AND MIGHTY---Arrogant; haughty; to proud for one's own good.---"He has gotten high and mighty since he won the lottery."---Richard Whitlock (1654). Zootomia. "Book learned Physitians, against which they bring in their high and mighty word experience." HIGH HORSE---Act in a superior or arrogant way.---"You can get off your high horse anytime."---Persons of nobility or high rank were often mounted on horses of large stature to emphasize their prominence. James Kelly (1721). "He is upon his high horse, spoken when people fall into a passion." HIGH JINKS---Frolic; revelry.---"You can cut the high jinks now." (My father loved to use this one.) ---High Jinks was the name given to the activities that accompanied drinking parties in the 17th century. A throw of the dice determined who should do a stunt for the group or chug a lug a goodly quantity of liquor. HIND SIGHT IS 20/20---A clear view, once a problem has been dealt with, or a situation is over, of what should or could have been done better.---"I can see now how we could have handled that a little better, but hind sight is 20/20.---Perfect vision is 20/20. HIS BARK IS WORSE THAN HIS BITE---Someone who acts tough but are not as tough as they act.---Fuller (1655). Church History. "Because politically presumed to bark the more that he might bite the less."---Clarke (1639). "He bellows like a bull, but is as weak as a bulrush." HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF---History follows a pattern of events which repeat themselves.---(1553.) Rufus Historie.

HIT THE SPOT---Satisfy fully.---"That meal really hit the spot."(1863). Putnam's Magazine. "I hope that last corjul set you up?' 'Yes, Mr. Plunkitt, it went right to the spot.'" HIT BELOW THE BELT---To act unfairly or against the rules.---"Hey, that's hitting below the belt."---In (1865) the rules of boxing were laid down by the Marquess of Queensberry. The rules forbade hitting below the belt. HIT OR MISS---Random; haphazardly; to do something in awareness that one may succeed of fail.---"This is going to be strictly a hit or miss operation."--Thomas Wilson (1553). The Arte of Rhetorique. "Which shot in the open and plaine fields at all adventures hittie missie." HIT PAY DIRT---Find something of value; succeed.---"I think I have hit pay dirt."---Term in use in the 19th century, obvious connection with mining for gold and silver. (1884). Century Magazine. "He lives in a style that proves that he has lots of pay dirt somewhere." HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD---To do something just right.---"You hit the nail on the head."---Not easy to do sometimes.---Camden (1605). Remains. "Every man cannot hit the nail on the head." HITCH IN ONES GIDDYUP---Lame; injury that effects one's walking.---"You have a little hitch in your giddyup today."---A command given to a horse to speed it up. If one has a hitch in their stride they are not moving smoothly. HITHER AND YON---Here and there; back and forth.---"He's hither and yon."---15th century. Hither meant here, yon meant yonder. (1836). Tait's Magazine. "She swayed hither and yon, and so coggly that I had fears of a catastrophe on the floor." Coggly: (shaky). HITTING CLOSE TO HOME---Something someone says that comes awfully close to describing yourself, usually not good.---"What the preacher said hit pretty close to home." HOCUS POCUS---Magic word used in slight of hand tricks; trickery; deception.---"Give me the straight facts and stop all this hocus pocus."--Borrowed from the Latin phrase used in the service of Holy Communion, a ritual where ordinary bread is transformed. Magicians took the word hocus, meaning "here is the body" and coined for use in slight of hand tricks. The alliteration to "hocus pocus" gave magicians this magical expression which loosely means watch out, you are going to be fooled by this transformation or trick. HOGWASH---Useless information; false information; I don't believe it.---"He spoke for half an hour and everything he said was hogwash."---Male swine are castrated so that their meat will remain tender and juicy. The castrated males are called hogs. This practice used to be followed by a ceremonial washing, after which the water was thrown out as tainted and worthless. HOLD A CANDLE TO HIM---One person cannot compare in worth or skill to another.---"He can't hold a candle to his brother."---In the days before street lighting lads called link boys were hired by the well to do. They would walk ahead of their employer with a link (torch) or candle lighting the way. The obvious negative connotation prevailed. John Byrum (1725). "Some say that Seignior Bononcini compar'd to Handel's a mere ninny; others aver, to him that Handel is scarcely fit to hold a candle.

HOLD AT BAY---Keep a difficult or threatening situation from getting worse.---"I think we can win this game if we can just hold them at bay."---From the French abai meaning the baying sounds hounds make when they are pursuing or have cornered a quarry.---John Palsgreve (1530). "Yonder stagge is almost yelden, I here the houndes hold hym at beye." HOLD THE BAG---To be left in a foolish position; stuck with a responsibility; left in a lurch.---"He got away and I was left holding the bag."---The old meaning may have been a reference to a pig in a poke, where a vendor had a buyers money and the buyer was left holding a bag with something worthless in it. HOLD THE FORT---Keep things safe while I am away.---"You hold the fort while I am gone."---Originated with General Sherman at the battle of Kennesaw Mountain in 1864 when he signaled another general from the top of the mountain "Hold the Fort". HOLD YOUR HORSES---Take it easy; stay calm.---"Just hold your horses there son."---In past days this is something you had to do if your horse got excited or nervous in an attempt to calm him down. (1844). New Orleans Picayune. "Oh, hold your horses, Squire. There's no use gettin' riled, no how." HOLD YOUR OWN---Withstand attack or pressure.---"You are going to have to go in that meeting and hold your own."---(1526). Pilgrimage of Perfection. "Be never overcome in any mater, but holde thyne owne." HOLE IN THE HEAD---Something undesirable; something you don't want.---"I need that like I need a hole in the head." HOLLOW LEG---No end to the amount of food or liquor a man can hold.---"I swear I think the guy has a hollow leg." HOLY COW HOLY TOLEDO HONEST TO GOODNESS---Really; the real thing; for sure.---"He was a real honest to goodness cowboy."---B.M. Bower (1916). "The real honest to goodness twelve month in the year West. HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY---D. Tubvill (1599). Vade Mecum. "He would ever say that honesty is the best policy." HOODLUM---Scoundrel; wretch.---One of the most notorious ruffians of the San Francisco waterfront (also know as the Barbary Coast ) was known as Muldoon. During a clean up campaign led by a San Francisco newspaper, a reporter had the idea of spelling the name backwards and changed the N to an H instead of referring to him directly. Readers soon figured who the mysterious "Hoodlum" was and talk of his exploits propelled the made up word into general speech. HOOK OR CROOK---By any means.---"I am going to get it by hook or crook."---English law regulating the kings forests. Peasants were allowed to harvest any dead wood on the ground or any dead branches that could be reached by reaper's hook or shepherd's hook.---John Wyclif (1380). "With hook or with crook". HOOK LINE AND SINKER---Everything.---"I told him the story and he took it hook, line and sinker."---Fishing term used to explain how gullible a person is,

like a fish. John Lyly (1579). Eughues. "You have made both me and Philautus to swallow a Gudgen." HONEST TO GOODNESS---Really; the real thing; for sure.---"He was a real honest to goodness cowboy." HONESTY IS THE BEST POLICY---D. Tubvill (1599). Vade Mecum. "He would ever say that honesty is the best policy." HOPE AGAINST HOPE---To hope something against enormous odds.---"I hope against hope that he will survive the operation."---Bible: Romans 4:18. "Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken." HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL---Optimism in the face of adversity.---Alexander Pope (1733). Essay on Man. "Hope springs eternal in the human breast. HOPPING MAD---Really angered.---"He was hopping mad when he got his bill."---When you are angry you tend to raise your voice, when you become irate you tend to become animated and pace about. HORSE FEATHERS---Ridiculous; unbelievable. HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR---Altogether different thought or subject.---"Now that is a horse of a different color."---Barham (1840). Legends. "They are manifest asses; but you, good Leech, you are a horse of another colour." HORSE PLAY---Rough, boisterous play.---"Settle down and cut the horse play."---I heard this a lot.---To see a horse frisking about a field, wallowing in the dust with all four legs flailing, or one running up to nuzzle another gives on the picture of horse play. HORSE SENSE---Common sense.---"That is just plain old ordinary horse sense."---A horse has enough sense to avoid a situation which might cause him harm. (1870). Nation. "Born in the west, we believe horse sense, which is applied to the intellectual ability of men who exceed others in practical wisdom." HOT SHOT---Someone who talks a good game; someone who may or may not be good at something but either way lets everyone know how good or important he is.---"Harry is a real hot shot isn't he?"---Ray (1678). "He's a hot shot in a mustard pot, when both his heels stand right up." HOTTER THAN A POPCORN FART---Uncomfortably hot.---"Boy, its hotter than a popcorn fart out here."---Don't even ask. HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES---A comparison to.---(1930's). The American Dream. Grandma says to Mrs. Barker: "They wanted satisfaction; they wanted their money back." Mrs. Barker responds: "My, my, my." Grandma says: "How do you like them apples." HOW NOW BROWN COW---What's up; what's next.---"Brown Cow" is an obsolete term for a barrel of beer, and is likely that the saying was originally meant as a suggestion that everybody have another beer in order to prolong a pleasant interlude at the tavern. It perseveres because of its catchy repetition of the "ow" sound. Allan Ramsay, who collected Scottish poems and sayings, said in his play The Gentle Shepherd (1725): "The idea of 'what next' apparently derives from the question of whether or not to have another beer."

HUE AND CRY---An uproar or to-do over something.---"The hue and cry has gone up all over the country since a tax hike was proposed."---In the Middle Ages the hu e cri (a norman-english phrase combining the French huer and cri, which mean respectively to shout and cry out) was a means of summoning help when one was the victim of a crime or a constable pursuing a criminal. Indeed, one who heard the call and failed to join the chase was subject to punishment. HUNKY DORY---All right; safe.---"Everything here is hunky dory."---John Farmer (1889). Americanisms. "Both these strange words stand for superlatively good." I CAME, I SAW, I CONQUERED---Reporting to the Roman senate on his military victory over Pharnacles II, king of Pontus (47 B.C.) Julius Caesar succinctly said: "Veni, vidi, vici." (I came, I saw, I conquered.) I CAN'T MAKE HEADS OR TAILS OF IT---Ambiguous; unclear.---Margery Mason (1679). The Ticker Tickled. "Their tale...had neither head nor taile." new! I DIDN'T JUST FALL OFF THE TURNIP TRUCK---I know what is going on; I'm not stupid.---"He tried to sell me that piece of junk he's driving, did he think I just fell off the turnip truck."---Early 19th century---Alludes to an unsophisticated person from the country that is not versed in the ways of the big city. A picture of a farmhand sitting on a load of lowly turnips, riding into the big city. I DIDN'T LIKE THE COLOR OF HIS MONEY---Mistrust; found something suspicious about a person or proposal.---The color of money in a given location is usually the same color, so in a particular case a person or proposition seemed to be tainted or faulty. Thomas Gordon (1718). A Cordial for Low Spirits. "I have never seen the colour of Mr. Baskett's money." I DON'T GIVE A TINKERS DAMN---Worthless.---When a tinker was preparing a vessel for soldering he would make a small "dam" out of clay to keep the solder from spreading, when he was finished he threw the dam away. I DON'T KNOW HIM FROM ADAM---A stranger.---Presumably one would not know Adam. Charles Dickens (1840). The Old Curiosity Shop. "He called to see my Governor this morning and beyond that I don't know him from Adam." I DON'T PUT ANY STOCK IN IT---To have no regard for something; I don't believe it.---"I heard what he said but I don't put any stock in it."---The subscribed capital of a company or some other organization. You wouldn't want to invest any confidence or real support in a certain person or thing.---(1874). "He did not take stock in all the remarkable yields of butter reported on [cows fed on] grass and hay." I EAT TO LIVE, NOT LIVE TO EAT---I don't have an obsession with eating.---Northbrooke (1577). Dicing Etc. "Thou lyuest not to eate, butt eat as thou mayest lyue. I FEEL IT IN MY BONES---To have a premonition or intuition about something.---"Something bad is going to happen, I can feel it in my bones."--Shakespeare Timon of Athens. "I feel't upon my bones." new! I HAD AN INKLING---Some advance notice; a feeling; premonition.---"I had an inkling this was going to happen."---Originally meant a sample or a glimpse of a written idea.---Related to tha Anglo Saxon verb imt to mutter.

I HAVE OTHER FISH TO FRY---I am busy with other things.---"I cant hang around here all day, I have other fish to fry."---Swift (1710). Journal to Stella. "Which I will not answer tonight...No, faith, I have other fish to fry." new! I MAY AS WELL, I CAN'T DANCE---Said at a party or nightclub when asked if you want a drink. I MAY BE WITTY, BUT THE AUTHOR WHO WROTE SNOWBOUND WAS WHITTIER---I would like to have a nickel for every time I heard my father utter this one.---FOR BLONDS ONLY: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807 92) Poet, writer, abolitionist and politician. His most famous poem was Snowbound (1866.) I SHALL RETURN---A person has been wrongfully dismissed but will return.--Defiant parting shot of General Douglas MacArthur in March 1942 when he was ordered to leave the Philippines by President Franklin Roosevelt. MacArthur did indeed return to the Philippines in 1944. I WAS BORN AT NIGHT, BUT NOT LAST NIGHT---I may be a little naive but not totally gullible. I WASN'T BORN YESTERDAY---I have some experience. I WILL BEAT YOU LIKE A RED HEADED STEP CHILD---For centuries the red haired have been popularly held to be unreliable, deceitful and quick tempered. From the tradition that Judas had red hair. The fat of a dead red haired person used to be in demand as an ingredient for poisons.---Chapman "Flattery like the plague, strikes into the brain of man, and rageth in his entrails when he can, worse than the poison of a red hair'd man. I feel like a stepchild. Said by one who is being left out of the fun or getting none of the tidbits. Stepchildren are proverbially treated by the step-parent with somewhat less consideration than their own children. I WON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER---I insist. I WOULD RATHER HAVE A BOTTLE IN FRONT OF ME THAN A FRONTAL LOBOTOMY---(1596). Knack to Know an Honest Man. "The prouerbe is true that I tell to you, tis better to be dronken and drowsy, than hunger starued and lowsie." I WOULD RATHER TAKE A BEATING---Some things you dread to do.---"I would rather take a beating than go see my mother-in-law."---Ray (1670). "Better to be beaten than be in bad company." I WOULDN'T GIVE YOU A NICKEL FOR A DEATH BED REPENTANCE---Doesn't mean very much.---Lattimer (1639). Works. "Late repentance is seldom true." I WOULDN'T TOUCH THAT WITH A TEN FOOT POLE I WOULDN'T TRUST HIM AS FAR AS I COULD THROW HIM--Untrustworthy.---Harington (1618). Epigrams. "That he might scant trust him so farre as throw him." I WOULDN'T WANT TO BE IN HIS SHOES---I wouldn't want to be in that situation. I'M FROM MISSOURI; YOU'VE GOT TO SHOW ME---I don't believe you; prove it to me.---Willard Duncan Vandiver (1899.) (Speech at a naval banquet in Philadelphia.) "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and

Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I'm from Missouri. You've got to show me. I'M GETTING NOWHERE FAST---Doing a lot and acomplishing nothing. IDLE HANDS ARE THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND---Ray (1678). "An idle brain is the devils workshop." R. Kingston (1709). Adoph. Curiosa. "An idle person tempts the devil to tempt him." Vulldf (1732). "If the devil catch a man idle, he'll set him at work." IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN---Don't give up easily, keep trying.---Thomas H. Palmer (1840.) Teachers Manual. IF BETTER WHEELBARROWS ARE BUILT, BUICK WILL BUILD THEM.---My father was a mechanic and he liked Buicks. As far as I know this was an original of his. IF FROGS HAD WINGS, THEY WOULDN'T BUMP THEIR ASS---You're just indulging in wishful thinking.---Listed: H. L. Mencken (1942.) Dictionary of Quotations. IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT---It is pointless to try and fix something that already works. IF IT LOOKS LIKE A DUCK, WALKS LIKE A DUCK, AND QUACKS LIKE A DUCK, IT'S A DUCK---The outward appearance and behavior of a person provides such obvious evidence of his nature that it's silly to inquire further.---Joseph McCarthy (1950.) IF I'VE TOLD YOU ONCE, I'VE TOLD YOU A THOUSAND TIMES--You are not paying attention; I mean what I say; stop ignoring me. IF MY AUNT HAD BEEN A MAN SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN MY UNCLE---Ray (1813). IF THE SHOE FITS, WEAR IT---You should acknowledge or accept a remark or a situation that applies to you.---John Ozell (1714). Moliere. "If the cap fits, put it on." IF WORSE COMES TO WORSE---If things get really bad.---"If worse comes to worse you can always stay here."---(1597). Discouerie of Knights of th Poste. IF YOU ARE GOING TO WALK ON ICE, YOU MAY AS WELL DANCE IF YOU CAN'T BEAT THEM, JOIN THEM IF YOU CAN'T FIND TIME TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO FIND THE TIME TO DO IT AGAIN---Howell (1659). Proverbs. "A work ill done must be done twice." IF YOU CAN'T IMPRESS THEM WITH YOUR INTELLIGENCE, BAFFLE THEM WITH YOUR BULL SHIT IF YOU CAN'T RUN WITH THE BIG DOGS, STAY ON THE PORCH IF YOU CAN'T SAY SOMETHING NICE, DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT, GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN IF YOU DON'T BEND YOU ARE GOING TO BREAK---Be more flexible.--Chaucer (1573). "The yerde (twig) is hat that howan wole and winde than that that brest (breaks). IF YOU WANT SOMETHING DONE WELL YOU HAVE TO DO IT YOURSELF---Others who would do a job for you are less likely to care about

the results as you do.---Aesop (1692). "He that would be sure to have his business well done, must either do it himself, or see the doing of it." IF YOU WANT TO DANCE YOU MUST PAY THE FIDDLER---You must pay for what you get or do.---(1681). Roxbury Ballads. IF YOU LAY DOWN WITH DOGS YOU'LL GET UP WITH FLEAS---If you associate with unsavory characters some of it is bound to rub off on you.--Florio (1578). First Fruites. "He who lies down with dogs will rise with fleas." IF YOU THROW ENOUGH SHIT AGAINST THE WALL, SOME OF IT IS BOUND TO STICK---If you bullshit enough somebody is going to believe some of it.---T. Hall (1660). Funebria Flore. "If you throw enough dirt against the wall, some of it is bound to stick." IF YOU WON'T LISTEN YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO FEEL---Take advise from your elders.---My father really liked to use this one for some reason. Sir Richard Whittington (1669)). Politeuphuia. "He that refuseth to buy council cheap, shall buy repentance dear." IF YOU'RE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION, YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM---Anyone who doesn't take direct action to make things better is just an obstacle to changing the status quo.---Buel Gallagher (1964.) IF YOU'VE SEEN ONE, YOU'VE SEEN THEM ALL---They all look alike; no real difference.---Spiro T. Agnew (1960's.) IF WE DON'T LEARN FROM HISTORY, WE ARE DESTINED TO REPEAT IT IF WISHES WERE HORSES BEGGARS WOULD RIDE---You cannot wish it and make it so. IGNORANCE IS BLISS---If you are unaware of a situation you can't worry about it; not knowing you can blindly walk into a situation with a smile on your face.---Burton (1621). Melancholy. "Your ignorance is the mother of your devotion to me." IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NO EXCUSE---A person who commits a crime is considered guilty even if he was unaware that his act was illegal.--Ignorantia juris neminem excusat. (Ignorance of the law excuses no one.) St. German (1530.) Dialogues in English. ILL GOTTEN GAIN---Something obtained illegally or by trickery.---(1630). Roxbury Ballads. "Ill gotten goods never doe thrive." new! I'LL BE A MONKEY'S UNCLE---Suprise; skepticism.---Became popular about the time of the famous Scopes trial in Dayton, Tennessee, (1925.) Also referred to as the "monkey trial". Teacher John T. Scopes was put on trial for teaching the theory of evolution in the school.---The subject matter was Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species. (1859.) in which he set forth his theory of evolution.---The saying came about because of the supposed link between monkey and man. IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY---A person imitating your behavior is more flattering than telling you.---Colton (1820). Lacon. IN A COON'S AGE---A long time.---"I Haven't seen Jerry in a coon's age."--Literal origin unclear.---William T. Thompson (1843). Major Jones's Courtship.

"Mary soon got over her scare, but the way she's mad at cousin Pete won't wear off for a coon's age." IN A COUNTRY OF BLIND, THE ONE-EYED MAN IS KING---Among incompetents, even mediocrity passes for brilliance.---John Skelton (1522.) Why Come Ye Nat To Courte? IN A NUTSHELL---Concise, contained in a small space---"I like the way you explained it, that's it in a nutshell"---Earliest notation was by Pliny in his "Natural History" about 2,000 years ago, "the Iliad had been copied in such a minute script that the entire work could be contained in a walnut shell." In (1590) Peter Bales in England actually wrote a Bible small enough to fit in a walnut shell.---William Freke (1693). Select Essays. "Can we reduce the schoolmen to a nut shell?" IN A PICKLE---In trouble.---"You are in a pickle now."---Pickle was the brine or vinegar used to preserve the pickle. John Fox (1585). Sermon: "In this pickle lyeth man by nature, that is , all wee that be Adams children." IN A PIG'S EYE---Never; highly unlikely.---David Locke (1872). "A poetickal cotashun which wuz, 'Kum wun, him all, this rock shel fly from its firm base, in a pig's eye.'" IN A RUT---Adhering to a routine that one should try to get out of.---"John, you really need to get out of this rut you've gotten into."---In the horse and buggy days the dirt roads would get worn with ruts from the wagon wheels. Once you got your wagon wheels into these ruts it was very hard to get them out, you had to follow the same old path.---Thomas Carlyle (1839). Essay on Chartism. "Parliaments, lumbering along in their deep ruts of commonplace." IN A WORD---A brief exclamation; short meaning.---"In a word, I quit!"--Shakespeare The Two Gentlemen of Verona. "His years but young, but his experience old; his head unmellow'd, but his judgement ripe; and, in a word, far beyond his worth comes all the praises that I now bestow......" IN COLD BLOOD---Ruthless; without feeling.---"He killed those people in cold blood."---Hot blood is symbolic of anger, cold blood symbolizes a harmful action. Sir Francis Vere (1608). Commentaries. "A resolution framed in cold blood." IN FOR A PENNY, IN FOR A POUND---Once you start something you may as well finish.---Edward Ravenscroft (1695.) Canterbury Guests. "Well, then o'er boots. And in for a Penny, in for a Pound." IN HIS ELEMENT---In one's most favorable environment.---"He is really in his element when he works on his car."---Hugh Broughton (1599). "You are in for all day, it is your element." IN HOT WATER---In trouble.---"The boy is in hot water now."---The Earl of Malmesbury thought it was a modern phrase in 1765, writing: "We are kept, to use the modern phrase, in hot water." IN LIKE FLYNN---Errol Flynn was a notorious ladies man. His conquests were legendary. If you were able to seduce a lady you were in like Flynn. IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER---Hear but not remember; not paying attention to what was said.---"When my mother in law speaks I let it go in one ear and out the other."---Chaucer (1374). Troilus and Criseyde. "Oon ere it herde, at tothir out it wente."

IN ONE FELL SWOOP---All at once; quickly; without mercy.---"My investments were doing well and in one fell swoop I was bankrupt."---A bird of prey swoops down quickly and gets it's victim. fell: cruel; deadly; fierce. IN OVER ONE'S HEAD---Overextended; past one's ability.---"John is in over his head on this one."---Richard Baxter (1653). "That silly women shall be dipt over head in a gumble stool for scolding?" IN THE BAG---Success is assured.---"Don't worry about the new contract, it is in the bag."---(1486). Book of St. Albans. "You must take a partrich in yowre bagge." IN THE DOG HOUSE---In someone's bad graces, usually a man with his wife.---"I should have been home hours ago, I'll be in the dog house now."--James M. Barrie (1904). Peter Pan. Mr. Darling treats the family dog badly; the children are offended and run away. Mr. Darling lives in the dog's house as penance until they return. IN THE GROOVE---Working or operating well.---"We are in the groove now, everything is working well."---When the needle on a record player stays in the groove and doesn't skip, the music plays well. IN THE LAP OF LUXURY---Well off; in a cushy situation.---"He is living in the lap of luxury now."---Maria Edgeworth (1802). Moral Tales. "Brought up in the lap of luxury." IN THE LONG RUN---Over a long period of time.---"In the long run I think you will be better off."---Oliver Cromwell (1656). In a speech: "They must end at the interest of the Cavalier at the long run." IN THE OFFING---Something which is going to happen soon.---"I think we have a new deal in the offing."---The sea just off shore was referred to as the "Offing". A ship returning from sea was seen when it reached the offing, and would be in port soon. IN THE PINK---In good health; in tip top condition.---"I am in the pink now."--Has had many meanings from one's health to being a fine example of something or the height of success. IN THE SPRING A YOUNG MAN'S FANCY LIGHTLY TURNS TO THOUGHTS OF LOVE---Spring is the season of new growth between winter and summer, so, naturally, it is also the season for love.---Alfred Tennyson (1842.) INDEPENDENT AS A HOG ON ICE---Self assured; cocky.---"He is like a hog on ice."---The heavy stone used in the game of curling. Once it is started down the ice, it's movements are quite independent. (1889). Century Dictionary. "Origin obscure; by some identified with hog (i.e. swine), as 'laggard stones that manifest a pig like indolence,' or it mighty be thought, in allusion to the helplessness of a hog on ice, there being in the United States an ironical smile, 'as independent as a hog on ice.' "Funk found that the expression was known in all the northern states form Maine to Illinois and in many southern states (sometimes as "pig" rather than hog). INDIAN GIVER---One who gives something with conditions under which it can be reclaimed.---Because Columbus thought he had discovered a new passage to India, native Americans came to be called Indians. Many were peaceful, some

were not. Frontiersmen who were at odds with the native Americans coined dozens of phrases that included the name of their foes. Anything substandard, undesirable, or troublesome was called "Indian". A person who gave a gift with conditions was ridiculed as an "Indian giver". Any admiration for whites who pillaged a continent and habitually broke treaties is gone, only the shame remains. The expression still exists today but it's negative reflection on the native Americans is far removed. INSIDE TRACK---Position of advantage.---"I have made a proposal for the property and I think I have the inside track."---A race track expression. Obviously anyone running on the inside track travels a shorter distance than his competitors and has an advantage. IS A DUCK WATERPROOF new! ISH KABIBBLE---Yiddish term for a mischevious fellow.---I can remember my older brother using this term in reference to one of the mischevious neighborhood boys.---This was the nickname of the cornet player (Bogue) in the Kay Kiser band, they also had a nonsensical song by that name. IT AIN'T FIT OUT FOR MAN OR BEAST---The weather is abominable.---W. C. Fields (1880 - 1946.) Movie The Fatal Glass of Beer. IT AIN'T OVER TILL THE FAT LADY SINGS---The outcome of any contest isn't known until the final results are in.---Origin unclear. IT GOES IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER---It makes no impression; it is ignored.---"When Larry tells me something, I let it go in one ear and come out the other."---Chaucer (1385.) IT DEPENDS ON WHOSE OX IS GETTING GORED---One's viewpoint may change when his or her interest is directly involved.---Noah Webster (1802). American Spelling Book. Fable: The Partial Judge. A farmer says to a lawyer: "One of your Oxen has been gored by an unlucky Bull of mine, and I should like to know how I am to make you reparation. The lawyer says he expects one of the farmer's oxen. Then the farmer says he has made a mistake, it is the lawyers bull that has killed the farmers ox. "Indeed!" says the lawyer, "that alters the case. I must enquire into the affair; and if ...." "And if!" said the farmer, "The business I find would have been concluded without an if, had you been as ready to do justice to others, as to exact it from them. IT IS BETTER TO HAVE LOVED AND LOST, THAN NEVER TO HAVE LOVED AT ALL---The pleasures of love are greater than the pain of loss.--William Congreve (1700.) The Way of the World. "Say what you will, 'tis better to be left than never to have been loved." IT IS A POOR WORKMAN WHO BLAMES HIS TOOLS---A poor workman will blame everything but himself.---D. Urfey (1696). Quixote. "Tis a ill workman that quarrels with his own tools." IT IS AS BROAD AS IT IS LONG---It is the same either way.---Ray (1678). IT IS BETTER TO LIGHT ONE CANDLE THAN TO CURSE THE DARKNESS---Taking some positive action, however small, can help to dispel one's despair at the evils and injustice of this world. IT IS EASIER TO GAIN FORGIVENESS THAN IT IS TO GET PERMISSION

IT IS GOOD TWO WAYS, GOOD FOR NOTHING AND NO GOOD--Something or someone is emphatically not good.---"That dog is good two ways, good for nothing and no good."---(variation) Swift (1738). Polite Conversation. "Which of the goods d'ye mean? good for something or good for nothing? IT TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE---On who has acted in the same manner knows what to look for. IT IS A DOG EAT DOG WORLD---Everyone is out for themselves.--Spurgeon (1869). John Ploughman. "Dog won't eat dog, but men eat each other up like cannibals." IT IS A DOG'S LIFE---Simple routine and mostly easy.---"He leads a dog's life."---Torriano (1666). Piazza Univ. "Hunger and ease is a dogs life." IT IS ALWAYS DARKEST BEFORE DAWN---When things are at their worst, they must get better.---Fuller (1650). Pisgah Sight. "The darkest hour is before the dawn." IT IS AN ILL WIND THAT BLOWS NO GOOD IT IS AS EASY AS FALLING OFF A LOG---Very easy; nothing to it.---M. Kennedy (1924). Constant Nymph. "They'd find it as easy as falling off a log, you see!" IT IS BETTER TO BE THOUGHT FOOLISH THAN TO OPEN ONE'S MOUTH AND REMOVE ALL DOUBT IT IS BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE---(1493). Dives and Pauper. "It is more blissful to giue than to take." IT IS BETTER TO LIGHT A CANDLE THAN TO CURSE THE DARKNESS---Taking some positive action, however small, can help to dispel one's despair at the evils and injustice of this world. IT IS BETTER TO SWEAT IN PEACE THAN BLEED IN WAR IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN IT IS TO RECEIVE---By sharing with others, a charitable person gains more than is given, because the spiritual benefits of unselfishness vastly outweigh the value of mere material possessions. IT IS NOT OVER TILL THE FAT LADY SINGS---The contest is never over until the very end.---Several variations to this: Originally: The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings. Church ain't out till the fat lady sings. The fat lady has sung. IT IS NOT THE FALL THAT KILLS YOU IT IS THE SUDDEN STOP IT IS NOT WHETHER YOU WIN OR LOOSE, IT'S HOW YOU PLAY THE GAME IT IS THE PITS---It is bad or unpleasant.---"I hate this, it's the pits."---True meaning of pits lost. The logical meaning would have to do with a pit, something deep and dark, not very pleasant. IT ISN'T AS BIG AS A BEE'S KNEE---Very small.---(1789). Notes and Queries. "It cannot be as big as a bee's knee." IT NEVER HURTS TO ASK---You will not get something if you don't ask.--G. Harvey (1852). Marginalia. "Ask much to have a little." IT TAKES ALL KINDS---It takes all kinds of people the make the world.---"Jerry is really something isn't he, I guess it takes all kinds."---Jerold (1844). Story of Feather. "Well it takes all kinds to make a world.

IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO---Some things require the cooperation of two parties.---"He didn't get her pregnant all by himself, it takes two to tango."--(1920's) Pearl Baily (1952.) Song Takes Two to Tango. IT WILL ALL COME OUT IN THE WASH---We will find out sooner or later.---"I know he is hiding something, but it will all come out in the wash."--Henry Festing Jones (1876). "As my cousin's laundress says, 'It will all come right in the wash.'" IT'S A CATCH 22 SITUATION---It's a no-win situation: no matter what you do, you lose.---Joseph Heller (1961.) Catch-22 Novel about WWII. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions.....If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have too; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. IT'S A DREAM COME TRUE---One has achieved one's greatest wish. IT'S A LABOR OF LOVE---It's work done not for profit or from necessity, but for the satisfaction of accomplishment.---"I am doing this for my own satisfaction, it's a labor of love."---Bible: I Thessalonians 1:3. "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love." IT'S A SIGN OF THE TIMES---It's a characteristic feature of the present; it's a trend.---Usually used in a negative context about the morality of the times.--Bible: Matthew 16:2,3. "When it is evening, ye say, it will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" IT'S AN ILL WIND THAT BLOWS NO GOOD---Someone is likely to capitalize on any given unwelcome or disastrous situation; one person's misfortune may turn out to be another's good luck.---Old naval proverb used to explain one's good luck at the expense of someone's misfortune.---John Heywood (1546.) Proverbs. "An ill wind that bloweth no man to good." ITS DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN---Already seen; something you have seen, or feel you have seen before.---French deja vu meaning (Already seen.)---All over again added by Yogi Berra. IT'S JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED---It is exactly what one needs or wants.--IT'S LIKE OPENING A CAN OF WORMS---This is a highly problematical situation or complex problem.---"This situation has opened a whole new can of worms."---Anyone who has seen a can of worms used as bait for fishing can tell you what a tangled mess it becomes as the worms all bunch together. IT'S NOT OVER TILL IT'S OVER---Never give up hope until the outcome is final.---Yogi Berra (1973.) Attributed to Yogi when he was managing the ragtag New Your Mets. IT'S NOT WHAT YOU KNOW BUT WHO YOU KNOW---It is often better, or more advantageous to have good contacts than to have knowledge.--IT'S NOT WORTH THE PAPER IT'S WRITTEN ON---It's worthless.--Johann Bernhard, Graf von Rechberg (1861.) In a dispatch concerning the recognition of Italy, wrote: "Guarantees which are not worth the paper they are written on."

IT'S THE GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD---Brilliant idea; what a fine thing.---Substitutes for bread are: checkers, chopped liver, packaged bread, swinging doors, chewing gum, the hula hoop or the hamburger.---Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward (1974.) All the President's Men. "Once during the Florida primary, Howard Hunt had some fliers printed saying that Mayor Lindsay, of New York, was having a meeting and there would be free beer. Howard handed these fliers out in the black areas, and of course there was no meeting or beer, so the blacks would come for their beer and leave hating Lindsay. Howard thought this was the greatest thing since Chinese checkers." IT'S TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE---Said of an action that is neither adequate or timely enough to be effective.---Allan Nevins (1935.) Current History. Nevins argued that the rise of Nazism was a result of the West having offered Germany too little aid for reconstruction, "and that too late" policy should not be repeated. IT'S TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING---In excess, even desirable things become burdensome.---"I would like to have another piece of that cake, but that would be too much of a good thing."---Shakespeare (1599.) As You Like It. "Rosalind: "Are you good?" Orlando: "I hope so." Rosalind: "Why, then, can one desire too much of a good thing." new! I'VE BEEN TO TWO COUNTY FAIRS AND A HOG DENUTT'IN, I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS---Astonishment at an event or happening.---I've been around some, and I have seen some unusual things, but this tops them all. I CAME, I SAW, I CONQUERED---Reporting to the Roman senate on his military victory over Pharnacles II, king of Pontus (47 B.C.) Julius Caesar succinctly said: "Veni, vidi, vici." (I came, I saw, I conquered.) I CAN'T MAKE HEADS OR TAILS OF IT---Ambiguous; unclear.---Margery Mason (1679). The Ticker Tickled. "Their tale...had neither head nor taile." new! I DIDN'T JUST FALL OFF THE TURNIP TRUCK---I know what is going on; I'm not stupid.---"He tried to sell me that piece of junk he's driving, did he think I just fell off the turnip truck."---Early 19th century---Alludes to an unsophisticated person from the country that is not versed in the ways of the big city. A picture of a farmhand sitting on a load of lowly turnips, riding into the big city. I DIDN'T LIKE THE COLOR OF HIS MONEY---Mistrust; found something suspicious about a person or proposal.---The color of money in a given location is usually the same color, so in a particular case a person or proposition seemed to be tainted or faulty. Thomas Gordon (1718). A Cordial for Low Spirits. "I have never seen the colour of Mr. Baskett's money." I DON'T GIVE A TINKERS DAMN---Worthless.---When a tinker was preparing a vessel for soldering he would make a small "dam" out of clay to keep the solder from spreading, when he was finished he threw the dam away. I DON'T KNOW HIM FROM ADAM---A stranger.---Presumably one would not know Adam. Charles Dickens (1840). The Old Curiosity Shop. "He called to see my Governor this morning and beyond that I don't know him from Adam." I DON'T PUT ANY STOCK IN IT---To have no regard for something; I don't believe it.---"I heard what he said but I don't put any stock in it."---The subscribed

capital of a company or some other organization. You wouldn't want to invest any confidence or real support in a certain person or thing.---(1874). "He did not take stock in all the remarkable yields of butter reported on [cows fed on] grass and hay." I EAT TO LIVE, NOT LIVE TO EAT---I don't have an obsession with eating.---Northbrooke (1577). Dicing Etc. "Thou lyuest not to eate, butt eat as thou mayest lyue. I FEEL IT IN MY BONES---To have a premonition or intuition about something.---"Something bad is going to happen, I can feel it in my bones."--Shakespeare Timon of Athens. "I feel't upon my bones." new! I HAD AN INKLING---Some advance notice; a feeling; premonition.---"I had an inkling this was going to happen."---Originally meant a sample or a glimpse of a written idea.---Related to tha Anglo Saxon verb imt to mutter. I HAVE OTHER FISH TO FRY---I am busy with other things.---"I cant hang around here all day, I have other fish to fry."---Swift (1710). Journal to Stella. "Which I will not answer tonight...No, faith, I have other fish to fry." new! I MAY AS WELL, I CAN'T DANCE---Said at a party or nightclub when asked if you want a drink. I MAY BE WITTY, BUT THE AUTHOR WHO WROTE SNOWBOUND WAS WHITTIER---I would like to have a nickel for every time I heard my father utter this one.---FOR BLONDS ONLY: John Greenleaf Whittier (1807 92) Poet, writer, abolitionist and politician. His most famous poem was Snowbound (1866.) I SHALL RETURN---A person has been wrongfully dismissed but will return.--Defiant parting shot of General Douglas MacArthur in March 1942 when he was ordered to leave the Philippines by President Franklin Roosevelt. MacArthur did indeed return to the Philippines in 1944. I WAS BORN AT NIGHT, BUT NOT LAST NIGHT---I may be a little naive but not totally gullible. I WASN'T BORN YESTERDAY---I have some experience. I WILL BEAT YOU LIKE A RED HEADED STEP CHILD---For centuries the red haired have been popularly held to be unreliable, deceitful and quick tempered. From the tradition that Judas had red hair. The fat of a dead red haired person used to be in demand as an ingredient for poisons.---Chapman "Flattery like the plague, strikes into the brain of man, and rageth in his entrails when he can, worse than the poison of a red hair'd man. I feel like a stepchild. Said by one who is being left out of the fun or getting none of the tidbits. Stepchildren are proverbially treated by the step-parent with somewhat less consideration than their own children. I WON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER---I insist. I WOULD RATHER HAVE A BOTTLE IN FRONT OF ME THAN A FRONTAL LOBOTOMY---(1596). Knack to Know an Honest Man. "The prouerbe is true that I tell to you, tis better to be dronken and drowsy, than hunger starued and lowsie."

I WOULD RATHER TAKE A BEATING---Some things you dread to do.---"I would rather take a beating than go see my mother-in-law."---Ray (1670). "Better to be beaten than be in bad company." I WOULDN'T GIVE YOU A NICKEL FOR A DEATH BED REPENTANCE---Doesn't mean very much.---Lattimer (1639). Works. "Late repentance is seldom true." I WOULDN'T TOUCH THAT WITH A TEN FOOT POLE I WOULDN'T TRUST HIM AS FAR AS I COULD THROW HIM--Untrustworthy.---Harington (1618). Epigrams. "That he might scant trust him so farre as throw him." I WOULDN'T WANT TO BE IN HIS SHOES---I wouldn't want to be in that situation. I'M FROM MISSOURI; YOU'VE GOT TO SHOW ME---I don't believe you; prove it to me.---Willard Duncan Vandiver (1899.) (Speech at a naval banquet in Philadelphia.) "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I'm from Missouri. You've got to show me. I'M GETTING NOWHERE FAST---Doing a lot and acomplishing nothing. IDLE HANDS ARE THE DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND---Ray (1678). "An idle brain is the devils workshop." R. Kingston (1709). Adoph. Curiosa. "An idle person tempts the devil to tempt him." Vulldf (1732). "If the devil catch a man idle, he'll set him at work." IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN---Don't give up easily, keep trying.---Thomas H. Palmer (1840.) Teachers Manual. IF BETTER WHEELBARROWS ARE BUILT, BUICK WILL BUILD THEM.---My father was a mechanic and he liked Buicks. As far as I know this was an original of his. IF FROGS HAD WINGS, THEY WOULDN'T BUMP THEIR ASS---You're just indulging in wishful thinking.---Listed: H. L. Mencken (1942.) Dictionary of Quotations. IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT---It is pointless to try and fix something that already works. IF IT LOOKS LIKE A DUCK, WALKS LIKE A DUCK, AND QUACKS LIKE A DUCK, IT'S A DUCK---The outward appearance and behavior of a person provides such obvious evidence of his nature that it's silly to inquire further.---Joseph McCarthy (1950.) IF I'VE TOLD YOU ONCE, I'VE TOLD YOU A THOUSAND TIMES--You are not paying attention; I mean what I say; stop ignoring me. IF MY AUNT HAD BEEN A MAN SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN MY UNCLE---Ray (1813). IF THE SHOE FITS, WEAR IT---You should acknowledge or accept a remark or a situation that applies to you.---John Ozell (1714). Moliere. "If the cap fits, put it on." IF WORSE COMES TO WORSE---If things get really bad.---"If worse comes to worse you can always stay here."---(1597). Discouerie of Knights of th Poste. IF YOU ARE GOING TO WALK ON ICE, YOU MAY AS WELL DANCE

IF YOU CAN'T BEAT THEM, JOIN THEM IF YOU CAN'T FIND TIME TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO FIND THE TIME TO DO IT AGAIN---Howell (1659). Proverbs. "A work ill done must be done twice." IF YOU CAN'T IMPRESS THEM WITH YOUR INTELLIGENCE, BAFFLE THEM WITH YOUR BULL SHIT IF YOU CAN'T RUN WITH THE BIG DOGS, STAY ON THE PORCH IF YOU CAN'T SAY SOMETHING NICE, DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT, GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN IF YOU DON'T BEND YOU ARE GOING TO BREAK---Be more flexible.--Chaucer (1573). "The yerde (twig) is hat that howan wole and winde than that that brest (breaks). IF YOU WANT SOMETHING DONE WELL YOU HAVE TO DO IT YOURSELF---Others who would do a job for you are less likely to care about the results as you do.---Aesop (1692). "He that would be sure to have his business well done, must either do it himself, or see the doing of it." IF YOU WANT TO DANCE YOU MUST PAY THE FIDDLER---You must pay for what you get or do.---(1681). Roxbury Ballads. IF YOU LAY DOWN WITH DOGS YOU'LL GET UP WITH FLEAS---If you associate with unsavory characters some of it is bound to rub off on you.--Florio (1578). First Fruites. "He who lies down with dogs will rise with fleas." IF YOU THROW ENOUGH SHIT AGAINST THE WALL, SOME OF IT IS BOUND TO STICK---If you bullshit enough somebody is going to believe some of it.---T. Hall (1660). Funebria Flore. "If you throw enough dirt against the wall, some of it is bound to stick." IF YOU WON'T LISTEN YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO FEEL---Take advise from your elders.---My father really liked to use this one for some reason. Sir Richard Whittington (1669)). Politeuphuia. "He that refuseth to buy council cheap, shall buy repentance dear." IF YOU'RE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION, YOU'RE PART OF THE PROBLEM---Anyone who doesn't take direct action to make things better is just an obstacle to changing the status quo.---Buel Gallagher (1964.) IF YOU'VE SEEN ONE, YOU'VE SEEN THEM ALL---They all look alike; no real difference.---Spiro T. Agnew (1960's.) IF WE DON'T LEARN FROM HISTORY, WE ARE DESTINED TO REPEAT IT IF WISHES WERE HORSES BEGGARS WOULD RIDE---You cannot wish it and make it so. IGNORANCE IS BLISS---If you are unaware of a situation you can't worry about it; not knowing you can blindly walk into a situation with a smile on your face.---Burton (1621). Melancholy. "Your ignorance is the mother of your devotion to me." IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NO EXCUSE---A person who commits a crime is considered guilty even if he was unaware that his act was illegal.---

Ignorantia juris neminem excusat. (Ignorance of the law excuses no one.) St. German (1530.) Dialogues in English. ILL GOTTEN GAIN---Something obtained illegally or by trickery.---(1630). Roxbury Ballads. "Ill gotten goods never doe thrive." new! I'LL BE A MONKEY'S UNCLE---Suprise; skepticism.---Became popular about the time of the famous Scopes trial in Dayton, Tennessee, (1925.) Also referred to as the "monkey trial". Teacher John T. Scopes was put on trial for teaching the theory of evolution in the school.---The subject matter was Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species. (1859.) in which he set forth his theory of evolution.---The saying came about because of the supposed link between monkey and man. IMITATION IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY---A person imitating your behavior is more flattering than telling you.---Colton (1820). Lacon. IN A COON'S AGE---A long time.---"I Haven't seen Jerry in a coon's age."--Literal origin unclear.---William T. Thompson (1843). Major Jones's Courtship. "Mary soon got over her scare, but the way she's mad at cousin Pete won't wear off for a coon's age." IN A COUNTRY OF BLIND, THE ONE-EYED MAN IS KING---Among incompetents, even mediocrity passes for brilliance.---John Skelton (1522.) Why Come Ye Nat To Courte? IN A NUTSHELL---Concise, contained in a small space---"I like the way you explained it, that's it in a nutshell"---Earliest notation was by Pliny in his "Natural History" about 2,000 years ago, "the Iliad had been copied in such a minute script that the entire work could be contained in a walnut shell." In (1590) Peter Bales in England actually wrote a Bible small enough to fit in a walnut shell.---William Freke (1693). Select Essays. "Can we reduce the schoolmen to a nut shell?" IN A PICKLE---In trouble.---"You are in a pickle now."---Pickle was the brine or vinegar used to preserve the pickle. John Fox (1585). Sermon: "In this pickle lyeth man by nature, that is , all wee that be Adams children." IN A PIG'S EYE---Never; highly unlikely.---David Locke (1872). "A poetickal cotashun which wuz, 'Kum wun, him all, this rock shel fly from its firm base, in a pig's eye.'" IN A RUT---Adhering to a routine that one should try to get out of.---"John, you really need to get out of this rut you've gotten into."---In the horse and buggy days the dirt roads would get worn with ruts from the wagon wheels. Once you got your wagon wheels into these ruts it was very hard to get them out, you had to follow the same old path.---Thomas Carlyle (1839). Essay on Chartism. "Parliaments, lumbering along in their deep ruts of commonplace." IN A WORD---A brief exclamation; short meaning.---"In a word, I quit!"--Shakespeare The Two Gentlemen of Verona. "His years but young, but his experience old; his head unmellow'd, but his judgement ripe; and, in a word, far beyond his worth comes all the praises that I now bestow......" IN COLD BLOOD---Ruthless; without feeling.---"He killed those people in cold blood."---Hot blood is symbolic of anger, cold blood symbolizes a harmful

action. Sir Francis Vere (1608). Commentaries. "A resolution framed in cold blood." IN FOR A PENNY, IN FOR A POUND---Once you start something you may as well finish.---Edward Ravenscroft (1695.) Canterbury Guests. "Well, then o'er boots. And in for a Penny, in for a Pound." IN HIS ELEMENT---In one's most favorable environment.---"He is really in his element when he works on his car."---Hugh Broughton (1599). "You are in for all day, it is your element." IN HOT WATER---In trouble.---"The boy is in hot water now."---The Earl of Malmesbury thought it was a modern phrase in 1765, writing: "We are kept, to use the modern phrase, in hot water." IN LIKE FLYNN---Errol Flynn was a notorious ladies man. His conquests were legendary. If you were able to seduce a lady you were in like Flynn. IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER---Hear but not remember; not paying attention to what was said.---"When my mother in law speaks I let it go in one ear and out the other."---Chaucer (1374). Troilus and Criseyde. "Oon ere it herde, at tothir out it wente." IN ONE FELL SWOOP---All at once; quickly; without mercy.---"My investments were doing well and in one fell swoop I was bankrupt."---A bird of prey swoops down quickly and gets it's victim. fell: cruel; deadly; fierce. IN OVER ONE'S HEAD---Overextended; past one's ability.---"John is in over his head on this one."---Richard Baxter (1653). "That silly women shall be dipt over head in a gumble stool for scolding?" IN THE BAG---Success is assured.---"Don't worry about the new contract, it is in the bag."---(1486). Book of St. Albans. "You must take a partrich in yowre bagge." IN THE DOG HOUSE---In someone's bad graces, usually a man with his wife.---"I should have been home hours ago, I'll be in the dog house now."--James M. Barrie (1904). Peter Pan. Mr. Darling treats the family dog badly; the children are offended and run away. Mr. Darling lives in the dog's house as penance until they return. IN THE GROOVE---Working or operating well.---"We are in the groove now, everything is working well."---When the needle on a record player stays in the groove and doesn't skip, the music plays well. IN THE LAP OF LUXURY---Well off; in a cushy situation.---"He is living in the lap of luxury now."---Maria Edgeworth (1802). Moral Tales. "Brought up in the lap of luxury." IN THE LONG RUN---Over a long period of time.---"In the long run I think you will be better off."---Oliver Cromwell (1656). In a speech: "They must end at the interest of the Cavalier at the long run." IN THE OFFING---Something which is going to happen soon.---"I think we have a new deal in the offing."---The sea just off shore was referred to as the "Offing". A ship returning from sea was seen when it reached the offing, and would be in port soon.

IN THE PINK---In good health; in tip top condition.---"I am in the pink now."--Has had many meanings from one's health to being a fine example of something or the height of success. IN THE SPRING A YOUNG MAN'S FANCY LIGHTLY TURNS TO THOUGHTS OF LOVE---Spring is the season of new growth between winter and summer, so, naturally, it is also the season for love.---Alfred Tennyson (1842.) INDEPENDENT AS A HOG ON ICE---Self assured; cocky.---"He is like a hog on ice."---The heavy stone used in the game of curling. Once it is started down the ice, it's movements are quite independent. (1889). Century Dictionary. "Origin obscure; by some identified with hog (i.e. swine), as 'laggard stones that manifest a pig like indolence,' or it mighty be thought, in allusion to the helplessness of a hog on ice, there being in the United States an ironical smile, 'as independent as a hog on ice.' "Funk found that the expression was known in all the northern states form Maine to Illinois and in many southern states (sometimes as "pig" rather than hog). INDIAN GIVER---One who gives something with conditions under which it can be reclaimed.---Because Columbus thought he had discovered a new passage to India, native Americans came to be called Indians. Many were peaceful, some were not. Frontiersmen who were at odds with the native Americans coined dozens of phrases that included the name of their foes. Anything substandard, undesirable, or troublesome was called "Indian". A person who gave a gift with conditions was ridiculed as an "Indian giver". Any admiration for whites who pillaged a continent and habitually broke treaties is gone, only the shame remains. The expression still exists today but it's negative reflection on the native Americans is far removed. INSIDE TRACK---Position of advantage.---"I have made a proposal for the property and I think I have the inside track."---A race track expression. Obviously anyone running on the inside track travels a shorter distance than his competitors and has an advantage. IS A DUCK WATERPROOF new! ISH KABIBBLE---Yiddish term for a mischevious fellow.---I can remember my older brother using this term in reference to one of the mischevious neighborhood boys.---This was the nickname of the cornet player (Bogue) in the Kay Kiser band, they also had a nonsensical song by that name. IT AIN'T FIT OUT FOR MAN OR BEAST---The weather is abominable.---W. C. Fields (1880 - 1946.) Movie The Fatal Glass of Beer. IT AIN'T OVER TILL THE FAT LADY SINGS---The outcome of any contest isn't known until the final results are in.---Origin unclear. IT GOES IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER---It makes no impression; it is ignored.---"When Larry tells me something, I let it go in one ear and come out the other."---Chaucer (1385.) IT DEPENDS ON WHOSE OX IS GETTING GORED---One's viewpoint may change when his or her interest is directly involved.---Noah Webster (1802). American Spelling Book. Fable: The Partial Judge. A farmer says to a lawyer: "One of your Oxen has been gored by an unlucky Bull of mine, and I should like

to know how I am to make you reparation. The lawyer says he expects one of the farmer's oxen. Then the farmer says he has made a mistake, it is the lawyers bull that has killed the farmers ox. "Indeed!" says the lawyer, "that alters the case. I must enquire into the affair; and if ...." "And if!" said the farmer, "The business I find would have been concluded without an if, had you been as ready to do justice to others, as to exact it from them. IT IS BETTER TO HAVE LOVED AND LOST, THAN NEVER TO HAVE LOVED AT ALL---The pleasures of love are greater than the pain of loss.--William Congreve (1700.) The Way of the World. "Say what you will, 'tis better to be left than never to have been loved." IT IS A POOR WORKMAN WHO BLAMES HIS TOOLS---A poor workman will blame everything but himself.---D. Urfey (1696). Quixote. "Tis a ill workman that quarrels with his own tools." IT IS AS BROAD AS IT IS LONG---It is the same either way.---Ray (1678). IT IS BETTER TO LIGHT ONE CANDLE THAN TO CURSE THE DARKNESS---Taking some positive action, however small, can help to dispel one's despair at the evils and injustice of this world. IT IS EASIER TO GAIN FORGIVENESS THAN IT IS TO GET PERMISSION IT IS GOOD TWO WAYS, GOOD FOR NOTHING AND NO GOOD--Something or someone is emphatically not good.---"That dog is good two ways, good for nothing and no good."---(variation) Swift (1738). Polite Conversation. "Which of the goods d'ye mean? good for something or good for nothing? IT TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE---On who has acted in the same manner knows what to look for. IT IS A DOG EAT DOG WORLD---Everyone is out for themselves.--Spurgeon (1869). John Ploughman. "Dog won't eat dog, but men eat each other up like cannibals." IT IS A DOG'S LIFE---Simple routine and mostly easy.---"He leads a dog's life."---Torriano (1666). Piazza Univ. "Hunger and ease is a dogs life." IT IS ALWAYS DARKEST BEFORE DAWN---When things are at their worst, they must get better.---Fuller (1650). Pisgah Sight. "The darkest hour is before the dawn." IT IS AN ILL WIND THAT BLOWS NO GOOD IT IS AS EASY AS FALLING OFF A LOG---Very easy; nothing to it.---M. Kennedy (1924). Constant Nymph. "They'd find it as easy as falling off a log, you see!" IT IS BETTER TO BE THOUGHT FOOLISH THAN TO OPEN ONE'S MOUTH AND REMOVE ALL DOUBT IT IS BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE---(1493). Dives and Pauper. "It is more blissful to giue than to take." IT IS BETTER TO LIGHT A CANDLE THAN TO CURSE THE DARKNESS---Taking some positive action, however small, can help to dispel one's despair at the evils and injustice of this world. IT IS BETTER TO SWEAT IN PEACE THAN BLEED IN WAR

IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN IT IS TO RECEIVE---By sharing with others, a charitable person gains more than is given, because the spiritual benefits of unselfishness vastly outweigh the value of mere material possessions. IT IS NOT OVER TILL THE FAT LADY SINGS---The contest is never over until the very end.---Several variations to this: Originally: The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings. Church ain't out till the fat lady sings. The fat lady has sung. IT IS NOT THE FALL THAT KILLS YOU IT IS THE SUDDEN STOP IT IS NOT WHETHER YOU WIN OR LOOSE, IT'S HOW YOU PLAY THE GAME IT IS THE PITS---It is bad or unpleasant.---"I hate this, it's the pits."---True meaning of pits lost. The logical meaning would have to do with a pit, something deep and dark, not very pleasant. IT ISN'T AS BIG AS A BEE'S KNEE---Very small.---(1789). Notes and Queries. "It cannot be as big as a bee's knee." IT NEVER HURTS TO ASK---You will not get something if you don't ask.--G. Harvey (1852). Marginalia. "Ask much to have a little." IT TAKES ALL KINDS---It takes all kinds of people the make the world.---"Jerry is really something isn't he, I guess it takes all kinds."---Jerold (1844). Story of Feather. "Well it takes all kinds to make a world. IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO---Some things require the cooperation of two parties.---"He didn't get her pregnant all by himself, it takes two to tango."--(1920's) Pearl Baily (1952.) Song Takes Two to Tango. IT WILL ALL COME OUT IN THE WASH---We will find out sooner or later.---"I know he is hiding something, but it will all come out in the wash."--Henry Festing Jones (1876). "As my cousin's laundress says, 'It will all come right in the wash.'" IT'S A CATCH 22 SITUATION---It's a no-win situation: no matter what you do, you lose.---Joseph Heller (1961.) Catch-22 Novel about WWII. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions.....If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have too; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. IT'S A DREAM COME TRUE---One has achieved one's greatest wish. IT'S A LABOR OF LOVE---It's work done not for profit or from necessity, but for the satisfaction of accomplishment.---"I am doing this for my own satisfaction, it's a labor of love."---Bible: I Thessalonians 1:3. "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love." IT'S A SIGN OF THE TIMES---It's a characteristic feature of the present; it's a trend.---Usually used in a negative context about the morality of the times.--Bible: Matthew 16:2,3. "When it is evening, ye say, it will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" IT'S AN ILL WIND THAT BLOWS NO GOOD---Someone is likely to capitalize on any given unwelcome or disastrous situation; one person's misfortune may turn out to be another's good luck.---Old naval proverb used to

explain one's good luck at the expense of someone's misfortune.---John Heywood (1546.) Proverbs. "An ill wind that bloweth no man to good." ITS DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN---Already seen; something you have seen, or feel you have seen before.---French deja vu meaning (Already seen.)---All over again added by Yogi Berra. IT'S JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED---It is exactly what one needs or wants.--IT'S LIKE OPENING A CAN OF WORMS---This is a highly problematical situation or complex problem.---"This situation has opened a whole new can of worms."---Anyone who has seen a can of worms used as bait for fishing can tell you what a tangled mess it becomes as the worms all bunch together. IT'S NOT OVER TILL IT'S OVER---Never give up hope until the outcome is final.---Yogi Berra (1973.) Attributed to Yogi when he was managing the ragtag New Your Mets. IT'S NOT WHAT YOU KNOW BUT WHO YOU KNOW---It is often better, or more advantageous to have good contacts than to have knowledge.--IT'S NOT WORTH THE PAPER IT'S WRITTEN ON---It's worthless.--Johann Bernhard, Graf von Rechberg (1861.) In a dispatch concerning the recognition of Italy, wrote: "Guarantees which are not worth the paper they are written on." IT'S THE GREATEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD---Brilliant idea; what a fine thing.---Substitutes for bread are: checkers, chopped liver, packaged bread, swinging doors, chewing gum, the hula hoop or the hamburger.---Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward (1974.) All the President's Men. "Once during the Florida primary, Howard Hunt had some fliers printed saying that Mayor Lindsay, of New York, was having a meeting and there would be free beer. Howard handed these fliers out in the black areas, and of course there was no meeting or beer, so the blacks would come for their beer and leave hating Lindsay. Howard thought this was the greatest thing since Chinese checkers." IT'S TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE---Said of an action that is neither adequate or timely enough to be effective.---Allan Nevins (1935.) Current History. Nevins argued that the rise of Nazism was a result of the West having offered Germany too little aid for reconstruction, "and that too late" policy should not be repeated. IT'S TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING---In excess, even desirable things become burdensome.---"I would like to have another piece of that cake, but that would be too much of a good thing."---Shakespeare (1599.) As You Like It. "Rosalind: "Are you good?" Orlando: "I hope so." Rosalind: "Why, then, can one desire too much of a good thing." new! I'VE BEEN TO TWO COUNTY FAIRS AND A HOG DENUTT'IN, I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS---Astonishment at an event or happening.---I've been around some, and I have seen some unusual things, but this tops them all. JACK OF ALL TRADES AND A MASTER OF NONE---One who has many talents, but due to the extent of his general knowledge, is not an expert in any one field.---Dryden *(1690). Amphitryon. "Yet I am still in my vocation; for you know I am a jack of all trades."

JACKPOT---Any cumulative stakes in gambling; big payoff.---Owes it's name to a form of poker. In draw poker, a person must have a pair of jacks or better in order to open, but has to ante regardless. If no one holds such cards, the pot grows larger and larger. Sooner or later someone will rake in a pile of chips by hitting the "jackpot". JAYWALKER---One who crosses the street where prohibited.---Birds called Jays that first ventured into the cities seemed to be confused and often endangered themselves by walking in the streets with traffic. City folk equated this action to pedestrians who walked across streets in and out of traffic. Jaywalker became the standard term for one who crosses a street in a reckless or illegal fashion. JERKWATER---Small, less important villages and towns.---"I can't wait to get out of this jerkwater town."---A brief stay in a "jerkwater" town is enough to let you know that the label is not a compliment. In the golden years of railroading, cities and large towns were watering stations. Trains stopped to discharge passengers or freight, and workmen leisurely filled the water tenders on the steam locomotives. Small villages didn't warrant a regular stop, but when watering stations were far apart a train had to have water so water towers were built with pipes lowered by rope to fill the tender. Impatient at having to stop at a crossroads, a train's fireman was likely to jerk the pipe into place so gravity would cause the tender to fill in seconds. Jerkwater was the name given any place you didn't want to stop, but had to. new! JIG IS UP---Your trickery is discovered.---"You may as well tell the truth, the jigs up."---Jig was an old slang term for a joke or trick. JOHN HANCOCK---One's signature.---"All I need is for you to put your John Hancock on this document."---The biggest and boldest signature on the Declaration of Independence was that of John Hancock of Massachusetts. The same meaning applies when John Henry is used.---Raymond Adams (1981). Western Words. "John Henry is what the cowboy calls his signature. He never signs a document, he puts his John Henry to it." JOHNNY COME LATELY---Newcomer, inexperienced---"He is a Johnny come lately"---A British expression from the early 19th century. "Johnny Newcome" applied to a sailor newly assigned to a navel ship. JUMPING THE GUN---Starting something before you should.---"I think he should wait, he is jumping the gun."---Track and field expression. A race is started with the firing of a gun, if you leave the start line before the gun sounds (false start) you are jumping the gun. JUNK---Used or useless material or products.---Europeans were said to have laughed heartily when they got their first good look at an early oriental sailing vessel, or "junk:". Its flat bottom and high poop make it ridiculously clumsy in heavy seas. What's more, one of these queer craft was likely to be loaded to the gunwales with stuff no English or Portuguese sailor would accept as a gift. Such strange and apparently useless cargo came to bear the name of the ship that transported it. JURY RIG---Cheap; temporary---"I have never seen such a jury rig."---A temporary rigging on the mast of a ship to repair battle or storm damage.--Thomas newte (1785). A Tour of England and Scotland. "The ship is to be jury

rigged; that is , to have smaller mast, yards, and rigging, than would be required for actual sailing." JUST BEAR WITH ME---Stick with me; support me.---"Just bear with me for a while longer and this will be finished."---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "Bear with me and I'll bear with thee." KANGAROO COURT---It was a common man's court set up by the British in Australia. Australia was originally a British penal colony and the court had little care for what happened to the people who were sent there. The court was known for trumped up charges and swift justice. KEELHAULING---Severe reprimand---"You could get keelhauled for that."---It was once the practice to tie a delinquent sailor to a yardarm, attach a weight to his feet, and then by means of a rope "haul" him from one side of the ship to the other beneath the "keel." It was often fatal. KEEP A STIFF UPPER LIP---Maintain your composure; don't let your emotions go.---"Just keep a stiff upper lip, everything is going to turn out alright."---The lips usually quiver as a prelude to crying. John Neil (1833). Down Easters. "What's the use of boohooin'?....keep a stiff upper lip; no bones broke don't I know?" KEEP OUT OF MY HAIR---Don't bother me. KEEP THE BALL ROLLING---Sustain an action.---"Don't stop now, let's keep the ball rolling."---Presidential campaign of 1840. Supporters of William Henry Harrison rolled large balls in political parades and chanting "Keep the [Harrison] ball rolling." KEEP YOUR EYES WIDE OPEN BEFORE MARRIAGE, HALF SHUT AFTERWARDS---Be careful not to marry the wrong person, but once you've made a commitment, be tolerant of your spouse's shortcomings.---Benjamin Franklin (1738.) Poor Richards Almanac. KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED---Be alert; watchful.---Probably an analogy between peeling of a fruit and opening of the eyelids.---(1853). Daily Morning herald. "Young man! Keep your eye peeled when you are after the women." KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED---To hope something will succeed and not fail.---Probably an analogy to making the sign of the cross to ward off danger.--(1930). KEEP YOUR HEAD ABOVE WATER---Avoid disaster.---"I am barely keeping my head above water."---Usually related to finance.---Henry Fielding (1742). The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews. "If I can hold my head above water it is all I can. KEEP YOUR NOSE CLEAN---Stay out of trouble.---L.R. Gribble (1938.) Tragedy in E. Flat. KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY---Stay prepared for action.---In the days of the muzzle loaders the most important thing was to keep your gunpowder dry. Oliver Cromwell (1649). "Put your trust in God; but be sure to keep your powder dry." KEEP YOUR SHIRT ON---Stay calm.---"Just keep your shirt on, I'll be there in a minute.---George W. Harris (1854). The Spirit of the Times. "I say, you durned ash cats, just keep yer shirts on, will ye?"

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES---Trying to live in the style of your neighbors or acquaintances (straining your resources to do so)---"I am not going to try to keep up with the Joneses"---Came from a comic strip in the newspapers from 1913 to 1931 called "keeping up with the Joneses" KICK A MAN WHEN HE IS DOWN---To abuse or pick on someone when they are at their weakest.---"Don't bother Mike, it is not right to kick a man when he is down."---Ray (1732). "He that's down, down with him." Young (1586). Civil Conversation. "The tree is no sooner fallen downe to the grounde, but everie one is readie to runne uppon it with his hatchette." KICK THE BUCKET---Die.---"Poor old Joe kicked the bucket last night."--Carr (1828). Craven Dialect. To kick the bucket an unfeeling phrase for to die." KILL THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGG---To lose someone or ruin something that is bringing you profit or well being.---"Jerry killed the goose that laid the golden egg when he left Connie."---Aesop Fable. Gaskell (1855). North and South. "And now they come to us, and say we're to take less. And we won't, they'll have killed the goose that laid 'em the golden eggs, I reckon. KILL THEM WITH KINDNESS---Be nice and disarm a person who may be angry or against you.---"They are rather irate but I am going to try to kill them with kindness."---T. Heywood (1607). A Woman Kilde with Kindnesse. "I bear her an amorous grudge still, I could kill her with kindness." KILL TWO BIRDS WITH ONE STONE---Do one thing and get more than on done with the same effort.---"By siding the house I am going to increase it's value and protect it at the same time. I'll kill two birds with one stone."---Fielding (1734). Univ. Gallant. "This is better than my hopes! This is killing two birds with one stone." KILLROY WAS HERE---Anonymous graffiti used especially during WWII by soldiers to mean "I was here."---One theory has it that a shipyard inspector at Quincy Massachusetts, named Kilroy used that tag to mark the cargo he had inspected. The saying probably originated around 1940 and was widely used by American and British soldiers all over the world. It was written on walls, sidewalks, windows, fences and billboards wherever the troops were stationed. KISS AND TELL---Don't tell about your conquests when they belong to someone else.---"Be careful, she will kiss and tell."---Jonson (1616). Forest V. "Tis no sin love's fruit to steal, but the sweet theft to reveal." Cotton (1675). Burlesque upon Burlesque. "And if he needs must kiss and tell, I'll kick him headlong into hell. K.I.S.S---The K.I.S.S principal, keep it simple stupid.---"I think the K.I.S.S principal should prevail here."---The simpler you keep something the easier it is to maintain and understand. KIT AND CABOODLE (The whole)---Everything; The whole lot.---"He brought the whole kit and caboodle with him."---Probable meaning: "boodle" from the Dutch word "boedel" meaning, a crowd or bunch and "kit" meaning a collection of ones possessions that were carried around. Caboodle possibly a bastardization of kit and boodle. Used in Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage. "Of course it might happen that the hull kit and boodle might start and run, if any big fighting came first off."

KNEE HIGH TO A GRASSHOPPER---Short; young.---"She isn't knee high to a grasshopper."---(1851). Democratic Review. "You pretend to be my daddies; some of you who are not knee high to a grasshopper!" KNOCK A BUZZARD OFF A SHIT WAGON---Something that smells terrible.---"Get it out of here, that would knock a buzzard off a shit wagon." new! KNOCK OFF WORK---To quit suddenly; to stop.---"It's about time to knock off work."---Nautical origin: Aboard sailing ships, the galleys used to be rowed to the rythem of a mallet striking a wooden block. When the knocking stopped, it was a signal to stop rowing.---Richard H. Dana Two Years Before the Mast. "After we had knocked off work and cleaned up the decks for the night." KNOCK ON WOOD---It was once thought that the devil lived in wood. The idea was to deafen the devil so he could not interfere in whatever good thing was being proposed at the time. KNOW BEANS (Don't)---Knowing little.---"He don't know beans about baseball."---More than a century ago, rural humor included a brief query: A person was asked how many blue beans it took to make seven white beans. A person who gave up didn't know beans, for the answer was simple: Seven blue beans, peeled, make seven white ones. Anyone who doesn't know beans of course, doesn't know diddly squat. KNOW THE ROPES---To be familiar with something.---"It won't take long and you will know the ropes."---Nautical term. A new crewman on ship wasn't very useful until he knew what all the ropes were for. Richard Henry (1840). Two Years before the Mast. "The captain, who.....knew all the ropes, took the steering oar." KNOW WHICH SIDE YOUR BREAD IS BUTTERED ON---Keep in mind where your interest lies; where your income comes from.---"I am going to be nice to my wife, I know which side my bread is buttered on."---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "I know on whiche syde my breade is buttred." KNUCKLE DOWN---To take seriously the business at hand.---"You are going to have to knuckle down and get this job done."---Dictionary (1740). A phrase used by lads in a marble game called taw. They frequently say knuckle down to your taw, or fit your hand exactly in the place where your marble lies. You were watched carefully lest you move to a more advantageous position. (hunch). KNUCKLE UNDER---Submit; acknowledge defeat.---"I am going to continue to fight this, I am not going to knuckle under"---When one is down on one's knees, your knuckles are under. Mary E. Braddon (1882). Mount Royal. "They must all knuckle under to him." KOWTOW---Won't stand your ground; subservient.---"When she says jump, he jumps. Why does he always kowtow to her?"---Newcomers to China learned that in order to get along there they'd better observe some Chinese customs. One of the most important was the ritual of kotow (later westernized to kowtow). According to the custom, anyone brought into the presence of a person of higher rank knelt in formal fashion and touched his forehead to the floor or ground. The custom never caught on here but plenty of people practice it just the same. LABOR OF LOVE---Something done out of affection or deep interest.---"I enjoy riding the emergency squad, it is a labor of love."---Bible: I Thessalonians

2:3. "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing you work of faith and labour of love.........." LAMPOON---To mock; to harass.---"He really got lampooned at his retirement dinner."---Originally came from the French, meaning "let us drink". In France and England students often gathered in public houses for sessions of drinking. Such gatherings were marked by singing bawdy songs about school officials, public officials, and authorities in general. Eventually the broad humor associated with group sessions at the tavern overshadowed the French expression for drinking. LAND OF GOSHEN---Something really favorable; land of plenty.---"Land of Goshen."---Bible: Genesis 45:10 "And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and ......thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast." LAND OF MILK AND HONEY---A place or situation full of good things.---"Since he got his raise he is living in the land of milk and honey."--Bible: Exodus 3:8. "And I am come down to deliver them out of the land of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey." LARK---A spree; frolic.---"I just did it on a lark."---Probably derived from the Gothic "laikan" to hop or leap. LAST BUT NOT LEAST---Someone who comes at the end of a list or last to be recognized but is nonetheless important.---John Lyly (1580). Euphues and His England. "Of these three but one can stand me in steede, the last but not the least." LAST DITCH EFFORT---A struggle made from one's last line of defense.---"I am going to make one last ditch effort to get there."---King William III of England: "I will die in the last ditch." LAST OF THE MOHICANS---The last surviving representative of a group; the last of anything.---"All his relatives are gone, he is the last of the Mohicans."--James Fenimore Cooper (1826.) Refers to the novel's main character, the Indian chief Uncas. LAST RESORT---Final place to turn for help.---"I am going to ask Roger tomorrow, he is my last resort."---Sir William Temple (1672). "All government is a restraint upon liberty; and under all the dominion is equally absolute, where it is in the last resort." LAST ROSE OF SUMMER---Not looking too healthy; looking the worse for the wear.---"You look like the last rose of summer."---Florio (1591). Second Frutes. "The fairest and sweetest rose in time must fade and beauty lose." LAST STRAW---One thing too much---"That was the last straw, I can't take any more."---Earliest version, Archbishop John Bramhall put it in 1655: "It is the last feather that breaks the horse's back." LAUGH AND THE WORLD LAUGHS WITH YOU, WEEP AND YOU WEEP ALONE---Everybody wants to be around when it's fun. When you have problems nobody does. Fuller (1732). "In time of prosperity friends will be plenty; in time of adversity not one among twenty." LAUGH OUT OF THE OTHER SIDE OF YOUR MOUTH---To change from mirth to chagrin; exultation to anger.---"When he finds out he will be laughing out

the other side of his mouth."---Giovanni Torriano (1666). "The English say, when one hath conveniently reverg'd ones self on another; now you can laugh but on one side of your mouth, friend." LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE---Humor can provide a temporary respite from one's ills; laughter stimulates the release of healing chemicals in the brain.---Joey Adams Strictly for Laughs. New York Post "If laughter was really the best medicine, doctors would have found a way of charging for it." LAY AN EGG---failed joke or comedic routine---"The comedian just laid another egg. "---When a hen lays an egg she makes a great fuss over it but the other hens pay no attention to her. When a comedian tells a joke and makes a great fuss over it and gets no response he is said to have "laid an egg." LAY DOWN THE LAW---Issue orders; make dogmatic statements.---"When I get home my wife is going to lay down the law."---John Mirk (1450). Festial. "Holy chirche leyth downe songes of melody as te deum lau. Gloria in excelsis." LEAD BY THE NOSE---To dominate or order someone about.---"She leads him around by the nose."---Animals are often led around by a rope tied to a ring passing through the septum of the animals nose. Bible: Isaiah 37:29. "Because thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up to mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest." LEAD PIPE CINCH---Any undertaking where success is certain.---Some urban ruffians of the last century used short length of lead pipe as blackjacks. Such a weapon assured its user that victims would be knocked unconscious. Wielding a lead pipe, a thug was pretty sure to pull off a mugging. LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF OTHERS, YOU CAN'T LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO MAKE THEM ALL YOURSELF LEARN THE ROPES---To learn a new job; learn something new.---"She is new at her job, she is still learning the ropes."---Nautical: A new sailor on a sailing vessel would have to learn the many ropes that controlled the sails. LEAST SAID, SOONEST MENDED---Apologies are useless and any discussion will only make things worse.---(1460.) Remains of Early Poetry. LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED---Do everything you can; use all your resources.---"I will leave no stone unturned to solve this problem."---Lattimer (1548). Works. "I will leave no stone unturned to have both yo and your brother saved. LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE---If something is working leave it alone; don't mess with something that is working and try to make it perfect, you will usually break it.---"You had better leave well enough alone before you fix it so it doesn't work at all."---Peacock (1829). Misfortunes of Elphin. "It is well: it works well: let well alone." LED DOWN THE GARDEN PATH---Deceived: tricked.---"He is being led down the garden path."---Luring someone by deceiving them with beautiful promises. Going down (up) the garden path is beautiful, but what is at the end. Ethel Mannin (1926). Sounding Brass. "They're cheats, that's wot women are! Lead you up the garden an then go snivellin' around 'cos wot's natcheral 'as 'append to 'em."

LEFT IN A LURCH---Abandoned; left far behind.---"Bill didn't show up for work today, he has left me in a lurch."---From the French, lourche, a 16th century game said to have resembled backgammon. To be "in the lurch" was a way of saying a player is far behind. In cribbage, for example, a player who has scored only 31 points when his opponent has scored 61 is said to be in the lurch. Gabriel harvey (1576). Letter Book. "Lest he fall in his reckning and so leave himself in the lurch." LEFT TO ONE'S OWN DEVICES---On your own; having to work one's own way out of a predicament. ---"I tried to tell the boy, now I will leave him to his own devices."---Ellen Wood (1870). Canterbury's Will. "What would we do, if left to our own devices?" LEND AN EAR---Listen.---"Lend an ear I have something to tell you."--Shakespeare Julius Caesar. "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I have come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." LESS IS MORE---Everything is more elegant, meaningful, and effective when reduced to its most essential form.---Robert Browning (1855.) Andrea del Sarto. "Well, less is more, Lucrenzia: I am judged." LESSER OF TWO EVILS---The best option when both options are bad.---"I guess I will have to vote for Bush, the lesser of two evils."---Chaucer (1374). Troilus and Criseyde. "Of harmes two, the lesse is for to chese." LET BYGONES BE BYGONES---Forget the things that happened in the past.---"Let's just let bygones be bygones."---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "Let all thinges past pas." LET GEORGE DO IT---Let someone else do it.---Originated in France in the fifteenth century in a satirical reference to the many activities of Cardinal Georges d'Amboise, Archbishop of Rouen and Prime Minister of Louis XII. LET HIM STEW IN HIS OWN JUICE---He created the problem, so let him suffer for it.---As early as 1300. Jonathan Belcher Papers (1733.) After WWI American soldiers were left in Europe. They wanted to go home, and their common cry was, "Let Europe stew in her own juice." LET ME BEND YOUR EAR---I am going to tell you something; listen.---"Here comes Joe, he is going to bend your ear for a while."---Earl of Leicester (1586). "I neuer bent my ears to credite a tale that first was tolde mee." LET ME HAVE A CRACK AT IT---I would like to try; given a fair chance at it.---Old meaning: To be given a fair crack of the whip. To be fairly treated; to be given a fair share of something. LET NATURE TAKE ITS COURSE---Don't try to change what seems logical and inevitable; it's folly to meddle with the laws of nature.---Montaigne (1580.) Essays. "Let us permit nature to have her way; she understands her business better than we do. LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE---Don't stir up a potentially troublesome situation.---"You would be better served if you let sleeping dogs lie."---Geoffrey Chaucer (1374). Troillus and Criseyde. "It is not good a sleping hound to wake." LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG (See: Pig in a poke) LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY---Speak your mind or do what you have to do and let the consequences be as they may.---Roscoe Conkling (U.S.

Senator) (1880). "He [President Grant] will hew to the line of right, let the chips fall where they may." LET THE DEAD BURY THE DEAD---Look to the future and put the past behind you.---Bible: Matthew 8:22. "Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead." LET THEM EAT CAKE---Said to show contempt for the plight of those less fortunate than one's self.---Often attributed to Marie Antoinette (1755 - 93.) According to legend, when the notoriously extravagant queen of France was told that her subjects had no bread to eat, she replied: "Qu'ils mangent de la prioche." ("Let them eat cake.") LET THERE BE LIGHT---Said when something needs illuminated.---Bible: Genesis 1:3. "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." LETTER PERFECT---Just right."Her presentation was letter perfect."---In the theater an actor who learns a part perfectly is said to have "got it down to the letter."---Jerome K. Jerome (1885). On the Stage. "He would be letter perfect in all by the following Thursday." LET'S GET DOWN TO BRASS TACKS ---Get to the essentials of a matter.---"Let's stop the small talk and get down to brass tacks."---Stores selling cloth by the yard once measured the length by the use of brass tacks embedded in their counters. Once the merchant had shown the material and the buyer had chosen what he wished to purchase, it was time to measure the cloth and make the sale. LET'S GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD---Let's get moving.---James Jones (1951.) From Here to Eternity. "Come on, come on," Prew said. "What's holding things up? Lets get this show on the road." LET'S KILL ALL THE LAWYERS---The first step to a perfect society is to get rid of lawyers.---Shakespeare (1590.) Henry VI. Dick: "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." LIFE IS HARD BY THE YARD, BUT BY THE INCH LIFE'S A CINCH.--Take things one at a time.--new! LIFE OF RILEY---The good life; easy life.---"He won the lottery, he is living the life of Riley now."---Patric Rooney (1880) (song) Is That Mr. Reilly In the song O'Reilly was always just about to hit it big, he and his friends would become rich. It was a working-class Irish immigrant's dream, at a time when an immigrant's lot was often very grim. Transfered to todays meaning of an easy life. On easy street. LIFE IS LIKE A TURD SANDWICH, THE MORE BREAD YOU HAVE THE LESS SHIT YOU HAVE TO EAT LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE IN THE SAME SPOT---An unusual event never occurs twice under the same circumstances or to the same person.---P. H. Myers (1857.) Thrilling Adventures of the Prisoner of the Border. "Lightning never strikes twice in the same place, nor cannon balls either, I presume." LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL---Rapidly.---"He was moving like a bat out of hell."

LIKE A BULL IN A CHINA SHOP ---Out of place in a situation; awkward; careless.---"He is like a bull in a china shop, he'll break everything in the house."---Smedley (1800). Frank Fairlegh. "Stigmatising himself as an awkward dog, and comparing himself to a bull in a china shop;" LIKE A CHICKEN WITH HIS HEAD CUT OFF---Frantic.---"I wish he would settle down he is running around like a chicken with his head cut off." LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER---Totally out of touch with a situation.---"He is in a situation he knows nothing about, he is like a fish out of water."---Wicliff (1380). Works. "And now they were out of their cloister as fish that is waterless." LIKE AN ATHEIST AT HIS OWN FUNERAL, ALL DRESSED UP AND NOWHERE TO GO---If you believe in God or not and there is no God, you are safe. If you don't believe in God and there is no God, you are safe. If you don't believe in God and there is a God, you are in big trouble. LIKE FATHER LIKE SON---Sons are often like their fathers.---Barclay (1509). Ship of Fools. "An olde prouerbe hath longe agone be sayde that oft the sone in maners lyke wyll be unto the father." LIKE IT OR LUMP IT---If you don't like it, too bad, you must take it as it is. i.e. take it in a lump.---Courtney (1880). W. Cornwall Words. "If you don't like it you must lump it." LIKE PEAS IN A POD---All the same.---"Those two are like peas in a pod." LIKE SHOOTING FISH IN A BARREL LIKE TALKING TO A BRICK WALL LIKE WATER OFF A DUCK'S BACK---Maginn (1824). "The thing passed off like water from a duck's back. LION'S SHARE---The greater part of the whole.---"He ate the lion's share of the dessert."---The Lion usually eats the largest share of a kill and leaves the rest for others. Aesop "Taking th best piece for himself, he said, "This is mine of course, as I am the Lion....." LITTLE PITCHERS HAVE BIG EARS---Children hear and understand more than you think they do.---The play is the resemblance of the ear to the handle of a pitcher. Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "Auoyd your children, amal pitchers have wide eares." LIVE AND LEARN---Learn from your experiences.---"He will have to live and learn."---Killigrew (1663). Parson's wedding. "I was innocent myself once, but live and learn is an old saying, and a true one." LIVE AND LET LIVE---Mind your own business and be respectful of others.--Ray (1678). "Live and let live is the rule of common justice." LO AND BEHOLD---Would you believe; imagine that.---"I was in the store and lo and behold my old teacher showed up."---Two old words both meaning give heed or look there. Charles Dickens (1850). David Copperfield. "What does he do, but, lo, and behold you, he goes into the perfumer's shop." LOCK 'EM UP AND THROW AWAY THE KEY---Put criminals in jail with no hope of ever being released.---"They could solve the crime problem if they would lock the criminals up and throw away the key." LONG DRINK OF WATER---Tall.---"He certainly is a long drink of water."

LONG LAST---Finally.---"At long last she finally made it."---16th century saying. LONG SUIT (His, her)---Something an individual is good at.---"Dancing is not his long suit."---In cards, a large number of cards in a particular suit, especially if it is a trump suit, makes for a strong hand. LONG IN THE TOOTH---Old; aging.---"Paul isn't young anymore, he is getting a little long in the tooth."---As a horse gets older his gums recede making his teeth appear longer.---J.C. Snaith (1919). Love Lane. "One of the youngest Rear Admirals on record, but a bit long in the tooth for the army." LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP---Think about what you are going to do before you do it.---"You had better look before you leap."---Painter (1567). Palace of Pleasure. "According to the common saying: He that loketh not before he leapeth, may caunce to stumble before he sleepeth." LOOK LIKE A CAT THAT ATE A CANARY---Smug. LOOK WHAT THE CAT DRUG IN---Looking very bad.---Many cats will bring their prey home and lay them on the doorstep of their owner. LOOKING DOWN HIS NOSE---Scornful or snobbish.---"She is always looking down her nose at somebody."---What a person giving a haughty glance seems to be doing.---(1927). American Speech. "To scorn or despise." LOOP HOLE---A means of escape; a means of evading.---"This new law has many loop holes in it."---During the Middle Ages, architects and builders had to deal with the matter of defending a castle. A narrow window, often oval at the top and wider on the inside of a wall than the outside, was found to offer a difficult target to hit from the outside. At the same time, such an opening was big enough to enable defenders to fire a longbow or crossbow from within. When firearms made this obsolete, its name transferred to any opening that provided a way of evading an agreement or law. LOOSE CANON---Out of control; person who is out of touch with their source of control and may say or do something that will endanger or ruin a mission or project.---"I can't get in touch with him and I know he is going to say something he shouldn't, he is a loose canon."---Nautical term: When a canon got loose on a ship it was unpredictable where it would go or what damage it might do. LORD LOVE A DUCK LOUD AND CLEAR---To hear something or someone well.---"You are coming in loud and clear."---Lewis Carroll (1872). Through the Looking Glass. "I said it very loud and clear; I went and shouted in his ear." LOVE CONQUERS ALL---People who love each other can overcome any obstacle.---Virgil (37 B.C.) Omnia vincit amor. LOVE IS A MISUNDERSTANDING BETWEEN TWO FOOLS, AN ABSCESS IN A MAN'S HEART AND A HOLE IN HIS POCKETBOOK LOVE IS BLIND---When a person is in love they tend not to see the faults of the other.---Chaucer (1386). Merch. Tale. "For love is blind al day, and may nat see." LOVE MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND---The major motivation for all human activity is the search for love.---(1656.) David.

LOVE ME LOVE MY DOG---If you are going to love me you will have to love my dog.---On of my father's favorite sayings.--- (1480). Early Miscell. "He that lovyth me lovyth my hound." LOVE THEM AND LEAVE THEM---Don't get emotionally involved.---"My daddy always said, love um and leave um is better than to keep um."---Bridge (1917) Cheshire Proverbs. "I must love you and leave you." LOVE WILL FIND A WAY---Love is a strong emotion.---Deloney (1597). Gentle Craft. "Thus love you see, can find a way to make both men and maids obey." LOWBROW---Derisive term meaning of low intellegence.---A group of 19th century experimenters developed what t;hey called phrenology, or the study of bumps and shapes of the skull. A person with high brows was judged to be intelligent, while a person with low brows was judged to be less intelligent or ignorant. LOW MAN ON THE TOTEM POLE---Last in line; the least significant person in an organization.---"When I got to the meeting I was the low man on the totem pole."---The totem pole was constructed by certain American Indian tribes and had a series of carvings of totems (symbols) representing significant events in the history of a family or tribe. Comedian Fred Allen coined the phrase while writing an introduction to a collection of pieces by the American humorist H. Allen Smith. (1941). "If Smith were an Indian, he would be low man on any totem pole." LUNATIC---Crazy.---"He is a lunatic."---The Romans believed that insane people were "moon struck," and that their insanity increased as the moon waxed full. Luna is the Latin word for "moon." LYING IS LIKE BEING PREGNANT, SOONER OR LATER PEOPLE ARE GOING TO KNOW LABOR OF LOVE---Something done out of affection or deep interest.---"I enjoy riding the emergency squad, it is a labor of love."---Bible: I Thessalonians 2:3. "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing you work of faith and labour of love.........." LAMPOON---To mock; to harass.---"He really got lampooned at his retirement dinner."---Originally came from the French, meaning "let us drink". In France and England students often gathered in public houses for sessions of drinking. Such gatherings were marked by singing bawdy songs about school officials, public officials, and authorities in general. Eventually the broad humor associated with group sessions at the tavern overshadowed the French expression for drinking. LAND OF GOSHEN---Something really favorable; land of plenty.---"Land of Goshen."---Bible: Genesis 45:10 "And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and ......thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast." LAND OF MILK AND HONEY---A place or situation full of good things.---"Since he got his raise he is living in the land of milk and honey."--Bible: Exodus 3:8. "And I am come down to deliver them out of the land of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey."

LARK---A spree; frolic.---"I just did it on a lark."---Probably derived from the Gothic "laikan" to hop or leap. LAST BUT NOT LEAST---Someone who comes at the end of a list or last to be recognized but is nonetheless important.---John Lyly (1580). Euphues and His England. "Of these three but one can stand me in steede, the last but not the least." LAST DITCH EFFORT---A struggle made from one's last line of defense.---"I am going to make one last ditch effort to get there."---King William III of England: "I will die in the last ditch." LAST OF THE MOHICANS---The last surviving representative of a group; the last of anything.---"All his relatives are gone, he is the last of the Mohicans."--James Fenimore Cooper (1826.) Refers to the novel's main character, the Indian chief Uncas. LAST RESORT---Final place to turn for help.---"I am going to ask Roger tomorrow, he is my last resort."---Sir William Temple (1672). "All government is a restraint upon liberty; and under all the dominion is equally absolute, where it is in the last resort." LAST ROSE OF SUMMER---Not looking too healthy; looking the worse for the wear.---"You look like the last rose of summer."---Florio (1591). Second Frutes. "The fairest and sweetest rose in time must fade and beauty lose." LAST STRAW---One thing too much---"That was the last straw, I can't take any more."---Earliest version, Archbishop John Bramhall put it in 1655: "It is the last feather that breaks the horse's back." LAUGH AND THE WORLD LAUGHS WITH YOU, WEEP AND YOU WEEP ALONE---Everybody wants to be around when it's fun. When you have problems nobody does. Fuller (1732). "In time of prosperity friends will be plenty; in time of adversity not one among twenty." LAUGH OUT OF THE OTHER SIDE OF YOUR MOUTH---To change from mirth to chagrin; exultation to anger.---"When he finds out he will be laughing out the other side of his mouth."---Giovanni Torriano (1666). "The English say, when one hath conveniently reverg'd ones self on another; now you can laugh but on one side of your mouth, friend." LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE---Humor can provide a temporary respite from one's ills; laughter stimulates the release of healing chemicals in the brain.---Joey Adams Strictly for Laughs. New York Post "If laughter was really the best medicine, doctors would have found a way of charging for it." LAY AN EGG---failed joke or comedic routine---"The comedian just laid another egg. "---When a hen lays an egg she makes a great fuss over it but the other hens pay no attention to her. When a comedian tells a joke and makes a great fuss over it and gets no response he is said to have "laid an egg." LAY DOWN THE LAW---Issue orders; make dogmatic statements.---"When I get home my wife is going to lay down the law."---John Mirk (1450). Festial. "Holy chirche leyth downe songes of melody as te deum lau. Gloria in excelsis." LEAD BY THE NOSE---To dominate or order someone about.---"She leads him around by the nose."---Animals are often led around by a rope tied to a ring passing through the septum of the animals nose. Bible: Isaiah 37:29. "Because

thy rage against me, and thy tumult, is come up to mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest." LEAD PIPE CINCH---Any undertaking where success is certain.---Some urban ruffians of the last century used short length of lead pipe as blackjacks. Such a weapon assured its user that victims would be knocked unconscious. Wielding a lead pipe, a thug was pretty sure to pull off a mugging. LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF OTHERS, YOU CAN'T LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO MAKE THEM ALL YOURSELF LEARN THE ROPES---To learn a new job; learn something new.---"She is new at her job, she is still learning the ropes."---Nautical: A new sailor on a sailing vessel would have to learn the many ropes that controlled the sails. LEAST SAID, SOONEST MENDED---Apologies are useless and any discussion will only make things worse.---(1460.) Remains of Early Poetry. LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED---Do everything you can; use all your resources.---"I will leave no stone unturned to solve this problem."---Lattimer (1548). Works. "I will leave no stone unturned to have both yo and your brother saved. LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE---If something is working leave it alone; don't mess with something that is working and try to make it perfect, you will usually break it.---"You had better leave well enough alone before you fix it so it doesn't work at all."---Peacock (1829). Misfortunes of Elphin. "It is well: it works well: let well alone." LED DOWN THE GARDEN PATH---Deceived: tricked.---"He is being led down the garden path."---Luring someone by deceiving them with beautiful promises. Going down (up) the garden path is beautiful, but what is at the end. Ethel Mannin (1926). Sounding Brass. "They're cheats, that's wot women are! Lead you up the garden an then go snivellin' around 'cos wot's natcheral 'as 'append to 'em." LEFT IN A LURCH---Abandoned; left far behind.---"Bill didn't show up for work today, he has left me in a lurch."---From the French, lourche, a 16th century game said to have resembled backgammon. To be "in the lurch" was a way of saying a player is far behind. In cribbage, for example, a player who has scored only 31 points when his opponent has scored 61 is said to be in the lurch. Gabriel harvey (1576). Letter Book. "Lest he fall in his reckning and so leave himself in the lurch." LEFT TO ONE'S OWN DEVICES---On your own; having to work one's own way out of a predicament. ---"I tried to tell the boy, now I will leave him to his own devices."---Ellen Wood (1870). Canterbury's Will. "What would we do, if left to our own devices?" LEND AN EAR---Listen.---"Lend an ear I have something to tell you."--Shakespeare Julius Caesar. "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I have come to bury Caesar, not to praise him." LESS IS MORE---Everything is more elegant, meaningful, and effective when reduced to its most essential form.---Robert Browning (1855.) Andrea del Sarto. "Well, less is more, Lucrenzia: I am judged."

LESSER OF TWO EVILS---The best option when both options are bad.---"I guess I will have to vote for Bush, the lesser of two evils."---Chaucer (1374). Troilus and Criseyde. "Of harmes two, the lesse is for to chese." LET BYGONES BE BYGONES---Forget the things that happened in the past.---"Let's just let bygones be bygones."---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "Let all thinges past pas." LET GEORGE DO IT---Let someone else do it.---Originated in France in the fifteenth century in a satirical reference to the many activities of Cardinal Georges d'Amboise, Archbishop of Rouen and Prime Minister of Louis XII. LET HIM STEW IN HIS OWN JUICE---He created the problem, so let him suffer for it.---As early as 1300. Jonathan Belcher Papers (1733.) After WWI American soldiers were left in Europe. They wanted to go home, and their common cry was, "Let Europe stew in her own juice." LET ME BEND YOUR EAR---I am going to tell you something; listen.---"Here comes Joe, he is going to bend your ear for a while."---Earl of Leicester (1586). "I neuer bent my ears to credite a tale that first was tolde mee." LET ME HAVE A CRACK AT IT---I would like to try; given a fair chance at it.---Old meaning: To be given a fair crack of the whip. To be fairly treated; to be given a fair share of something. LET NATURE TAKE ITS COURSE---Don't try to change what seems logical and inevitable; it's folly to meddle with the laws of nature.---Montaigne (1580.) Essays. "Let us permit nature to have her way; she understands her business better than we do. LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE---Don't stir up a potentially troublesome situation.---"You would be better served if you let sleeping dogs lie."---Geoffrey Chaucer (1374). Troillus and Criseyde. "It is not good a sleping hound to wake." LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG (See: Pig in a poke) LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY---Speak your mind or do what you have to do and let the consequences be as they may.---Roscoe Conkling (U.S. Senator) (1880). "He [President Grant] will hew to the line of right, let the chips fall where they may." LET THE DEAD BURY THE DEAD---Look to the future and put the past behind you.---Bible: Matthew 8:22. "Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead." LET THEM EAT CAKE---Said to show contempt for the plight of those less fortunate than one's self.---Often attributed to Marie Antoinette (1755 - 93.) According to legend, when the notoriously extravagant queen of France was told that her subjects had no bread to eat, she replied: "Qu'ils mangent de la prioche." ("Let them eat cake.") LET THERE BE LIGHT---Said when something needs illuminated.---Bible: Genesis 1:3. "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." LETTER PERFECT---Just right."Her presentation was letter perfect."---In the theater an actor who learns a part perfectly is said to have "got it down to the letter."---Jerome K. Jerome (1885). On the Stage. "He would be letter perfect in all by the following Thursday."

LET'S GET DOWN TO BRASS TACKS ---Get to the essentials of a matter.---"Let's stop the small talk and get down to brass tacks."---Stores selling cloth by the yard once measured the length by the use of brass tacks embedded in their counters. Once the merchant had shown the material and the buyer had chosen what he wished to purchase, it was time to measure the cloth and make the sale. LET'S GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD---Let's get moving.---James Jones (1951.) From Here to Eternity. "Come on, come on," Prew said. "What's holding things up? Lets get this show on the road." LET'S KILL ALL THE LAWYERS---The first step to a perfect society is to get rid of lawyers.---Shakespeare (1590.) Henry VI. Dick: "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." LIFE IS HARD BY THE YARD, BUT BY THE INCH LIFE'S A CINCH.--Take things one at a time.--new! LIFE OF RILEY---The good life; easy life.---"He won the lottery, he is living the life of Riley now."---Patric Rooney (1880) (song) Is That Mr. Reilly In the song O'Reilly was always just about to hit it big, he and his friends would become rich. It was a working-class Irish immigrant's dream, at a time when an immigrant's lot was often very grim. Transfered to todays meaning of an easy life. On easy street. LIFE IS LIKE A TURD SANDWICH, THE MORE BREAD YOU HAVE THE LESS SHIT YOU HAVE TO EAT LIGHTNING NEVER STRIKES TWICE IN THE SAME SPOT---An unusual event never occurs twice under the same circumstances or to the same person.---P. H. Myers (1857.) Thrilling Adventures of the Prisoner of the Border. "Lightning never strikes twice in the same place, nor cannon balls either, I presume." LIKE A BAT OUT OF HELL---Rapidly.---"He was moving like a bat out of hell." LIKE A BULL IN A CHINA SHOP ---Out of place in a situation; awkward; careless.---"He is like a bull in a china shop, he'll break everything in the house."---Smedley (1800). Frank Fairlegh. "Stigmatising himself as an awkward dog, and comparing himself to a bull in a china shop;" LIKE A CHICKEN WITH HIS HEAD CUT OFF---Frantic.---"I wish he would settle down he is running around like a chicken with his head cut off." LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER---Totally out of touch with a situation.---"He is in a situation he knows nothing about, he is like a fish out of water."---Wicliff (1380). Works. "And now they were out of their cloister as fish that is waterless." LIKE AN ATHEIST AT HIS OWN FUNERAL, ALL DRESSED UP AND NOWHERE TO GO---If you believe in God or not and there is no God, you are safe. If you don't believe in God and there is no God, you are safe. If you don't believe in God and there is a God, you are in big trouble. LIKE FATHER LIKE SON---Sons are often like their fathers.---Barclay (1509). Ship of Fools. "An olde prouerbe hath longe agone be sayde that oft the sone in maners lyke wyll be unto the father."

LIKE IT OR LUMP IT---If you don't like it, too bad, you must take it as it is. i.e. take it in a lump.---Courtney (1880). W. Cornwall Words. "If you don't like it you must lump it." LIKE PEAS IN A POD---All the same.---"Those two are like peas in a pod." LIKE SHOOTING FISH IN A BARREL LIKE TALKING TO A BRICK WALL LIKE WATER OFF A DUCK'S BACK---Maginn (1824). "The thing passed off like water from a duck's back. LION'S SHARE---The greater part of the whole.---"He ate the lion's share of the dessert."---The Lion usually eats the largest share of a kill and leaves the rest for others. Aesop "Taking th best piece for himself, he said, "This is mine of course, as I am the Lion....." LITTLE PITCHERS HAVE BIG EARS---Children hear and understand more than you think they do.---The play is the resemblance of the ear to the handle of a pitcher. Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "Auoyd your children, amal pitchers have wide eares." LIVE AND LEARN---Learn from your experiences.---"He will have to live and learn."---Killigrew (1663). Parson's wedding. "I was innocent myself once, but live and learn is an old saying, and a true one." LIVE AND LET LIVE---Mind your own business and be respectful of others.--Ray (1678). "Live and let live is the rule of common justice." LO AND BEHOLD---Would you believe; imagine that.---"I was in the store and lo and behold my old teacher showed up."---Two old words both meaning give heed or look there. Charles Dickens (1850). David Copperfield. "What does he do, but, lo, and behold you, he goes into the perfumer's shop." LOCK 'EM UP AND THROW AWAY THE KEY---Put criminals in jail with no hope of ever being released.---"They could solve the crime problem if they would lock the criminals up and throw away the key." LONG DRINK OF WATER---Tall.---"He certainly is a long drink of water." LONG LAST---Finally.---"At long last she finally made it."---16th century saying. LONG SUIT (His, her)---Something an individual is good at.---"Dancing is not his long suit."---In cards, a large number of cards in a particular suit, especially if it is a trump suit, makes for a strong hand. LONG IN THE TOOTH---Old; aging.---"Paul isn't young anymore, he is getting a little long in the tooth."---As a horse gets older his gums recede making his teeth appear longer.---J.C. Snaith (1919). Love Lane. "One of the youngest Rear Admirals on record, but a bit long in the tooth for the army." LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP---Think about what you are going to do before you do it.---"You had better look before you leap."---Painter (1567). Palace of Pleasure. "According to the common saying: He that loketh not before he leapeth, may caunce to stumble before he sleepeth." LOOK LIKE A CAT THAT ATE A CANARY---Smug. LOOK WHAT THE CAT DRUG IN---Looking very bad.---Many cats will bring their prey home and lay them on the doorstep of their owner.

LOOKING DOWN HIS NOSE---Scornful or snobbish.---"She is always looking down her nose at somebody."---What a person giving a haughty glance seems to be doing.---(1927). American Speech. "To scorn or despise." LOOP HOLE---A means of escape; a means of evading.---"This new law has many loop holes in it."---During the Middle Ages, architects and builders had to deal with the matter of defending a castle. A narrow window, often oval at the top and wider on the inside of a wall than the outside, was found to offer a difficult target to hit from the outside. At the same time, such an opening was big enough to enable defenders to fire a longbow or crossbow from within. When firearms made this obsolete, its name transferred to any opening that provided a way of evading an agreement or law. LOOSE CANON---Out of control; person who is out of touch with their source of control and may say or do something that will endanger or ruin a mission or project.---"I can't get in touch with him and I know he is going to say something he shouldn't, he is a loose canon."---Nautical term: When a canon got loose on a ship it was unpredictable where it would go or what damage it might do. LORD LOVE A DUCK LOUD AND CLEAR---To hear something or someone well.---"You are coming in loud and clear."---Lewis Carroll (1872). Through the Looking Glass. "I said it very loud and clear; I went and shouted in his ear." LOVE CONQUERS ALL---People who love each other can overcome any obstacle.---Virgil (37 B.C.) Omnia vincit amor. LOVE IS A MISUNDERSTANDING BETWEEN TWO FOOLS, AN ABSCESS IN A MAN'S HEART AND A HOLE IN HIS POCKETBOOK LOVE IS BLIND---When a person is in love they tend not to see the faults of the other.---Chaucer (1386). Merch. Tale. "For love is blind al day, and may nat see." LOVE MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND---The major motivation for all human activity is the search for love.---(1656.) David. LOVE ME LOVE MY DOG---If you are going to love me you will have to love my dog.---On of my father's favorite sayings.--- (1480). Early Miscell. "He that lovyth me lovyth my hound." LOVE THEM AND LEAVE THEM---Don't get emotionally involved.---"My daddy always said, love um and leave um is better than to keep um."---Bridge (1917) Cheshire Proverbs. "I must love you and leave you." LOVE WILL FIND A WAY---Love is a strong emotion.---Deloney (1597). Gentle Craft. "Thus love you see, can find a way to make both men and maids obey." LOWBROW---Derisive term meaning of low intellegence.---A group of 19th century experimenters developed what t;hey called phrenology, or the study of bumps and shapes of the skull. A person with high brows was judged to be intelligent, while a person with low brows was judged to be less intelligent or ignorant. LOW MAN ON THE TOTEM POLE---Last in line; the least significant person in an organization.---"When I got to the meeting I was the low man on the totem pole."---The totem pole was constructed by certain American Indian tribes and

had a series of carvings of totems (symbols) representing significant events in the history of a family or tribe. Comedian Fred Allen coined the phrase while writing an introduction to a collection of pieces by the American humorist H. Allen Smith. (1941). "If Smith were an Indian, he would be low man on any totem pole." LUNATIC---Crazy.---"He is a lunatic."---The Romans believed that insane people were "moon struck," and that their insanity increased as the moon waxed full. Luna is the Latin word for "moon." LYING IS LIKE BEING PREGNANT, SOONER OR LATER PEOPLE ARE GOING TO KNOW MAD AS A WET HEN---Furious.---"She was mad as a wet hen."---Imaginative phrase, minds eye view of how a hen would react to being wet.--- (1946). American Speech. "Everybody that was not ax'd was mad as a wet hen." MAINTAIN THE STATUS QUO---Keep things as they are.---"The status quo will be maintained no matter who gets elected."---Latin meaning the existing state of affairs.---(1833). Edinburgh Review. "The status quo was to be maintained in Luxembourg during negotiations respecting that duchy." MAKE A CLEAN BREAST OF IT---Confess; tell all.---"There is no use trying to cover it up, I am going to make a clean breast of it."---(1753). The Scots Magazine. "He pressed him to make a clean breast, and tell him all." MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT---Get to the point.---"To make a long story short........."---160 B.C. Latin Ut multa paucis verba unose obnuntiem. To make a long story short, I'll tell you in one word. MAKE A MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MOLEHILL---To make much ado about nothing.---"You are making a mountain out of a molehill."---Nicholas Udall (1548). Paraphrase of Erasmus. "The Sophistes of Grece coulde through their copiosness make an Elephant of a flye, and a mountaine of a mollehill." MAKE ENDS MEET---To balance one's income and expenditures.---"I just can't seem to make ends meet."---Ends referring to the beginning and ending of the year. In the 18th century income was irregular, especially for farmers, causing uncertainty as to whether they could make ends meet.---Fuller (1662). Worthiest. "Worldly wealth he cared not for, desiring only to make both ends meet." MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES---To do something while a good opportunity exists.---"You have to make hay while the sun shines."---Grass used to make hay must be dried after it is cut; rain is likely to spoil it.---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "When the sunne shyneth make hey." MAKE NO BONES ABOUT IT---To do or say without hesitation or scruple.---"He made no bones about it he just told the plain truth."---Armin (1608). Nest of Ninnies. "Which, making no bones of, the sweete youth gaue his doings thus." MAKE ONE'S BLOOD BOIL---Infuriating.---"The whole situation is enough to make your blood boil."---Thomas Otway (1675). Alcibiades. "I am impatient, and my blood boyls high." MAKE OR BREAK---No middle ground, either success or failure, all or nothing.---"It is going to be either make or break."---15th century "make or mar."

MAKE THE FUR FLY---Cause a fight or argument.---"That'll make the fur fly."---Two animals fighting. Samuel Butler (1663). Hudibras. "I'll make the fur fly "bout the ears of the old cur." MAKE THE GRADE---Come up to a standard; achieve a desired result.---"I think he is going to do well, he will make the grade."---(1930). Publishers Weekly. "Can the seasonal bookshop make the grade...?" MAKE TRACKS---Leave; flee.---"I am going to make tracks before they get here."---(1827). The Spirit of Seventy Six. "Another made up his mind to bow his neck and make tracks." MAKES YOUR HAIR STAND ON END---Irritating, frightening or unnerving experience.---"Every time I see Jimmy it makes my hair stand on end."---Bible: Job 4:13. "Fear came upon me, and trembling, which make all my bones to shake. then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up." MAKES YOUR MOUTH WATER---To anticipate something keenly or wish you could have it.---"Just the sight of that cherry pie makes my mouth water."--Animals salivate at the sight of food. Richard Eden (1555). Newe Worlde. "These craftie foxes [cannibals] beganne to swallow theyr spettle as their mouthes watered for greediness of theyr prey." MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE---People have spiritual as well as physical needs.---Bible: Deuteronomy 8:3. "And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." MAN OF FEW WORDS---One who gets directly to the point.---Bible: Ecclesiastes 5:2 "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God; for God in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few." MANY ARE CALLED BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN---Everyone is welcome to apply, but only the most qualified are accepted.---Bible: Matthew 22:11. "Then said the king to the servants, bind him hand a foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen." MARK MY WORDS---Remember what I say; a prediction.---"He will not be here tomorrow, mark my words."---Bible: Isaiah 28:23. "Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech." MARRIAGE IS A GREAT INSTITUTION, BUT WHO WANTS TO LIVE IN AN INSTITUTION MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN---Perfect match.---"There is a marriage made in heaven."---Painter (1567). Pal. of Pleasure. "True it is that marriages be done in heaven, and performed on earth." MAY DAY---Distress call, usually from Aviators.---(Possible) Comes from the French word "m'aidez" meaning "help me". MEASURE TWICE CUT ONCE---Make sure before you cut.---Florio (1591). Second Frutes. "Alwaies measure manie, before you cut anie."

MEET YOUR WATERLOO---Suffer a setback or defeat.---"I think he has met his waterloo."--- In 1815 Napoleon, who had dominated Europe, was finally defeated at the battle of Waterloo in Belgium by British and Prussian forces. MESS UP A FREE MEAL---Very inept.---"I don't believe he screwed that up, he could mess up a free meal." MICHIGAN BANKROLL---A wallet stuffed with one dollar bills.---"He is acting big but all he has is a Michigan bankroll." MIDAS TOUCH---Apparent ability to make money at anything one does.---"I never would have believed it, he made money on the deal, he must have the midas touch."---In Greek mythology, Midas was a legendary king of Phrygia; in return for a kindness, Dionysus gave him the power to turn anything he touched to gold. Richard Lassels (1670). The Voyage of Italy. "Brave Raphael, whose only touch of a finger could, Midas like, turne gally pots to gold..." MIGHT MAKES RIGHT---Strength in a bad cause often wins.---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "Might overcometh right." MILESTONE---An important event in one's life.---"When I retired it was a milestone in my life."---The Latin word for one thousand (mille) gave rise to the modern mile. Among the Romans this unit represented one thousand paces of five feet each. In order to make it easy to mark distances from the center of Rome, trained pacers placed stones along imperial roads at each unit of measurement. Used in modern times on the national road (Rt. 40) in the United States. The meaning broadened to mean any important mark as in birth, death, marriage or other important events. MILLSTONE AROUND THE NECK---A burden or heavy obligation.---"This project is becoming a millstone around my neck."---Bible: Matthew 18:16. "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." MIND LIKE A STEEL TRAP MIND YOUR P'S AND Q'S---Be precise.---"You had better mind your p's and q's."---18th century saying. A tab in the local pub once indicated p (pints) and q (quarts); the publican or drinker could be admonished to keep them straight.---A child learning to read and write may have difficulty with p's and q's.---In the early days of printing the type was set by hand in wooden frames. As the print was set by hand, and backwards, it was easy to mix the two up.---Hannah Cowley (1779). Who's the Dupe? "You must mind your P's and Q's with him, I can tell you." MISERY LOVES COMPANY---It is easier to take pain if someone is experiencing it with you.---Latin maxim first written by Publilicus Syrus, first century B.C. "It is a consolation to the wretched to have companions in misery." Chaucer (1374). Troylus. "Men seyn, to wrecche is consolacioun, to have another felawe in his peyne." MISERY MAKES STRANGE BEDFELLOWS---Misfortune may force us to befriend people we would otherwise avoid.---Shakespeare (1611.) Tempest. Trinculo: "Alas! the storm is come again! my best way is to creep under his gaberdine; there is no other shelter hereabout; misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows."

MISS IS AS GOOD AS A MILE (A)---In escaping something or in failure, whether by a small or large margin, the result is the same.---Thomas Fuller (1655). History of the University of Cambridge. "An hair's breadth fixed by a divine finger shall prove as effectual a separation from danger as a mile's distance." MOLLYCODDLE---Pampered; protected.---"All she does is mollycoddle that kid.:"---Molly was a name once given to an effeminate man. To coddle and make a softie out of someone. MOMENT OF TRUTH---Time for decision; crisis point.---"Well, tomorrow will be the moment of truth."---Ernest Hemingway (1932). Death in the Afternoon. "The whole end of the bullfight was the final sword thrust, the actual encounter between the man and the animal, what the Spanish call the moment of truth." MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK---Second guessing.---"He is a Monday morning quarterback."---It is easy to say how the strategy of the football game should have been laid out on Monday morning after seeing the game played.---Barry Wood (1932). What Price Football. "A kind of sportswriter known to football players and coaches as a "Monday morning quarterback'" who, "not content with reporting the game, must analyze it." MONEY BEGETS MONEY---Those who already have money find it easy to make more.---Benjamin Franklin (1748.) Letter to My Friend A. B. "Remember that money is of prolific generating nature. Money can beget money, and its offspring can beget more." MONEY BURNS A HOLE IN HIS POCKET---Someone who cannot save; spend everything you get.---"He won't have his money long, it is burning a hole in his pocket."---More (1530). Works. "A little wanton money, which burned out the bottom of his purse." MONEY CAN'T BUY HAPPINESS---Money can buy material things, but real happiness must be truly earned.---Rousseau (1750.) "Money buys everything, except morality and citizens." MONEY CAN'T BUY HAPPINESS BUT IT CAN BUY ANY KIND OF MISERY YOU WANT---Firehouse cliche MONEY DOESN'T GROW ON TREES MONEY IS A GOOD SERVANT BUT A BAD MASTER---One needs money to survive but don't let become your master. (See: Money is the root of all evil.)---Bohn (1855). MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL---Greed leads to most of the worlds evils.---Incorrect quote which is often used. Bible: Timothy 6:10. "For the love of money is the root of all evil....." MONEY TALKS---Money will get things done; don't talk about it show me the money.---"Money talks and bullshit walks."---Torriano (1666). Piazza Univ. "Man prates, but gold speaks. MONKEY BUSINESS---Foolish or mischievous activity.---"Stop the monkey business and do what you were told to do." (Dad liked to use this one)--Generally, just playing around as a monkey might do. MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO

MONTH OF SUNDAYS---A long period of time.---"Good to see you, I haven't seen you for a month of Sundays."---The literal meaning would be about 7 1/2 months. Frederick Marryat (1832). Newton Foster. "It may last a month of Sundays." MORE CHINS THAN A CHINESE PHONE BOOK---Chubby; fat.---"Gary has put on the weight, he has more chins than a Chinese phone book." MORE OR LESS---To be close to a given amount or meaning, a little more or a little less.---"The statement in the paper was more or less what I told the reporter."---(1225). Ancren Riwle. "More oder lesse." MORE THAN ENOUGH IS TOO MUCH---Don't be greedy.---(1629). Book of Merry Riddles. MORE THAN I BARGAINED FOR---To get more than expected.---"He wasn't expecting that, he got more than he bargained for."---Normally used in a negative context. More trouble than one expected. MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A CAT---There is more than one way of doing something. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING---Needless fuss.---Title of a Shakespeare play (1598). Richard Hyrde (1529). "They make great ado about many small matters." MUFF---Any bungling action.---"The ball was hit right to him and he muffed it."---A garment used by the dutch made of fur, cylindrical and open at both ends. Used to put your hands in to keep them warm. The expression to muff something came from the fact that when your hands were in the muff your reactions were slowed by having to remove your hands from the muff. If for instance your hat blew off, you may look quite inept trying to catch it. MUG---Your face.---"Look at that face, what a mug."---Beer mugs made in the late 18th century were often shaped to represent human heads. Some depicted famous persons, others were caricatures of ordinary heads. A person not noted for their classical beauty often bore a more than superficial resemblance to a face on a mug. That inevitably led to joshing from friends and associates. MUM'S THE WORD---Keep quiet; don't say a word.---Shakespeare (1590.) Henry VI. Hume: "Seal up your lips, and give no words but mum." MUSIC HATH CHARMS TO SOOTHE THE SAVAGE BEAST---Music can soften even very violent people.---Shakespeare (1604.) Measure for Measure. Duke: "Tis good; though music oft hath such a charm, to make bad good, and good provoke to harm." MY LIPS ARE SEALED---I can't or won't tell you; I am pledged or have pledged myself to secrecy.---"I know she is going to ask me but my lips are sealed."---Fanny Burney (1792). Cecillia. "I make it quite a principal to seal up my lips from the moment I perceive him." MAD AS A WET HEN---Furious.---"She was mad as a wet hen."---Imaginative phrase, minds eye view of how a hen would react to being wet.--- (1946). American Speech. "Everybody that was not ax'd was mad as a wet hen." MAINTAIN THE STATUS QUO---Keep things as they are.---"The status quo will be maintained no matter who gets elected."---Latin meaning the existing state

of affairs.---(1833). Edinburgh Review. "The status quo was to be maintained in Luxembourg during negotiations respecting that duchy." MAKE A CLEAN BREAST OF IT---Confess; tell all.---"There is no use trying to cover it up, I am going to make a clean breast of it."---(1753). The Scots Magazine. "He pressed him to make a clean breast, and tell him all." MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT---Get to the point.---"To make a long story short........."---160 B.C. Latin Ut multa paucis verba unose obnuntiem. To make a long story short, I'll tell you in one word. MAKE A MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MOLEHILL---To make much ado about nothing.---"You are making a mountain out of a molehill."---Nicholas Udall (1548). Paraphrase of Erasmus. "The Sophistes of Grece coulde through their copiosness make an Elephant of a flye, and a mountaine of a mollehill." MAKE ENDS MEET---To balance one's income and expenditures.---"I just can't seem to make ends meet."---Ends referring to the beginning and ending of the year. In the 18th century income was irregular, especially for farmers, causing uncertainty as to whether they could make ends meet.---Fuller (1662). Worthiest. "Worldly wealth he cared not for, desiring only to make both ends meet." MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES---To do something while a good opportunity exists.---"You have to make hay while the sun shines."---Grass used to make hay must be dried after it is cut; rain is likely to spoil it.---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "When the sunne shyneth make hey." MAKE NO BONES ABOUT IT---To do or say without hesitation or scruple.---"He made no bones about it he just told the plain truth."---Armin (1608). Nest of Ninnies. "Which, making no bones of, the sweete youth gaue his doings thus." MAKE ONE'S BLOOD BOIL---Infuriating.---"The whole situation is enough to make your blood boil."---Thomas Otway (1675). Alcibiades. "I am impatient, and my blood boyls high." MAKE OR BREAK---No middle ground, either success or failure, all or nothing.---"It is going to be either make or break."---15th century "make or mar." MAKE THE FUR FLY---Cause a fight or argument.---"That'll make the fur fly."---Two animals fighting. Samuel Butler (1663). Hudibras. "I'll make the fur fly "bout the ears of the old cur." MAKE THE GRADE---Come up to a standard; achieve a desired result.---"I think he is going to do well, he will make the grade."---(1930). Publishers Weekly. "Can the seasonal bookshop make the grade...?" MAKE TRACKS---Leave; flee.---"I am going to make tracks before they get here."---(1827). The Spirit of Seventy Six. "Another made up his mind to bow his neck and make tracks." MAKES YOUR HAIR STAND ON END---Irritating, frightening or unnerving experience.---"Every time I see Jimmy it makes my hair stand on end."---Bible: Job 4:13. "Fear came upon me, and trembling, which make all my bones to shake. then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up." MAKES YOUR MOUTH WATER---To anticipate something keenly or wish you could have it.---"Just the sight of that cherry pie makes my mouth water."--Animals salivate at the sight of food. Richard Eden (1555). Newe Worlde.

"These craftie foxes [cannibals] beganne to swallow theyr spettle as their mouthes watered for greediness of theyr prey." MAN DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE---People have spiritual as well as physical needs.---Bible: Deuteronomy 8:3. "And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." MAN OF FEW WORDS---One who gets directly to the point.---Bible: Ecclesiastes 5:2 "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God; for God in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few." MANY ARE CALLED BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN---Everyone is welcome to apply, but only the most qualified are accepted.---Bible: Matthew 22:11. "Then said the king to the servants, bind him hand a foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen." MARK MY WORDS---Remember what I say; a prediction.---"He will not be here tomorrow, mark my words."---Bible: Isaiah 28:23. "Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech." MARRIAGE IS A GREAT INSTITUTION, BUT WHO WANTS TO LIVE IN AN INSTITUTION MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN---Perfect match.---"There is a marriage made in heaven."---Painter (1567). Pal. of Pleasure. "True it is that marriages be done in heaven, and performed on earth." MAY DAY---Distress call, usually from Aviators.---(Possible) Comes from the French word "m'aidez" meaning "help me". MEASURE TWICE CUT ONCE---Make sure before you cut.---Florio (1591). Second Frutes. "Alwaies measure manie, before you cut anie." MEET YOUR WATERLOO---Suffer a setback or defeat.---"I think he has met his waterloo."--- In 1815 Napoleon, who had dominated Europe, was finally defeated at the battle of Waterloo in Belgium by British and Prussian forces. MESS UP A FREE MEAL---Very inept.---"I don't believe he screwed that up, he could mess up a free meal." MICHIGAN BANKROLL---A wallet stuffed with one dollar bills.---"He is acting big but all he has is a Michigan bankroll." MIDAS TOUCH---Apparent ability to make money at anything one does.---"I never would have believed it, he made money on the deal, he must have the midas touch."---In Greek mythology, Midas was a legendary king of Phrygia; in return for a kindness, Dionysus gave him the power to turn anything he touched to gold. Richard Lassels (1670). The Voyage of Italy. "Brave Raphael, whose only touch of a finger could, Midas like, turne gally pots to gold..." MIGHT MAKES RIGHT---Strength in a bad cause often wins.---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "Might overcometh right." MILESTONE---An important event in one's life.---"When I retired it was a milestone in my life."---The Latin word for one thousand (mille) gave rise to the

modern mile. Among the Romans this unit represented one thousand paces of five feet each. In order to make it easy to mark distances from the center of Rome, trained pacers placed stones along imperial roads at each unit of measurement. Used in modern times on the national road (Rt. 40) in the United States. The meaning broadened to mean any important mark as in birth, death, marriage or other important events. MILLSTONE AROUND THE NECK---A burden or heavy obligation.---"This project is becoming a millstone around my neck."---Bible: Matthew 18:16. "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." MIND LIKE A STEEL TRAP MIND YOUR P'S AND Q'S---Be precise.---"You had better mind your p's and q's."---18th century saying. A tab in the local pub once indicated p (pints) and q (quarts); the publican or drinker could be admonished to keep them straight.---A child learning to read and write may have difficulty with p's and q's.---In the early days of printing the type was set by hand in wooden frames. As the print was set by hand, and backwards, it was easy to mix the two up.---Hannah Cowley (1779). Who's the Dupe? "You must mind your P's and Q's with him, I can tell you." MISERY LOVES COMPANY---It is easier to take pain if someone is experiencing it with you.---Latin maxim first written by Publilicus Syrus, first century B.C. "It is a consolation to the wretched to have companions in misery." Chaucer (1374). Troylus. "Men seyn, to wrecche is consolacioun, to have another felawe in his peyne." MISERY MAKES STRANGE BEDFELLOWS---Misfortune may force us to befriend people we would otherwise avoid.---Shakespeare (1611.) Tempest. Trinculo: "Alas! the storm is come again! my best way is to creep under his gaberdine; there is no other shelter hereabout; misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows." MISS IS AS GOOD AS A MILE (A)---In escaping something or in failure, whether by a small or large margin, the result is the same.---Thomas Fuller (1655). History of the University of Cambridge. "An hair's breadth fixed by a divine finger shall prove as effectual a separation from danger as a mile's distance." MOLLYCODDLE---Pampered; protected.---"All she does is mollycoddle that kid.:"---Molly was a name once given to an effeminate man. To coddle and make a softie out of someone. MOMENT OF TRUTH---Time for decision; crisis point.---"Well, tomorrow will be the moment of truth."---Ernest Hemingway (1932). Death in the Afternoon. "The whole end of the bullfight was the final sword thrust, the actual encounter between the man and the animal, what the Spanish call the moment of truth." MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK---Second guessing.---"He is a Monday morning quarterback."---It is easy to say how the strategy of the football game should have been laid out on Monday morning after seeing the game played.---Barry Wood (1932). What Price Football. "A kind of sportswriter

known to football players and coaches as a "Monday morning quarterback'" who, "not content with reporting the game, must analyze it." MONEY BEGETS MONEY---Those who already have money find it easy to make more.---Benjamin Franklin (1748.) Letter to My Friend A. B. "Remember that money is of prolific generating nature. Money can beget money, and its offspring can beget more." MONEY BURNS A HOLE IN HIS POCKET---Someone who cannot save; spend everything you get.---"He won't have his money long, it is burning a hole in his pocket."---More (1530). Works. "A little wanton money, which burned out the bottom of his purse." MONEY CAN'T BUY HAPPINESS---Money can buy material things, but real happiness must be truly earned.---Rousseau (1750.) "Money buys everything, except morality and citizens." MONEY CAN'T BUY HAPPINESS BUT IT CAN BUY ANY KIND OF MISERY YOU WANT---Firehouse cliche MONEY DOESN'T GROW ON TREES MONEY IS A GOOD SERVANT BUT A BAD MASTER---One needs money to survive but don't let become your master. (See: Money is the root of all evil.)---Bohn (1855). MONEY IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL---Greed leads to most of the worlds evils.---Incorrect quote which is often used. Bible: Timothy 6:10. "For the love of money is the root of all evil....." MONEY TALKS---Money will get things done; don't talk about it show me the money.---"Money talks and bullshit walks."---Torriano (1666). Piazza Univ. "Man prates, but gold speaks. MONKEY BUSINESS---Foolish or mischievous activity.---"Stop the monkey business and do what you were told to do." (Dad liked to use this one)--Generally, just playing around as a monkey might do. MONKEY SEE, MONKEY DO MONTH OF SUNDAYS---A long period of time.---"Good to see you, I haven't seen you for a month of Sundays."---The literal meaning would be about 7 1/2 months. Frederick Marryat (1832). Newton Foster. "It may last a month of Sundays." MORE CHINS THAN A CHINESE PHONE BOOK---Chubby; fat.---"Gary has put on the weight, he has more chins than a Chinese phone book." MORE OR LESS---To be close to a given amount or meaning, a little more or a little less.---"The statement in the paper was more or less what I told the reporter."---(1225). Ancren Riwle. "More oder lesse." MORE THAN ENOUGH IS TOO MUCH---Don't be greedy.---(1629). Book of Merry Riddles. MORE THAN I BARGAINED FOR---To get more than expected.---"He wasn't expecting that, he got more than he bargained for."---Normally used in a negative context. More trouble than one expected. MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A CAT---There is more than one way of doing something.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING---Needless fuss.---Title of a Shakespeare play (1598). Richard Hyrde (1529). "They make great ado about many small matters." MUFF---Any bungling action.---"The ball was hit right to him and he muffed it."---A garment used by the dutch made of fur, cylindrical and open at both ends. Used to put your hands in to keep them warm. The expression to muff something came from the fact that when your hands were in the muff your reactions were slowed by having to remove your hands from the muff. If for instance your hat blew off, you may look quite inept trying to catch it. MUG---Your face.---"Look at that face, what a mug."---Beer mugs made in the late 18th century were often shaped to represent human heads. Some depicted famous persons, others were caricatures of ordinary heads. A person not noted for their classical beauty often bore a more than superficial resemblance to a face on a mug. That inevitably led to joshing from friends and associates. MUM'S THE WORD---Keep quiet; don't say a word.---Shakespeare (1590.) Henry VI. Hume: "Seal up your lips, and give no words but mum." MUSIC HATH CHARMS TO SOOTHE THE SAVAGE BEAST---Music can soften even very violent people.---Shakespeare (1604.) Measure for Measure. Duke: "Tis good; though music oft hath such a charm, to make bad good, and good provoke to harm." MY LIPS ARE SEALED---I can't or won't tell you; I am pledged or have pledged myself to secrecy.---"I know she is going to ask me but my lips are sealed."---Fanny Burney (1792). Cecillia. "I make it quite a principal to seal up my lips from the moment I perceive him." NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM---No space stays vacant for long.---Thomas Cranmer (1551.) Answer to Gardiner. NEAT AS A PIN---very neat---"She keeps her house as neat as a pin"---First used in the 18th century, the original was "as neat as a new pin", meaning something trim and bright.---John Wolcott (1796). "How neat was Ellen in her dress! As neat as a new pin!" NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION--- Better ideas sometimes come to you when you are pressed for a solution to a problem.---Jonathan Swift (1726). Gullivers Travels. "I sold [soled] my shoes with wood, which I cut from a tree, no man could more verify the truth that necessity is the mother of invention." NECK OF THE WOODS---Area or region.---"How are things in your neck of the woods."---Originally neck meant a narrow stretch of land, a defined area. NEEDLE IN A HAY STACK---Something almost impossible to find.---"Finding an honest politician is like finding a needle in a haystack."---16th century saying: "A pin's head in a cart load of hay." NEEDLESS TO SAY---You know this but I am going to tell you anyway.---"My wife came to the bar looking for me, needless to say I left."---(1826). Kaleidoscope (journal). "The Squire was hard hit by this nonchalance, and it is needless to add, acted upon Sheridan's suggestion." NEITHER HERE NOR THERE---Irrelevant; of no significance.---"Whether it rains is neither here nor there, the job has got to be finished."---Aldus Manutius

(1581). Linguae Latinus. "It is neither here nor there, or I passe not what you thinke of me." NEVER A BORROWER OR A LENDER BE---Borrowing or lending can ruin a friendship.---Shakespeare (1604). Hamlet. "For loan oft loses both itself and friend." NEVER BEAT A BEAR WITH A SWITCH---Always have the resources to get the job done; never bite off more than you can chew.---Ray (1678). "He must have iron nails that scratcheth with a bear." NEVER BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW---Don't get in a situation you can't handle. NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK---Be ruthless, especially in business; put you own interests first.---W. C. Fields. (1923.) Poppy. NEVER MIX BUSINESS WITH PLEASURE---Keep your work separate from more frivolous activities or your work will suffer.---(Early 20th century.) NEVER PUT OFF UNTIL TOMORROW WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY--Delays are sometimes dangerous; you know not what tomorrow brings.---Bailey (1725). "Why not today rather than tomorrow, if delays are dangerous." NEVER SAY DIE---Keep fighting; don't give up hope.---Charles Dickens (1837.) The Pickwick Papers. NEVER SAY NEVER---Think positively; even things that seem impossible may indeed happen.---Charles Dickens (1837.) The Pickwick Papers. NEVER STAND BETWEEN A DOG AND A TREE NICE GUYS FINISH LAST---If you really want to win, fight tooth and nail to the very end; people will take advantage of one's kindness and good nature.---Leo Durocher (1905 - 91.) NICK OF TIME---At the very last moment; at a crucial moment.---"You got here just in the nick of time."---Old meaning of nick was: At the crucial moment. Meredith Hanmer (1577). Ancient Ecclesiastical Histories. "The Romane navie....arrived at the very pinch, or as we commonly say, in the nicke." NINE EVER, EIGHT NEVER---Firehouse Bridge term. When you hold the top two honors, you should play trump out and try to get the Queen to fall if you have a total of nine trump cards in the dummy hand and your hand. NINE MILES OF BAD ROAD---Looking very bad.---"Jerry looked like nine miles of bad road this morning." NIP AND TUCK---Dead even; head to head.---"It was nip and tuck there for a while."---Old meanings of "nip" and "tuck" not found.---John Bartlett (1859). Dictionary of Americanisms. "Don't play that new game they've got where the jack takes the ace, 'taint natural. I tried 'em at poker, and old sledge, and loo, but they couldn't get me down, it was nip and tuck between us; but by and by they fetched in that new game, and then I hollered." NIP IN THE BUD---Stop something at its beginning.---"You had better nip it in the bud now or it is going to cause trouble later."---A late frost will kill the flower in it's budding stage.---Jerome Osorius (1565). Pearl for a Prince. "Princes doe unwisely which doo not nyp wickedness in the hed, so sone as it doth begin." NITTY GRITTY

NO DEFENSE LIKE A GOOD OFFENSE---Attack rather than wait.---"The best defense is a good offence."---Originally a military saying, now widely used in sports.---Brackenridge (1790). Gazette. "I say the best defense is offence." NO DICE---Nothing doing; absolutely not; definitely not.---"He asked if I would work for him, I told him no dice"---Alludes to a failure to throw a winning number with the dice.---(Early 20th century.) NO FOOL LIKE AN OLD FOOL---An older person should, through experience know better than to engage in certain behavior.---"He is running around with that young woman, there is no fool like an old fool."---White Kennett (1683). Praise of Folly. "The more ancient they grow, the more fools they are." NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED---Life is so unfair that one is more likely to get into some sort of trouble than be rewarded if one attempts to do a good deed; many times one spends time and resources to help someone only to be totally ignored with not so much as a thank you.---John P. Grier (Origin unclear) NO HORSE GOES AS FAST AS THE MONEY THAT IS BET ON HIM NO IF'S ANDS OR BUTS---Do exactly as I say, with no questions and no objections.---Tennessee Williams (1947.) A Streetcar Named Desire. Stanley: "I don't want no ifs, ands or buts!" NO LOVE LOST---Mutual dislike for one another.---"There is no love lost between him and I."---(1620). Don Quixote. "There's no love lost,'quoth Sancho, 'for she speaks ill of mee too when she list.'" NO MAN CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS---Bible: Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to one and love the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." --Caxton (1477). Jason. "For no man may wel serve two maistres for that one corumpeth that other." NO MAN IS AN ISLAND---No one is entirely independent of others.---John Donne (1624.) Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions. "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." NO MORE THAN THE MAN IN THE MOON---Unknowing.---"He doesn't know what he is doing anymore than the man in the moon."---Scott (1805) Lockhart's Life. "So on I wrote, knowing no more than the man in the moon how I was to end." NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS---If one is expecting bad news and no news comes, maybe the bad thing hasn't happened."---(1616). King James I, writing to Sir George More: ".....I desire not that ye should trouble me with an answer, if it is no end; and no news is better than evil news." NO PAIN NO GAIN---Nothing worthwhile is gained without exerting effort.---J. Grange (1577). Aphrodites. "Who will the fruyte that yeildes, must take the payne." NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS---Gives no special favors to anyone because of their status.---"He is no respecter of persons."---Bible: Acts 10:34. "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said. Of truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons."

NO REST FOR THE WICKED---Never getting a break.---"There is no rest for the wicked."---Bible: Isaiah 48:22. "There is no peace, saith the Lord," unto the wicked." It is usually used as an expression of lack of rest, one is always struggling. NO RHYME OR REASON---Not sensible---"There's no rhyme or reason for this."---Possible meaning: The story goes, that Sir Thomas Moore was asked for advice on an authors book and he told him to turn it into rhyme. The author did so and brought it back. Sir Thomas said, "Tis rhyme now, but before it was neither rhyme nor reason." NO SKIN OFF MY NOSE---No concern of mine; I will mind my own business.---"I don't care what he does, It's no skin off my nose."---Someone who sticks their nose in someone's business is liable to get it skinned up. NO SWEAT---Easy.---"This is no sweat, we'll be done in a minute."--Shakespeare (1610). The Tempest. "All things in common nature should produce without sweat or endeavour...." NO USE BEATING A DEAD HORSE---Do something futile; belabor an issue that is no longer of interest.---"Let it go, no use in beating a dead horse."---John Morley (1887). "In parliament he again pressed the necessity of reducing expenditure. Friends warned him that he was flogging a dead horse." NO USE IN CLOSING THE BARN DOOR AFTER THE HORSE IS OUT NO WIN SITUATION---No matter what you do you are going to lose.---"This is a no win situation we are in."---(1976). New York Times Magazine. "The principal's main concern was that it was a non win situation." NOBODY PLANS TO FAIL, THEY JUST FAIL TO PLAN NON COMPOS---Out of it; of unsound mind.---"I think that John is non compos."---Latin phrase non compos mentis, which for several centuries has served as a legal term meaning "not of sound mind."---(1692). The Jacobite Conventicle. "These men are sure non compos mentis, and Bedlam [hospital in London] must sure be enlarged." NONE THE WORSE FOR THE WEAR---Something or someone has been through an ordeal or use and don't look ok.---"You don't look any the worse for the wear."---Skelton (1529). Magnyfycence. "All thynge is worse whan it is worne." NOSE OUT OF JOINT---The look of displeasure; disgruntled.---"She sure has her nose out of joint today."---Maybe the look on someone's face when they are angry or upset.---Barnaby Rich (1581). His Farewell to the Militarie Profession "It could bee no other than his owne name, that had thrust his nose so far out of joynte." NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE---Hard at work; held to a task.---"He has his nose to the grindstone."---A picture of someone hard at a task.---Erasmus (1557). A Merry Dialogue. "I would have holden his nose to the grindstone." NOSTALGIA ISN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE NOT ON YOUR LIFE---No way; on no account.---"I would never get married again, not on your life."---The suggestion is that you could wager your life on the truth or reliability of what is being said.---(1905). New York Evening Post. "The

congressman was asked if there had been any gambling on the trip. 'Not on your life,' he said." NOT WHAT IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE---Disappointing; less than expected.---"That show certainly wasn't what it was cracked up to be."---Old meaning of the word "crack" was to boast.---(1884). American (mag). "Mexico is not all it has been cracked up to be." NOT WORTH A PLUGGED NICKEL---Worthless; of no value.---"Why, he's not worth a plugged nickel."---To plug a coin was to remove part of it and replace it with material of little or no value. Carl Sandburg (1936). People, Yes. "he seems to think he's the frog's tonsils but he looks like a plugged nickel." NOT WORTH THE POWDER TO BLOW IT UP---Of little value.---"He isn't worth the powder it would take to blow him up."---(1823). The Austin Papers. "All the government in the world would not make them worth the powder that it would take to blow them to Hell." NOTHING BRINGS ON AN EMERGENCY QUICKER THAN SETTING MONEY ASIDE FOR ONE NOTHING IS CERTAIN BUT DEATH AND TAXES---Death and taxes are two unavoidable evils while nothing else in life can be guaranteed.---Daniel Defoe (1726.) Political History of the Devil. NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN---Everything has happened some time before.---Bible: Ecclesiastes 1:9. "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done, is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun." NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE SUCCESS---Northcote (1882). Notes & Queries. NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT---It's ordinary; mediocre; average.---"He was a pretty good ballplayer, but he wasn't anything to write home about."---G. D. H. Cole (1928.) The Man From The River. "He was...bleeding a bit, but nothing to write home about." NOTHING VENTURED NOTHING GAINED---If nothing is ventured one cannot expect any gain.---Chaucer (1378). Troylus. "And seyde, he which that nothing undertaketh, nothing he acheveth, be him looth or dere." NOW OR NEVER---Last chance to do something.---"I am not getting any younger, it's now or never."---John Daus (1560). Sleidanes Commentaries. "Therefore thought they now, or els never, yt [that] God was on theyr side." NOW YOU ARE COOKING WITH GAS---You are doing it right; on the cutting edge.---When natural gas cooking became available it was a great improvement, some say it is still the best. NUTTY AS A FRUIT CAKE---Eccentric; odd; mentally unbalanced.---"That boy is nutty as a fruit cake."---How "nut" came to be used is unclear.---Graeme and Sarah Lorimer (1935). Heart Specialist. "'Listen , Alix, you're as nutty as a fruitcake,' I said." NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM---No space stays vacant for long.---Thomas Cranmer (1551.) Answer to Gardiner. NEAT AS A PIN---very neat---"She keeps her house as neat as a pin"---First used in the 18th century, the original was "as neat as a new pin", meaning

something trim and bright.---John Wolcott (1796). "How neat was Ellen in her dress! As neat as a new pin!" NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION--- Better ideas sometimes come to you when you are pressed for a solution to a problem.---Jonathan Swift (1726). Gullivers Travels. "I sold [soled] my shoes with wood, which I cut from a tree, no man could more verify the truth that necessity is the mother of invention." NECK OF THE WOODS---Area or region.---"How are things in your neck of the woods."---Originally neck meant a narrow stretch of land, a defined area. NEEDLE IN A HAY STACK---Something almost impossible to find.---"Finding an honest politician is like finding a needle in a haystack."---16th century saying: "A pin's head in a cart load of hay." NEEDLESS TO SAY---You know this but I am going to tell you anyway.---"My wife came to the bar looking for me, needless to say I left."---(1826). Kaleidoscope (journal). "The Squire was hard hit by this nonchalance, and it is needless to add, acted upon Sheridan's suggestion." NEITHER HERE NOR THERE---Irrelevant; of no significance.---"Whether it rains is neither here nor there, the job has got to be finished."---Aldus Manutius (1581). Linguae Latinus. "It is neither here nor there, or I passe not what you thinke of me." NEVER A BORROWER OR A LENDER BE---Borrowing or lending can ruin a friendship.---Shakespeare (1604). Hamlet. "For loan oft loses both itself and friend." NEVER BEAT A BEAR WITH A SWITCH---Always have the resources to get the job done; never bite off more than you can chew.---Ray (1678). "He must have iron nails that scratcheth with a bear." NEVER BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW---Don't get in a situation you can't handle. NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK---Be ruthless, especially in business; put you own interests first.---W. C. Fields. (1923.) Poppy. NEVER MIX BUSINESS WITH PLEASURE---Keep your work separate from more frivolous activities or your work will suffer.---(Early 20th century.) NEVER PUT OFF UNTIL TOMORROW WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY--Delays are sometimes dangerous; you know not what tomorrow brings.---Bailey (1725). "Why not today rather than tomorrow, if delays are dangerous." NEVER SAY DIE---Keep fighting; don't give up hope.---Charles Dickens (1837.) The Pickwick Papers. NEVER SAY NEVER---Think positively; even things that seem impossible may indeed happen.---Charles Dickens (1837.) The Pickwick Papers. NEVER STAND BETWEEN A DOG AND A TREE NICE GUYS FINISH LAST---If you really want to win, fight tooth and nail to the very end; people will take advantage of one's kindness and good nature.---Leo Durocher (1905 - 91.) NICK OF TIME---At the very last moment; at a crucial moment.---"You got here just in the nick of time."---Old meaning of nick was: At the crucial moment.

Meredith Hanmer (1577). Ancient Ecclesiastical Histories. "The Romane navie....arrived at the very pinch, or as we commonly say, in the nicke." NINE EVER, EIGHT NEVER---Firehouse Bridge term. When you hold the top two honors, you should play trump out and try to get the Queen to fall if you have a total of nine trump cards in the dummy hand and your hand. NINE MILES OF BAD ROAD---Looking very bad.---"Jerry looked like nine miles of bad road this morning." NIP AND TUCK---Dead even; head to head.---"It was nip and tuck there for a while."---Old meanings of "nip" and "tuck" not found.---John Bartlett (1859). Dictionary of Americanisms. "Don't play that new game they've got where the jack takes the ace, 'taint natural. I tried 'em at poker, and old sledge, and loo, but they couldn't get me down, it was nip and tuck between us; but by and by they fetched in that new game, and then I hollered." NIP IN THE BUD---Stop something at its beginning.---"You had better nip it in the bud now or it is going to cause trouble later."---A late frost will kill the flower in it's budding stage.---Jerome Osorius (1565). Pearl for a Prince. "Princes doe unwisely which doo not nyp wickedness in the hed, so sone as it doth begin." NITTY GRITTY NO DEFENSE LIKE A GOOD OFFENSE---Attack rather than wait.---"The best defense is a good offence."---Originally a military saying, now widely used in sports.---Brackenridge (1790). Gazette. "I say the best defense is offence." NO DICE---Nothing doing; absolutely not; definitely not.---"He asked if I would work for him, I told him no dice"---Alludes to a failure to throw a winning number with the dice.---(Early 20th century.) NO FOOL LIKE AN OLD FOOL---An older person should, through experience know better than to engage in certain behavior.---"He is running around with that young woman, there is no fool like an old fool."---White Kennett (1683). Praise of Folly. "The more ancient they grow, the more fools they are." NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED---Life is so unfair that one is more likely to get into some sort of trouble than be rewarded if one attempts to do a good deed; many times one spends time and resources to help someone only to be totally ignored with not so much as a thank you.---John P. Grier (Origin unclear) NO HORSE GOES AS FAST AS THE MONEY THAT IS BET ON HIM NO IF'S ANDS OR BUTS---Do exactly as I say, with no questions and no objections.---Tennessee Williams (1947.) A Streetcar Named Desire. Stanley: "I don't want no ifs, ands or buts!" NO LOVE LOST---Mutual dislike for one another.---"There is no love lost between him and I."---(1620). Don Quixote. "There's no love lost,'quoth Sancho, 'for she speaks ill of mee too when she list.'" NO MAN CAN SERVE TWO MASTERS---Bible: Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to one and love the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." --Caxton (1477). Jason. "For no man may wel serve two maistres for that one corumpeth that other."

NO MAN IS AN ISLAND---No one is entirely independent of others.---John Donne (1624.) Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions. "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." NO MORE THAN THE MAN IN THE MOON---Unknowing.---"He doesn't know what he is doing anymore than the man in the moon."---Scott (1805) Lockhart's Life. "So on I wrote, knowing no more than the man in the moon how I was to end." NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS---If one is expecting bad news and no news comes, maybe the bad thing hasn't happened."---(1616). King James I, writing to Sir George More: ".....I desire not that ye should trouble me with an answer, if it is no end; and no news is better than evil news." NO PAIN NO GAIN---Nothing worthwhile is gained without exerting effort.---J. Grange (1577). Aphrodites. "Who will the fruyte that yeildes, must take the payne." NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS---Gives no special favors to anyone because of their status.---"He is no respecter of persons."---Bible: Acts 10:34. "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said. Of truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons." NO REST FOR THE WICKED---Never getting a break.---"There is no rest for the wicked."---Bible: Isaiah 48:22. "There is no peace, saith the Lord," unto the wicked." It is usually used as an expression of lack of rest, one is always struggling. NO RHYME OR REASON---Not sensible---"There's no rhyme or reason for this."---Possible meaning: The story goes, that Sir Thomas Moore was asked for advice on an authors book and he told him to turn it into rhyme. The author did so and brought it back. Sir Thomas said, "Tis rhyme now, but before it was neither rhyme nor reason." NO SKIN OFF MY NOSE---No concern of mine; I will mind my own business.---"I don't care what he does, It's no skin off my nose."---Someone who sticks their nose in someone's business is liable to get it skinned up. NO SWEAT---Easy.---"This is no sweat, we'll be done in a minute."--Shakespeare (1610). The Tempest. "All things in common nature should produce without sweat or endeavour...." NO USE BEATING A DEAD HORSE---Do something futile; belabor an issue that is no longer of interest.---"Let it go, no use in beating a dead horse."---John Morley (1887). "In parliament he again pressed the necessity of reducing expenditure. Friends warned him that he was flogging a dead horse." NO USE IN CLOSING THE BARN DOOR AFTER THE HORSE IS OUT NO WIN SITUATION---No matter what you do you are going to lose.---"This is a no win situation we are in."---(1976). New York Times Magazine. "The principal's main concern was that it was a non win situation." NOBODY PLANS TO FAIL, THEY JUST FAIL TO PLAN NON COMPOS---Out of it; of unsound mind.---"I think that John is non compos."---Latin phrase non compos mentis, which for several centuries has served as a legal term meaning "not of sound mind."---(1692). The Jacobite

Conventicle. "These men are sure non compos mentis, and Bedlam [hospital in London] must sure be enlarged." NONE THE WORSE FOR THE WEAR---Something or someone has been through an ordeal or use and don't look ok.---"You don't look any the worse for the wear."---Skelton (1529). Magnyfycence. "All thynge is worse whan it is worne." NOSE OUT OF JOINT---The look of displeasure; disgruntled.---"She sure has her nose out of joint today."---Maybe the look on someone's face when they are angry or upset.---Barnaby Rich (1581). His Farewell to the Militarie Profession "It could bee no other than his owne name, that had thrust his nose so far out of joynte." NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE---Hard at work; held to a task.---"He has his nose to the grindstone."---A picture of someone hard at a task.---Erasmus (1557). A Merry Dialogue. "I would have holden his nose to the grindstone." NOSTALGIA ISN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE NOT ON YOUR LIFE---No way; on no account.---"I would never get married again, not on your life."---The suggestion is that you could wager your life on the truth or reliability of what is being said.---(1905). New York Evening Post. "The congressman was asked if there had been any gambling on the trip. 'Not on your life,' he said." NOT WHAT IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE---Disappointing; less than expected.---"That show certainly wasn't what it was cracked up to be."---Old meaning of the word "crack" was to boast.---(1884). American (mag). "Mexico is not all it has been cracked up to be." NOT WORTH A PLUGGED NICKEL---Worthless; of no value.---"Why, he's not worth a plugged nickel."---To plug a coin was to remove part of it and replace it with material of little or no value. Carl Sandburg (1936). People, Yes. "he seems to think he's the frog's tonsils but he looks like a plugged nickel." NOT WORTH THE POWDER TO BLOW IT UP---Of little value.---"He isn't worth the powder it would take to blow him up."---(1823). The Austin Papers. "All the government in the world would not make them worth the powder that it would take to blow them to Hell." NOTHING BRINGS ON AN EMERGENCY QUICKER THAN SETTING MONEY ASIDE FOR ONE NOTHING IS CERTAIN BUT DEATH AND TAXES---Death and taxes are two unavoidable evils while nothing else in life can be guaranteed.---Daniel Defoe (1726.) Political History of the Devil. NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN---Everything has happened some time before.---Bible: Ecclesiastes 1:9. "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done, is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun." NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIKE SUCCESS---Northcote (1882). Notes & Queries. NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT---It's ordinary; mediocre; average.---"He was a pretty good ballplayer, but he wasn't anything to write home

about."---G. D. H. Cole (1928.) The Man From The River. "He was...bleeding a bit, but nothing to write home about." NOTHING VENTURED NOTHING GAINED---If nothing is ventured one cannot expect any gain.---Chaucer (1378). Troylus. "And seyde, he which that nothing undertaketh, nothing he acheveth, be him looth or dere." NOW OR NEVER---Last chance to do something.---"I am not getting any younger, it's now or never."---John Daus (1560). Sleidanes Commentaries. "Therefore thought they now, or els never, yt [that] God was on theyr side." NOW YOU ARE COOKING WITH GAS---You are doing it right; on the cutting edge.---When natural gas cooking became available it was a great improvement, some say it is still the best. NUTTY AS A FRUIT CAKE---Eccentric; odd; mentally unbalanced.---"That boy is nutty as a fruit cake."---How "nut" came to be used is unclear.---Graeme and Sarah Lorimer (1935). Heart Specialist. "'Listen , Alix, you're as nutty as a fruitcake,' I said." O.K.---All right. ---"Everything is o.k."---Comes from the presidential election of 1840. Martin Van Buren, was nicknamed "The Wizard of Kinderhook" - after "Old Kinderhook," the Hudson Valley village in which he had been born. In reference to this village and Van Buren's nickname one of the Democratic groups formed to support him in New York City called itself "The Democratic O.K. (Old Kinderhook) Club." Other supporters of Van Buren picked up the term "O.K." as a sort of a slogan, and Democratic rowdies used it as their war cry in their attempts to break up meetings of Whigs. The phrase caught on generally and soon established itself as synonymous with the feeling of the original club members that they and their candidates were "all right." ODD MAN OUT---Someone being excluded---"He has always been the odd man out"---Originally from a gambling game, also used when choosing between three people usually for two positions. Each tosses a coin and the two who match (heads or tails) stay and the odd man is out.---(1889). Saturday Review "The good luck which attends us in the political 'odd man out' game." ODDS AND ENDS---Miscellaneous things.---"The drawer is full of odds and ends."---Odd things that don't belong with other things. Ends, as ends or remnants of cloth.---Thomas Collier (1746). Caveat. "There dekinge about for odde endes, at length founde a lytle whystell of sylver." OFF HIS ROCKER---Insane or mentally impaired.---"He's off his rocker."--Origin not known.---(1897). Daily News. "When asked if he had swallowed the lineament, he said, 'Yes, I was off my rocker.'" OFF THE CUFF---Not formal; impromptu.---"Lets just keep this little transaction off the cuff."---At one time credit was so limited that a fellow operating a livery stable could keep his records on his shirt cuff. Transactions were usually on a cash basis. Casual business transactions were common enough to cause anything impromptu to be termed "off the cuff". OFF THE DEEP END---Irrational; impulsive.---"He's gone off the deep end."--Possibly the idea of jumping into deep water without knowing what is below the surface.---Christopher Morley (1939). Kitty Foyle. "I wish there was some man she'd go off the deep end about."

OFF THE WALL---Unusual; erratic; unconventional.---"This whole idea is off the wall."---In any sport, i.e. racquetball, where a ball is hit off a wall there will be some erratic bounces.---(1974). National Review. "Brian knows how to startle the over interviewed with off the wall questions that get surprising answers." OIL AND WATER DON'T MIX---Things or individuals with different natures do not combine well.---Joseph Jones (1783.) OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER BUT TOO YOUNG TO RESIST--Lack of self control. OLD FUDDY DUDDY---An old fashioned person; a person set in there ways---"He's nothing but an old fuddy duddy."---One possible link is to William Dickinson (1899). He recorded "duddy fuddy" in his glossary of the Cumberland dialect in England. OLD HABITS DIE HARD---People don't change easily; adherence to familiar practices.---"He won't change his approach, old habits die hard."---Thomas Kempis (1450). The Imitation of Christ. "Olde custom is harde to breke." OLD HAT---Familiar; dull or boring.---"I am tired of this routine, it is getting to be old hat."---Probably the rapid changes in hat fashions when they were so popular.---Sir Arthur Quiller (1911). Brother Copas. "So it has happened with Satan and his fork; they have become 'old hat.'" OLD STAMPING GROUND---Any place one returns to on a regular basis.---"It is good to be back in my old stamping ground."---Prairie chickens were famous of performing an elaborate courtship dance, they made a loud booming noise while strutting and stamping about. They would return to these same mating areas year after year. These mating grounds would be worn bald. The people in these areas were familiar with these areas and they became known as the "old stamping ground. Places where men congregate on a regular basis became known as their "stamping grounds". OLDER THAN DIRT ON A RAMPAGE---Acting out of anger; become boisterous; spoiling for a fight; rioting.---"When he found out about his wife having a boy friend, he went on a rampage."---Charles Dickens (1861). Great Expectations. "She's been on the rampage this last spell, about five minutes." ON TENTERHOOKS---In suspense; anxious.---"I wish they would give the results, they have me on tenterhooks."---Originally a frame with pointed pins for stretching cloth.---Tobias Smollett (1748). The Adventures of Roderick Random. "I left him upon the tenter hooks of impatient uncertainty." ON THE BALL---With it; sharp and competent.---"He is really on the ball today."---Possible: From baseball, when a pitcher had something on the ball (movement on the ball) he was going to have a good game.---(1912). Collier's. "He's got nothing on the ball, nothing at all." ON THE CARPET---Called in front of the employer for a reprimand.---"He is going to get called on the carpet for that stunt."---A worker being called into the employer's office for a reprimand. Usually a carpeted office.---John Galt (1823). The Entail. "Making her servants walk the carpet.'" ON THE FLY also WING IT---Hastily; improvising as you do something.---"We don't have any plans we are just going to do it on the fly, we

are going to wing it."---Henry Mayhew (1851). London Labour and the London Poor. "Taking them on the fly; which means meeting the gentry on their walks, and beseeching them or sometimes menacing them until something is given." ON THE LAM---To flee.---To "do a lam" was defined as meaning, to run. (1904). Life in Sing Sing. "He plugged the main guy for keeps and I took it on the lam for mine." ON THE LEVEL---Being honest or fair.---"I think he is on the level."---Term from Freemasonry. The level is an emblem of that organization, as is the square. Masons first used the term to refer to other Masons. George Ade (1896). Artie. "I see barrel house boys going around for hand outs, that was more on the level than you." ON THE MAKE---Looking for financial, social or sexual gain.---"I think she is on the make."---J.H. Beadle (1873). The Undeveloped West. "They're all on the make." ON THE QT---Meaning to keep something quiet; not to be overheard.---"Let's keep this on the QT, don't tell anyone else."---Abbreviation for the word "quiet". ON THE ROCKS---In trouble; suffering physical, mental or financial troubles.---"I can't pay my rent, they have me on the rocks."---A ship that has run on the rocks.---Alexander Murdoch (1889). Scottish Readings. "Fork out, for I'm fair on the rocks." ON THE ROPES---In a difficult situation; in danger of failure.---"He had me on the ropes."---Boxing term, when a fighter was on the ropes he was in a precarious position. Pierce Egan (1829). Boxicana. "Lenny found himself hanging on the ropes, where he was milled down." ON THE SKIDS---Headed for a downfall.---"He lost his job and he is on the skids."---To save time and cut down on labor ramps and platforms made of heavy timbers were constructed. Often slanted sharply, it was easy to slide things down such an incline, especially if it was greased. Once a barrel or bale was placed in position and given a push, it was on the skids and headed downward out of control. ON THE SPOT---In difficulty; expected to explain some action, or take some action.---"He really put me on the spot in that meeting."---Original American slang expression was to be marked for assassination. The "spot" is believed to be the ace of spades, which pirates showed to a traitor to indicate he was to be executed.---(1930). Punch. "You get rid of inconvenient subordinates by 'putting them on the spot', that is deliberately sending them to their death." In this case "death" meant discharge, or transfer to a worse job. ON THE SPUR OF THE MOMENT---With little or no forethought.---"We left on the spur of the moment."---Opportunity stimulates the beholder as the spur stimulates the horse.---Admiral Nelson (1806). "The contrivance of Mr. Wyatt, on the spur of the moment." ON THE UP AND UP---Honest; fair.---"Everything was on the up and up."--(1863). Humboldt Register. "Now that would be business, on the dead up and up."

ON THE WAGON---Abstaining from alcohol.---"Joe has been on the wagon for a week now."---(1904). Dialect Notes. "To be on the water wagon, to abstain from hard drinks." ONCE A THIEF, ALWAYS A THIEF---People never change; a basic weakness remains.---J. Stevens (1706.) New Spanish and English Dictionary. ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY (ONCE BURNT TWICE SHY)---Once bitten one tends to keep one's distance.---John Heywood (1546.) Northall (1894). ONCE IN A BLUE MOON---Rarely.---"He only comes around once in a blue moon."---The moon rarely has a blue cast to it. William Roy and J. Barlow (1528). Rede Me and Be Nott Wrothe. "Yf they saye the nome is belewe, We must believe that it is true." ONE FELL SWOOP---A quick and savage action.---"We lost it all in one fell swoop."---Fell from the Latin root "felon" an once meant "cruel." Shakespeare: Macbeth. "What, all my pretty chickens and their dam at one fell swoop?" ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE---In a bad way; seriously ill.---"Don is in a bad way, he has one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel."---Alexander Barclay (1509). The Shyp of Folys. "Thy grave is open, thy one fote in the pyt." ONE FOR THE ROAD---One more drink before you leave the pub.---"Give me one for the road bartender."---J. P. Donleavy (1955). Ginger Man. "You've had a few," observes one character. "Five for the road," boasts the traveler. "Never let it be said that I took to the highway or even byway without fuel for me little heart." ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER---A good turn by one should be repaid by a good turn.---"I will help him on Saturday he helped me today, one good turn deserves another." ONE MAN'S JUNK IS ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE ONE SWALLOW DOES NOT A SUMMER MAKE---Don't draw conclusions prematurely based on a single fact.---John Heywood (1546.)---Alludes to the fact that the migratory patterns of swallows herald a change of season. The birds send out scouts ahead of the main migration, so one swallow does not mean the migration is taking place. ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG---Byron Childe Harold. "Heaven gives its favorites early death." ONLY YOUR FRIENDS WILL SCREW YOU, YOUR ENEMIES WON'T EVEN TALK TO YOU---Someone has to be close to really hurt you.---Howell (1659). "Better to be stung by a nettle than prickt by a rose." OPEN AND ABOVEBOARD---Fair; conducting business without trickery.---"The whole deal was open and aboveboard."---Board in the since of a table where everything was in plain view.---Richard Carpenter (1620). The Conscionable Christian. "All his dealings are square and above board." OPEN AND SHUT CASE---A straightforward matter; no doubt as to the outcome.---"It is an open and shut case, he will go to jail."---(1841). New Orleans Picayune. "The contest between humming Bird and Maria Collier was considered all but a 'dead open and shut game.'" OPENING PANDORA'S BOX OPINIONS ARE LIKE ASS HOLES, EVERYBODY HAS ONE

OPPORTUNITY ONLY KNOCKS ONCE---Always be in a position to take advantage of an opportunity should it arise.---Fenton (1567). Bandello. "Fortune once in the course of our life dothe put into our handes the offer of a good torne." OPPOSITES ATTRACT---People with opposing qualities and traits are often drawn together by their complementarity.---J. Watson & A. J. Rees (1918.) Mystery of the Downs. OUT AND OUT---Complete; extreme.---"That was an out and out lie."---Out meant: To the conclusion.---Chaucer (1374). Troilus and Criseyde. "For out and out he is worthiest.." OUT OF ONES ELEMENT---Not operating in your area of expertise.---"They promoted him to manager, now he is out of his element."---Fuller (1732). "He is as much out of his element as an eel in a sand bag." OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND---If you don't see someone or something you tend to forget about them or it.---Caxton (1477). Jason. "What the eye sees not, the heart rues not." OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES---Children will say the damndest things; they tell it like it is with no slant.---Bible: Psalm 8:2. "What is man, that thou art mindful of him?" says of the Lord. "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast ordained strength.." OUT OF THE WOODS---Clear of danger or difficulty.---"I think we are finally out of the woods on this deal."---Francis Burney (1792). Diary and Letters. "Mr. Windham says we are not yet out of the wood, though we can see the path through it." OUT ON A LIMB---In an exposed or dangerous position.---"He really had me out on a limb."---A.H. Louis (1897). Wolfville. "Seven of us seein' whatever we can tie down and brand, when some Mexicans gets us out on a limb." OUTLANDISH---Bizarre or uncouth.---"The whole story was outlandish."---The Anglo Saxon English brought the Dutch word uitlander to England. By the 1600's the word became outlander. The word was used to describe the customs and costumes of foreigners.---Henry Fielding Tom Jones. In the book he jeered at a woman whose clothing he described as being "outlandish". OVER A BARREL---Helpless.---"He certainly had Harry over a barrel."---(1) Someone who had been rescued from drowning was draped over a barrel in an attempt to revive him.---(2) A person considered too guilty to escape with tar and feathers was often publicly whipped. To prevent escape the victim was tied to an overturned barrel, he was over the barrel.---Raymond Chandler (1939). The Big Sleep. "We keep a file on unidentified bullets nowadays. Someday you might use that gun again. Then you'd be over a barrel." OVER THE HILL---Past one's prime; old.---"Bill is fifty now he is over the hill."---Alludes to the fact that one can't do all the things you used to when you were younger. Actually the top of the hill is about age 36 with a life expectancy of 72. After 36 it is downhill. Hence the saying: "Its all downhill from here."--(1950). New York Herald Tribune. "He has lost his punch, he's a lot farther over the hill than I was when I hung up the gloves in 1927." OWN WORST ENEMY---One who brings most of their troubles on themselves.---"He is his own worst enemy."---Robert Greene (1592). A Quip for

an Upstart Courtier. "I thinke him an honest man if he would but live within his compasse, and generally no mannes foe but his own." OYSTERS ARE NOT GOOD IN MONTHS THAT HAVE NOT AN R IN THEM---Butts (1599). PACK A WALLOP---Can strike a formidable blow.---"Wow, she really packs a wallop."---Eugene O'Neill (1922). The Hairy Ape. "He packa da wallop, I tella you!" PACK IT IN---To quit,give up, finish, die.---"I am going to pack it in, I am tired."---Originated during WWI, service men's slang for "stop doing something". PADDLE YOUR OWN CANOE---Be independent; take care of yourself.---"He is going to have to learn to paddle his own canoe."---Marryat (1844). Settlers in Canada. "Every man paddle his own canoe." PAIN IN THE NECK---A bother or annoyance.---"She is fast becoming a pain in the neck."---P. G. Wodehouse (1924). Leave it to Psmith. "He got there first, damn him! Wouldn't that give you a pain in the neck!" Also a pain in the ass. new! PAINT THE TOWN RED---Go "out on the town" and have an exciting time.---"It's our anniversary and we are going to paint the town red."---A uniquely American expression. Something painted red is exciting and flashy. PANDEMONIUM---Scene of wild disorder.---"All hell broke loose, it was pandemonium."---Coined by John Milton Paradise Lost. Writing of the high capital of Satan and his peers, Milton called the place Pandaemonium. The word was modified to its present form. PAPER TIGER---Something less tough or menacing than it appears.---"Don't pay any attention to him, he is just a paper tiger."---Chairman Mao (1946). Referring to "reactionaries" he said: "They are paper tigers." PAR FOR THE COURSE---Average or normal standard.---"He is late again, but that is par for the course."---Muriel Beadle (1961). These Ruins are Inhabited. "While waiting, I caught a fragment of another subscriber's telephone conversation. This is also par for the course in making an Oxford phone call." new! PARDON MY FRENCH---Excuse me for uttering a curse.---Alludes to an out of place or curse word being injected into a conversation.---A word foreign to the conversation. PART AND PARCEL---A key component.---"That is part and parcel of the reason I came back."---Shakespeare (1535). Henry VIII. "This present act, and every part and parcel thereof, shall estend..." PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW---Parting can be bothe sweet and sorrowful.---Shakespeare (1594.) Romeo and Juliet.: Juliet: "Good night, good night! parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow." PASS THE BUCK---Shift responsibility to someone else.---"They are always trying to pass the buck."---The buck was an object passed from one card player to another to signify the recipient was the next to deal.---Mark Twain (1872). The Innocents at Home. "Ante and pass the buck." PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE---Congrave (1611). Patience. "He who hath no patience hath nothing." Langland (1377). Plowman. Suffraunce is a souereygne vertue."

PAY PEANUTS GET MONKEYS---If you pay cheap wages you get cheap help; if you pay good wages you get good help. PAY THROUGH THE NOSE---Pay an exorbitant price.---"You pay through the nose when you are on vacation."---Multiple origins. One referring to a punishment for failure to pay a 9th century Irish tax. The offender had his nose slit. Andrew Marvell (1845) The Rehearsal Transposed "Made them pay it most unconscionably and through the nose." PAY THE PIPER---Settle an obligation.---"He made the mistake, now he must pay the piper."---The piper provided music at pubs and ceremonies, and listeners or hosts were expected to pay him. John Taylor (1638). Taylors Feast. "Alwayes those that dance must pay the musicke." 19th century saying: "He who pays the piper calls the tune." new! PDQ---Pretty damn quick---"We have to get out of here pdq." new! PECK'S BAD BOY---A boy who is always in trouble.---"He is a peck's bad boy."---Always in a peck of trouble.---Grafton (1569.) Chronicals "You bring your selfe into such a pecke of troubles. PENNY WISE AND POUND FOOLISH---Overly careful about trivial things and not caring enough about important ones; tries to save money on the small end, which ends up costing much more on the big end.---"He is penny wise and dollar foolish."---Edward Topsell (1607). The Historie of Foure-footed Beastes. "If by covetousness or negligence, one withdraw from them their ordinary foode, he shall be penny wise, and pound foolish." PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN GLASS HOUSES SHOULDN'T THROW STONES---Make sure, before you accuse someone of something, that you are not guilty of the same thing.---C. Shadwell (1720). Sham Prince. "Ay cousen, no body should throw stones, whose house is made of glass." PETER OUT---Fail; give out; fade away.---"About ten more minutes of this and I am going to peter out."---Possible: Might derive from the apostle Peter, who, when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, grasped a sword and rushed to his defense; but within the next few hours his enthusiasm had diminished to the extent that before the cock crowed he had thrice denied that he even knew Jesus.---Oral tradition: Peter Schmidt, wandered into the Ohio Valley as a day laborer. He talked a good game and found it easy to get a job. He would work hard, from sunup to sundown for a day or two. Then his pace would slow and he would begin cutting hours. Before the end of the month, he would "Peter out".--Forty-niners used a mixture of charcoal and saltpeter to make explosive charges. With its name clipped to peter, the stuff made short work of the operation and the seam would be exhausted quickly. A mine seen to yield less and less gold was said to be about ready to "peter" out.---H.H. Riley (1854). Puddleford and It's People. "He hoped this spectable meeting warn't going to peter out." PHYSICIAN HEAL THYSELF---Lydgate (1430). Daunce of Machebree. "Good leche is he that can himself recure." PICK HIS BRAIN---Get ideas from someone; draw on someone's experience.---"I am going to have to pick your brain on this one."---Nathaniel Willis (1850). "I sat down to pick his brains of the little information I wanted."

PICTURE OF HEALTH---Ideally fit; looking very healthy.---"You look like the picture of health today."---(1871). Punch. "He looks like the picture of health." PIG IN A POKE (Buy a)---To buy something without seeing it.---"He sent away for it, he's getting a pig in a polk."---Thomas Tusser (1580). Five Hundredth Good Pointes of Husbandrie. The game was to put a cat in the poke (pouch) and try to sell it as a pig, persuading the buyer not to open the polk because the pig might get out. Hence the saying "let the cat out of the bag." PIKER---A cheapskate who does not pay his way.---"Don't let him eat for nothing, he is a piker."---A piker was originally a person who walked along a turnpike built for carriages of the wealthy. Many early roads were created by private capital. In order to recover their investment, charter holders levied tolls for use of the turnpikes that were luxury highways of their era. There were fixed fees for various types of vehicles, but persons on foot were permitted to go from town to town without payment. By association with the highway he traveled, such a freeloading traveler came to be known as a "piker". PIPE DOWN---Shut up; be quiet.---"I can't hear what is being said, I wish you would pipe down."---Aboard sailing vessels orders were given with a boatswain using a special pipe whose notes could be heard above the wind and waves. When the captain wished to give special instructions or give the crew an opportunity to voice their complaints, the boatswain piped "all hands on deck". Another signal was used to send men to their quarters below deck. Sometimes a harsh captain would break off discussions and signal the boatswain to pipe the crew down to quarters. The expression was adopted and modified at the U.S. Naval Academy. About 1890 it became customary for a man in his third or fourth year to command a plebe, "pipe down!" Instead of a command to quarters, this was a demand for silence. PIPE DREAM---Vain hope or plan.---"He says he is going to do this and that but they are only pipe dreams."---Pipe dreams were associated with the habit of smoking opium. Smoking the opium pipe influenced several notable literary figures, with Samuel T. Coleridge being high on the list. By and large, fantasies produced by opium were that and nothing more. PISSING AND MOANING---Complaining.---"Damn it, quit your pissing and moaning." PISSING INTO THE WIND---An exercise in futility.---"Trying to convince him he is wrong is like pissing into the wind." PLAIN AS THE NOSE ON YOUR FACE---Something very obvious. ---"How could you miss it, it's as plain as the nose on your face."---Thomas Whythorne (1525). "As witness my hand in great letters. Why 'tis as plain as the nose on one's face." new! PLASTIC PEOPLE---Phoney; not real; aloof.---Social climbers, a want to be. Those who like to distance themselves from the average person. Usually overly dependent on the very people they look down their noses at.---Bible: Proverbs 16:18. "Pride goeth before distruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."

PLAY HOOKEY---Skip school; be truant.---Hook was used as a verb of action, one would hook a fish. A person who decamped hastily was said to "hook it". Compulsory education gave some youngsters an incentive to "hook it" in a new way. When given the opportunity a truant would bolt off and leave school. This became known as playing hookey. PLAY IT BY EAR---Improvise.---"We will have to play this one by ear."---John Playford (1674). A Brief Introduction to the Skill of Musicke. "To learn to play by rote or ear without a book. PLAY ON WORDS---A pun; double meaning.---"That was just a play on words." PLAY POSSUM---To be unresponsive; to fake unattentiveness.---"He knows everything that is going on, he is just playing possum."---Captured or set upon by another animal a possum will pretend it is dead, no amount of shaking or moving will cause it to open its eyes. As soon as the interest of the predator is otherwise distracted the possum slips off. PLAY SECOND FIDDLE---Subservient role.---"It seems like I am always playing second fiddle to him."---By the time first and second violin arrangements became common, the musician who played first violin was the most honored member of an orchestra, second fiddle was the lesser role. Any person in a subservient role is said to play second fiddle or follow behind. PLAY YOUR CARDS RIGHT---Make good moves; deploy your resources to best advantage.---"If you play your cards right you may just get a date with here."---Samuel Foote (1753). Englishman in Paris. "If Lucinda plays her cards well, we have not much to fear from that quarter." PLEASED AS PUNCH---Delighted.---The hero of the Punch and Judy puppet play. Punch is always singing with self satisfaction at the success of his rascally ways. Dickens (1854). Hard Times. "When Sissy got into the school here, her father was as pleased as Punch." POLITICIANS ARE LIKE DIAPERS, THEY NEED CHANGED OFTEN AND FOR THE SAME REASONS POOPED---Total fatigue.---On long sea journeys sailors found that the most damage would occur if violent waves battered the stern or poop of a vessel. Any ship that managed to get out of a stormy bout with nature was sure to be "pooped" and lucky to be afloat after days of pounding. Sailors who described the splintered stern of a ship to buddies in the tavern frequently confessed that they felt as pooped as their vessel looked. POPPYCOCK---Worthless talk; nonsense.---"Don't listen to any more of this speach, it's all a bunch of poppycock."---Charles F. Brown while writing for the Cleveland Plain Dealer around 1858, used the pen name of Artemis Ward. Since his real name was concealed, Ward ignored convention. In lieu of stilted prose, he used language that prim readers condemned as coarse or incomprehensible. Taking a dig at political oratory, he adapted a Dutch barnyard term for soft dung. "The hot air spouted by the aspirants for office, was nothing more than pure poppycock". Sensing that Ward's new word was earthy, his fans applied it to congressional debates without knowing its true meaning. Soon any kind of worthless talk came to be called poppycock.

POOR AS A CHURCH MOUSE---Genteel but hard up.---"Joe is poor as a church mouse."---The presumption being that a mouse living in a church may have elegant surroundings, but was unlikely to find food.---Corye (1672). Generous Enemies. "All that live with him are as poor as church rats." POP GOES THE WEASEL---Spending money.---Song: "That's the way the money goes; Pop goes the weasel...." Referring to the opening and shutting of a pocketbook. "Weasel" or "weasel skin" was a popular slang name for a "pocketbook" when the verse was written. POSSESSION IS NINE POINTS OF THE LAW---To have something in one's possession is much better than having a claim on something.---Nine of ten points of law are in your favor if you possess an item or piece of property.---Scott (1817). Rob Roy. "Take as necessary measures to secure that possession which sages say makes nine points of the law." POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK---Accusing someone of the very fault the accuser has.---A pot on the stove, unable to see itself accusing the kettle of being black. Clark (1639). "The pot calls the pan burnt-arse." POT TO PISS IN---Very poor.---"Poor old Joe doesn't have a pot to piss in." POUND OF FLESH---Usually a retribution for something; completion of a bargain.---"I hope he is happy, he got his pound of flesh."---It is the payment demanded by Shylock in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. POUR OIL ON TROUBLED WATERS---To ease a turbulent or difficult situation.---"We need to pour oil on the troubled waters."---Mariners have known for years that oil on the surface of a heavy sea diminishes its waves. POWER CORRUPTS, ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY---People in power are often corrupt, and the more power they possess, the more corrupt they become.---William Pitt (1770.) "Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it." POWWOW---Conference or gathering.---"When my son gets home we are going to have a little powwow."---Unless it is strictly formal and conducted under parliamentary rules, a conference or discussion is likely to be called a powwow. Among the Algonquin Indian tribes, a powwow was the medicine man who heard voices and saw visions. The powwow frequently presided over councils and rituals, and was known as the dreamer. Europeans learned that such men were often in charge of tribal talk sessions, but stumbled over their native title. Garbled into the form of powwow that title was adopted by whites to designate any gathering that involves an idea person. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT---One must practice to improve.---T. Wilson (1560). Rhetorique. "Eloquence was used, and through practice made perfect." PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH---Do what you advise others to do.---"He needs to practice what he preaches."---William Langland (1377). Piers Plowman. "What he preaches he does not do."---Fuller (1742). "He that serves at the altar, ought to live by the altar." PREACH TO THE CHOIR---Propound an argument to someone who already believes or supports it.---"He's preaching to the choir now."---John Stuart Mill (1867) "Dr. McCosh is preaching not only to a person already converted, but to an actual missionary of the same doctrine."

PRETTY IS AS PRETTY DOES---It is what you do that counts, not how you look.---Munday (1680). Sundry Examples. "But as the auncient adage is, goodly is he that goodly dooth." PROCRASTINATION IS THE THIEF OF TIME---Putting off doing something which must be done eventually, wastes time.---Young (1742.) Night Thoughts. PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING---The only way to find out if something turned out alright is to test it.---"I am sure everything was done well, but the proof is in the pudding."---14th century. PROPHET WITHOUT HONOR---An unrecognized prophet or seer.---"I told them and they make me feel like a prophet without honor."---Bible: Matthew 13:57. "A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house." PULL HIS LEG---Tease someone in a friendly way.---"You are just pulling my leg now."---(1867). English Dialect Dictionary. "He preached an' at last drew the auld body's leg, sae the kirk got the gatherins [money] o' our Aunty Meg." PULL IN YOUR HORNS---Stop some aggressive action.---"Alright Linda, just settle down and pull in your horns."---D. Rogers (1642). Naaman. "Let them cause you to be ashamed, or to shrinke in your hornes ever the more." PULL IT OFF---Accomplish something.---"It was tough but we were able to pull it off."---William Black (1887). Sabina Zembra. "We haven't pulled it off this time, mother." PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS---To go all out.---"We need to pull out all the stops now."---An organist can use the stops on an organ to block off or open different pipes. When a stop is pulled the pipe is opened. When all the stops are pulled all the pipes are in play. PULL THE RUG OUT FROM UNDER---Sabotage someone's plans, expectations or activity; withdraw support.---"When he took his money out of the company, he pulled the rug out from under us."---(1946). Time (mag). "Strikes, for instance, would pull the rug out from under the best of prospects." PULL THE WOOL OVER HIS EYES---Deceive someone.---"He really pulled the wool over your eyes."---Alluded to the wool wigs commonly worn in the 19th century.---Thomas C. Haliburton (1838). The Clockmaker. "Draw the wool over his eyes." PULL YOURSELF UP BY THE BOOT STRAPS---To improve one's position without help; to help oneself.---"I can't do it for you, you are going to have to pull yourself up by the bootstraps."---The bootstrap is a loop of fabric sewn into the inside of a boot near the top. One takes a device consisting of a handle with a perpendicular arm bearing a hook, inserts the hook in the strap and pulls up on the handle, thus easing the difficult job of getting the boot on.---James Joyce (1922). Ulysses. "There were others who had forced their way to the top from the lowest rung by the aid of their bootstraps." PUPPY LOVE---A childish infatuation.---"It won't last long, it's only puppy love."---From the affectionate nature of the typical puppy.---W.A. Carughers (1834). A Kentuckian in New York. "Oh! It is nothing more than puppy love."

PURE AND SIMPLE---Uncomplicated; straightforward; undiluted.---"Those are the facts, pure and simple."---George Eliot (1860). "But the most ignorant journalist in England would hardly think of calling me a rival of Miss Mulock, a writer who is read only by novel readers, pure and simple, never by people of high culture." PUSH COMES TO SHOVE---When things get serious; words must be backed up by action.---"When push comes to shove we will have to be there."---Alludes to a escalation of actions, the push and then the shove.---(1970). Calgary Herald. "If push comes to shove, make good the threat." PUT A BRASS KNOCKER ON A BARN DOOR---Inconsistency.---"Washing that old rust heap is like putting a brass knocker on a barn door."---Elworthy (1886). West Som. Word-Book. A very common saying expressive of inconsistency is ...may as well put a brass knocker on a barn door. PUT ON AIRS---Behave affectedly; false behavior; phoney.---"She sure likes to put on airs."---Charlotte Bronte (1853). Villette. "I hope you mean to behave prettily to her, and not show your airs." PUT ON ICE---set aside; store; kept in reserve until needed.---"I am just going to put this project on ice for now."---Paul L. Ford (1894). The Honorable Peter Stirling. "They say she's never been able to find a man good enough for her, and so she's keeping herself on ice." PUT ON THE BACK BURNER---Deferred until later; put in a position requiring less attention.---"We will have to put your project on the back burner for now."---(1974). Science News. "The first High Energy Astronomy Observatory satellites resumed development this year after being put on the back burner by NASA in 1973." PUT THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE---Do things out of order; not logical.---"You have the cart before the horse, you should have painted before you put down the carpet."---More (2557). Works. "Muche like as if we woulde go make the carte to draw the horse." PUT THE SCREWS TO---Apply pressure to influence the outcome of something; pressure someone.---"I was glad to get out of there, they were really putting the screws to me."---Comes from an era when torture was commonplace. No jailor was worth his salary until he learned how to use thumbscrews. Fastened upon a captive whose hands were strapped to his sides, these instruments of torture were tightened slowly. A sudden and abrupt turn of a screw might make a person pass out from pain and thus be unable to confess or tell what they needed to know. Today it refers to the practice of putting pressure on a person, group of people or organization to try an effect a profitable outcome. PUT THROUGH THE MILL---Receiving rough treatment.---"I'm done for the day, I feel like i've been put through the mill."---Grain goes into the grinding stones of a mill and is pulverized into meal or flour. PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD---Start with the best you have.---"When I interview for the job I am going to put my best foot forward."---Shakespeare (1641). Titus Andr. "Come on my Lords, the better foot before." PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN---Take a firm stand; forbid some plan or action.---"I am going to have to put my foot down and say no."---The action of putting one's

feet down firmly, as in taking a stand against someone or confronting them.--James Payn (1886). The Luck of the Darrells. "She put her foot down upon the least symptoms of an unpleasantry." PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS---Don't talk about buying something or making a bet, let's see the money. PUT YOUR SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL---Pitch in; help out; apply yourself vigorously to some task.---"If we put our shoulder to the wheel I think we can finish it today."---Robert Burton (1621). Anatomy of Melancholy. "Like him in Aesop, that, when his cart was stalled, lay flat on his back, and cryed, aloud, 'Help, Hurcules!' but that was to little purpose, except, as his friend advised him, he whipt his horses whthal, and put his shoulder to the wheel." PUTS HIS PANTS ON ONE LEG AT A TIME---There are certain things in life that affect everyone, no matter what your station in life.---"He puts his pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else."---Take the element of money away and everybody becomes equal. Someone with basic skills and common sense may survive, while someone of privilege may starve to death. PUTTING ON THE DOG---Flashy display; ostentation.---"Since he won the lottery he is really putting on the dog."---Huge profits were make during the Civil War by contractors who provided goods to the army. At the cessation of hostilities, fortunes were won from land speculation and railroad building. Members of the newly rich had plenty of money, but usually lacked culture. Seeking to win social acceptance, persons such as Diamond jim Brady made a vulgar display of opulence. Lap dogs were all the rage among wives of the wealthy. They spent large sums on pets, and each tried to top th excesses of the other. Pampered poodles became linked with the desire for show, so a person making any sort of flashy display was ridiculed as "putting on the dog". QUEER AS A $3 BILL---Phony; of dubious value.---"It was as queer as a $3 bill."---Queer as applied to counterfeit money goes back 250 years. There is no such bill as a $3 bill so any that show up would be self-evidently counterfeit or queer.---John Habberton (1877). Jericho Road. "'Let's give him fifty to send her.' 'Fifty queer?' asked Mr. Lodge. 'No, fifty straight,' said the little man." QUICK AS A BEE---Very quick.---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "As quicke as bee, seekes honie every where." QUICK AS A CAT---Very quick.---Beecher (1855). Writing in his autobiography of a Lambert who "was quick as a cat to see." QUICK AS A WINK---Very quick.---Brother Jonathan (1825). "Fire away as quick as a wink." QUICK AS LIGHTNING---Very quick.---Beaumont & Fletcher (1623). Love's Cure. "Swift as lightning he came on upon the other." QUICK ON THE DRAW---Very quick.---C. Brady ((1903). The Bishop. "He had the reputation of being the quickest man on the draw in the territory." QUICK STUDY---Someone who learns quickly.---"He is a quick study."--Theatrical saying. Charles Dickens (1838). Nicholas Nickleby. "I've got a part of twelve lengths here, which I must be up in tomorrow night.....I'm a confounded quick study, that's one comfort."

QUIET AS A MOUSE---Very quiet.---"What is he up to he has been quiet as a mouse."---Flecknoe (1656). Diarium. "Was wont to be as still as mouse." Also: QUIET AS A LAMB. QUIT YOUR BELLYACHING---Quit complaining.---"I'm tired of hearing it, would you please stop your bellyaching."---A person having an actual stomach ache is in pain and the saying reflects what the sound of a complainer has in common with the true sounds of a person with real pain. QUIZ---To question; inquire.---"I wish she would quit quizzing me about it."--The word came about because of a bet. A man named Daly, manager of the Dublin Theater, made a bet that he would introduce into the English language within twenty four hours a new word that had no meaning. Accordingly, on every wall in Dublin and every other place accessible, Daly had chalked up the four mystic letters Q-U-I-Z. That day all Dublin was inquiring what it meant. "Quiz? Quiz? What does it mean?" Daly won his bet and the word has remained in our language to this day. RACK AND RUIN---Financial failure.---"I went to rack and ruin after my divorce."---Original Old English form of wreck was wrack. The spelling has changed but the pronunciation of the old expression wrack and ruin remains the same. If a merchant's ship was wrecked with a full load of goods, he could be ruined financially. RACK MY BRAIN---Strain to solve a problem.---"I have been racking my brain trying to figure this out."---The "rack" was an instrument of torture in which a person was stretched. It seems that sometimes you have to do this to your brain to get it to function as desired. Sermon by William Beveridge (1680). "They rack their brains....they hazard their lives for it." RAISE HIS HACKLES---Make angry---"When he finds out it is surely going to raise his hackles"---The long slender feathers on a roosters neck that stand up when he is irritated or ready to fight.---Edward Pennell (1883). l The Cream of Leicdstershire. "I almost saw the hackles of a good old squire rise as he waved his hat and cheered." RAT RACE---A situation where one is struggling to stay ahead of one's competitors.---"Well it's Monday, back in the rat race."---Alludes to the rats reputation for ferocity and assertively looking after its interests as in competing for food. RAILROAD---Pushed into a situation without regard to opposition.---"I am being railroaded into this deal."---During the expansion of the railroads the competition was so great that builders would go to any extremes to get a railroad built as fast as it could without regard for men, difficulties or obstacles of any kind. Pell-mell overriding of difficulties spawned the expression that has outlasted the era in which it was first used. A person or group pushing an idea or an enterprise without regard for opposition is described as "railroading it". RAIN CATS AND DOGS---Downpour.---"It's raining cats and dogs out there."---Origin unclear, possibly the fighting of cats and dogs sounding like a storm. Jonathan Swift (1783). Polite Conversation. "I know Sir John will go, though he was sure it would rain cats and dogs; but pray stay, Sir John."

RANK AND FILE---The ordinary people.---"The union is depending on the rank and file to support the candidate."---Military term: A rank is a line of men side by side. A file is line of men one behind the other. Has come to mean the ordinary people comprising any group.---Robert Burns (1794). "The words come skelpan [galloping], rank and file." RATFINK---One who tells things told in confidence.---"He tells everything he hears, he is a ratfink."---German born Albert Fink was head of detectives who worked for the Louisville and nashville Railroad. He is supposed to have sent men to infiltrate unions when strikes were in the air. Fink's man, naturally called a Fink, sat, listened quietly and then ratted on fellow workers. Workers wanted nothing to do with such a fellow or his supervisor. Hence ratfink came to designate any squealer, scab, or breaker of confidences. RATS ABANDONING A SINKING SHIP---A failing enterprise (Connotation is that you should hang in to the end)---"They were quitting like rats abandoning a sinking ship."---Old sailors superstition, if rats were leaving a ship before it set sail, it would be an ill fated voyage.---Thomas Lupton (16th century.) A Thousand Notable Things of Sundrie Sorts. "Rats and dormice will forsake old and ruinous houses, three months before they fall." READ HIM LIKE A BOOK---Easy to figure out his thoughts or motives.---"I can read that guy like a book."---Edna Lyall (1909). The Hinderers. "We ordinary mortals are at the mercy of you artists....You read us like books." READ SOMETHING INTO IT---Make something more significant than it is; make one's own interpretation.---"He is trying to read something into this situation which isn't there."---(1903). Westminster Gazette. "We ordinary mortals are at the mercy of you artists, you read us like books." REAL MCCOY---Authentic; not an imitation.---"That's not a piece of glass, that's a diamond, the real McCoy."---More origins and history than will fit on this page, so I picked the one that made the most sense to me.---This version dates from the days of Prohibition and has a nautical flavor. Bill McCoy, a boat builder from the Canadian Maritime Provinces, became very wealthy, not to mention popular, through the smuggling of bootleg liquor to cities along the northeastern seaboard of the United States. As an entrepreneur of some principle, McCoy had no known ties to the organized crime syndicates that flourished during Prohibition. Even more remarkable was the fact that the liquor McCoy delivered was pure, unadulterated, and of the highest quality, an impressive testimonial during a time when the consumption of "homemade hooch" was a frequent cause of blindness and death. Eventually rounded up and convicted of smuggling, McCoy may have been persona no grata (unacceptable person) to the Feds, but his name became a household word synonymous with 100 percent authenticity and high quality. RED HANDED---Caught in the act.---"He was cheating and they caught him red handed."---In the case of an assault or murder a person found with blood on their hands was caught red handed. RED HERRING---Diversionary tactic; something used to throw investigators off the trail.---"We tried to follow up on that lead but it was a red herring."---A herring which is smoked turns red and has a strong odor. People who opposed

fox hunting would drag a red herring across the path of the dogs, they would follow the scent of the herring and loose the trail of the fox. Harry S. Truman (1948). "Just a red herring to get the minds of the voters off the sins of the 80th Congress. RED LETTER DAY---A memorable date or day.---"Today is going to be a red letter day."---It comes from the custom, which has endured since the 15th century, of signifying holy days important to the church by printing them in red on the calendar.---Fanny Burney (1782). Cecelia. " Today is a red letter day, so that's the reason for it." RED SKY AT NIGHT, SAILORS DELIGHT. RED SKY IN MORNING, SAILORS TAKE WARNING---Atmospheric conditions cause signs in the sky and foretell coming weather systems.---Bible: Matthew 16:2. "When it is evening ye say, it will be fair weather for the sky is red. And in the morning it will be foul weather today for the sky is red and lowering." REDNECK---A southerner who works in the fields and is exposed to hot sun all day.---"That Bubba is a real redneck."---Sometimes used derisively to describe southerners as quick to anger with little self control and therefore the red neck. The real meaning is that bent over working in the fields, even with a broadbrimmed straw hat which only provides intermittent protection, after a number of years the neck is likely to get a dark brownish red permanently. The sun in the south being more intense than in other areas of the country. REHASH---Go over something again; repeat.---"I thought something new would come from the meeting but it was just a rehash of the last meeting."---In middleclass inns guests expected meat on the table. The landlord couldn't afford to toss away food, so cooks often made hash from leftovers. Guests usually complained but if they pushed hash aside, they were likely to get it the following day in the form of meat loaf. Such a warmed over dish dubbed a rehash, was served frequently. REST IN PEACE---let that be an end to it; don't dig up old scandals.---"Let's let the whole thing rest in peace."---Charles Kingsley (1855). Westward Ho! "Into her merits or demerits i do not enter deeply here, let her rest in peace." RESTS ON HIS LAURELS---Satisfied with what he has achieved; stop striving for success.---"I guess he is going to rest on his laurels."---The Greeks awarded wreaths of laurel leaves to the winners of the Pythian Games.---Emanuel Deutsche (1874). Literary Remains. "Let them rest on their laurels for a while." REVENGE IS BEST SERVED COLD---When you set out to get even for something it feels best to do it after the incident has been forgotten. The person will not remember and are unable to figure why someone would do this to them. This makes it much sweeter.---(See: Revenge is sweet.) REVENGE IS SWEET---It feels good to see someone pay for their misdeeds against you.---Painter (1566). Pal. of Pleasure. "Vengeance is sweete. RIDE ROUGHSHOD OVER---Treat harshly.---"I am going to run roughshod over those two."---In a roughshod horse the nails of the horse shoes are left sticking out to prevent the horse from slipping. Being ridden over by one would not be a pretty sight. Thomas Moore (1813). Intercepted Letters. "Tis a scheme of

the Romanists, so help me God! To ride over Your Most Royal Highness roughshod." RIGHT AS RAIN---W. Raymond (1894). Love and Quiet life. "Tis so right as rain, Sir. Hutchinson (1921). Winter Comes. "In about a week she'll be as right as rain and writing me letters all day." RIGMAROLE---Incoherent jumble of words.---"OK, what is all the rigmarole about."---Ragman was the designation for a feudal official by a statute instituted by Edward I of England. When he invaded Scotland in 1296, his aides forced all nobles and gentry to sign a ragman's roll as a token of allegiance. Once they finally complied, the king sent couriers all over the country reading these lists. he hoped that announcing the submission of leaders would bring resistance of the ordinary people to an end. Whether from weariness or carelessness, Edward's messengers reeled off the names so quickly that they were difficult to understand. hence any jumble of words was compared with a flow of names and called a ragman's roll. Streamlined from frequent use, the old term for the loyalty list is now familiar as rigmarole. RING LEADER---Head man; leader of a group.---"Harry is the ring leader of that group."---A dancing term. Many old dances began with participants holding hands in a ring or circle. The circle was broken and one person led the rest of the "ring" through the figures of the dance. RISE AND SHINE---Get out of bed and show some vigor.---"Rise and shine it's time to serve the corps."---Recruiters Bulletin of the U.S. Marine Corps (1916). "He rapped at the door and in stentorian tones cried, 'Rise and shine, wiggle a toe.'" RITZY---Elegant; high class; posh.---"Our new townhouse is sort of ritzy."--Cesar Ritz, a Swiss-born hotelier, won international fame by attracting notables to one after another of his institutions in Paris, London, New York and elsewhere. As a posh establishment, the Ritz more than lived up to expectations of investors and travelers. That's why we've adapted Swiss surname and use ritzy to label any establishment marked by costly elegance. ROB PETER TO PAY PAUL---Borrow from one person to pay a debt to another.---"He is robbing Peter to pay Paul."---14th century. John Wycliffe wrote: "How should God approve that you rob Peter, and give this robbery to Paul in the name of Christ?" ROCK THE BOAT (Don't)---Don't disturb the equilibrium; don't do anything to disrupt a stable situation.---"He is going to rock the boat, just wait and see."--Fredrick Lewis Allen (1931). Only Yesterday. "Unfortunate publicity had a tendency to rock the boat." RODE HARD AND PUT AWAY WET---Looks very bad.---"He looks as though he has been rode hard and put away wet."---Alludes to the way a horse looks after it has been rode hard and not cleaned up and brushed before he goes to his stall. ROGER---Message received.---Pilots of the British Air Force found it a bit easier to use "Roger" in place of "Message received" or "Message acknowledged", so it came into everyday use, and was used for many years in radio transmissions of all kinds.

ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES---Adjust to adversity.---"You are going to have to learn to roll with the punches."---A boxer learns to move his body with a punch to lessen its impact. Harry Kurnitz (1956). Invasion of Privacy. "He had mastered the trick of rolling with the punches, rendering himself invisible when a crisis darkened the neighboring skies." ROME WASN'T BUILT IN A DAY---Don't get in too big a hurry; don't be impatient.---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "Rome was not built in one daie." (One) ROTTEN APPLE SPOILS THE BARREL---One bad person may ruin the ones around them.---John Northebrooke (1577). A Treatise wherein Dicing, Dauncing Are Reproved. "A penny naughtily gotten, sayth Chrysostom, is like a rotten apple laid among sounde apples, which will rot all the rest." ROUGHER THAN A COB ROUND FILE---Trash can.---"Just put that report in the round file." RUB SALT IN THE WOUND---To make worse a defeat or affront; add insult.---"That's rubbing salt in the wound."---To rub salt in a wound would be quite painful physically. P. G. Wodehouse (1967). Company for Henry. "He could see that Henry was deeply stirred, and he had no wish to rub salt in his wounds." RUBE GOLDBERG---Mechanical contrivance thrown together to accomplish a task; jury rig.---"This is a real Rube Goldberg operation."---20th century cartoonist. His cartoons involved over complicated and whimsical contrivances to perform very simple tasks. RULE OF THUMB---A rough measure---"We will just use the rule of thumb."---The part of the thumb from the knuckle to the end is approximately one inch and often served as a measure when a more precise one was not available.--Sir William Hope (1692). The Complete Fencing Master. "What he doth, he doth by rule of thumb, and not by art." RULE THE ROOST---Be in charge; dominate.---"Jim has always ruled his roost."---In the days when families kept chickens, the rooster was in charge in the farm yard.---W.C. Hazlitt (16th century). English Proverbs. "What so ever ye brage or boste, my mayster yet shall teule the roste." RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN---The existance of rules makes it likely that people will break them, sometimes for the better.---Arthur C. Clark (1953.) Expedition to Earth. RUN CIRCLES AROUND---Vastly outdo; exceed in skill.---"He can run circles around most pitchers."---The picture of the tortoise and the hare, where due to the hare's speed he could actually run around the tortoise as they raced and still win.---(1891). Melbourne Argus. "Considine could run rings around the lot of them." RUN OF THE MILL---Ordinary; routine.---"It was just your run of the mill game."---Referred to the everyday production of a mill, usually the bulk of production, without being graded for quality. RUN THE GAMUT---Including everything---"He has covered all the subjects from A to Z."---"Gamma" represented the last note on Guido d'Arezzo's musical scale and "ut" represented the first not used in his singing scale. So to run the gamut was to run the entire scale.

RUN THE GAUNTLET---Go through a series of trials or tests.---"It's going to be a tough day, we are going to have to run the gauntlet."---The gauntlet started out in the Thirty Years War (1618 - 1648) as "gantlope." It was a form of military punishment in which the soldier or seaman being punished had to run through two parallel rows of men, each of whom had a stick or a knotted cord that he would hit the man with as he passed.---Thomas Forde (1649). Lusus Fortunae. "Being now exposed to run the gantlope of the worlds censure." RUSSIAN ROULETTE---Foolhardy activity; dangerous as to be fatal.---"If he doesn't take the treatment he is playing Russian roulette."---From a practice said to have originated among Russian officers in World War I. The practice of putting one bullet in a revolver, spin the cylinder, point it at one's head and pull the trigger. A test of courage, or stupidity, that gave on a one in six chance of survival.---(1960). Manchester Guardian. "This party had 'played Russian roulette with American strength and American progress." RACK AND RUIN---Financial failure.---"I went to rack and ruin after my divorce."---Original Old English form of wreck was wrack. The spelling has changed but the pronunciation of the old expression wrack and ruin remains the same. If a merchant's ship was wrecked with a full load of goods, he could be ruined financially. RACK MY BRAIN---Strain to solve a problem.---"I have been racking my brain trying to figure this out."---The "rack" was an instrument of torture in which a person was stretched. It seems that sometimes you have to do this to your brain to get it to function as desired. Sermon by William Beveridge (1680). "They rack their brains....they hazard their lives for it." RAISE HIS HACKLES---Make angry---"When he finds out it is surely going to raise his hackles"---The long slender feathers on a roosters neck that stand up when he is irritated or ready to fight.---Edward Pennell (1883). l The Cream of Leicdstershire. "I almost saw the hackles of a good old squire rise as he waved his hat and cheered." RAT RACE---A situation where one is struggling to stay ahead of one's competitors.---"Well it's Monday, back in the rat race."---Alludes to the rats reputation for ferocity and assertively looking after its interests as in competing for food. RAILROAD---Pushed into a situation without regard to opposition.---"I am being railroaded into this deal."---During the expansion of the railroads the competition was so great that builders would go to any extremes to get a railroad built as fast as it could without regard for men, difficulties or obstacles of any kind. Pell-mell overriding of difficulties spawned the expression that has outlasted the era in which it was first used. A person or group pushing an idea or an enterprise without regard for opposition is described as "railroading it". RAIN CATS AND DOGS---Downpour.---"It's raining cats and dogs out there."---Origin unclear, possibly the fighting of cats and dogs sounding like a storm. Jonathan Swift (1783). Polite Conversation. "I know Sir John will go, though he was sure it would rain cats and dogs; but pray stay, Sir John." RANK AND FILE---The ordinary people.---"The union is depending on the rank and file to support the candidate."---Military term: A rank is a line of men side by

side. A file is line of men one behind the other. Has come to mean the ordinary people comprising any group.---Robert Burns (1794). "The words come skelpan [galloping], rank and file." RATFINK---One who tells things told in confidence.---"He tells everything he hears, he is a ratfink."---German born Albert Fink was head of detectives who worked for the Louisville and nashville Railroad. He is supposed to have sent men to infiltrate unions when strikes were in the air. Fink's man, naturally called a Fink, sat, listened quietly and then ratted on fellow workers. Workers wanted nothing to do with such a fellow or his supervisor. Hence ratfink came to designate any squealer, scab, or breaker of confidences. RATS ABANDONING A SINKING SHIP---A failing enterprise (Connotation is that you should hang in to the end)---"They were quitting like rats abandoning a sinking ship."---Old sailors superstition, if rats were leaving a ship before it set sail, it would be an ill fated voyage.---Thomas Lupton (16th century.) A Thousand Notable Things of Sundrie Sorts. "Rats and dormice will forsake old and ruinous houses, three months before they fall." READ HIM LIKE A BOOK---Easy to figure out his thoughts or motives.---"I can read that guy like a book."---Edna Lyall (1909). The Hinderers. "We ordinary mortals are at the mercy of you artists....You read us like books." READ SOMETHING INTO IT---Make something more significant than it is; make one's own interpretation.---"He is trying to read something into this situation which isn't there."---(1903). Westminster Gazette. "We ordinary mortals are at the mercy of you artists, you read us like books." REAL MCCOY---Authentic; not an imitation.---"That's not a piece of glass, that's a diamond, the real McCoy."---More origins and history than will fit on this page, so I picked the one that made the most sense to me.---This version dates from the days of Prohibition and has a nautical flavor. Bill McCoy, a boat builder from the Canadian Maritime Provinces, became very wealthy, not to mention popular, through the smuggling of bootleg liquor to cities along the northeastern seaboard of the United States. As an entrepreneur of some principle, McCoy had no known ties to the organized crime syndicates that flourished during Prohibition. Even more remarkable was the fact that the liquor McCoy delivered was pure, unadulterated, and of the highest quality, an impressive testimonial during a time when the consumption of "homemade hooch" was a frequent cause of blindness and death. Eventually rounded up and convicted of smuggling, McCoy may have been persona no grata (unacceptable person) to the Feds, but his name became a household word synonymous with 100 percent authenticity and high quality. RED HANDED---Caught in the act.---"He was cheating and they caught him red handed."---In the case of an assault or murder a person found with blood on their hands was caught red handed. RED HERRING---Diversionary tactic; something used to throw investigators off the trail.---"We tried to follow up on that lead but it was a red herring."---A herring which is smoked turns red and has a strong odor. People who opposed fox hunting would drag a red herring across the path of the dogs, they would follow the scent of the herring and loose the trail of the fox. Harry S. Truman

(1948). "Just a red herring to get the minds of the voters off the sins of the 80th Congress. RED LETTER DAY---A memorable date or day.---"Today is going to be a red letter day."---It comes from the custom, which has endured since the 15th century, of signifying holy days important to the church by printing them in red on the calendar.---Fanny Burney (1782). Cecelia. " Today is a red letter day, so that's the reason for it." RED SKY AT NIGHT, SAILORS DELIGHT. RED SKY IN MORNING, SAILORS TAKE WARNING---Atmospheric conditions cause signs in the sky and foretell coming weather systems.---Bible: Matthew 16:2. "When it is evening ye say, it will be fair weather for the sky is red. And in the morning it will be foul weather today for the sky is red and lowering." REDNECK---A southerner who works in the fields and is exposed to hot sun all day.---"That Bubba is a real redneck."---Sometimes used derisively to describe southerners as quick to anger with little self control and therefore the red neck. The real meaning is that bent over working in the fields, even with a broadbrimmed straw hat which only provides intermittent protection, after a number of years the neck is likely to get a dark brownish red permanently. The sun in the south being more intense than in other areas of the country. REHASH---Go over something again; repeat.---"I thought something new would come from the meeting but it was just a rehash of the last meeting."---In middleclass inns guests expected meat on the table. The landlord couldn't afford to toss away food, so cooks often made hash from leftovers. Guests usually complained but if they pushed hash aside, they were likely to get it the following day in the form of meat loaf. Such a warmed over dish dubbed a rehash, was served frequently. REST IN PEACE---let that be an end to it; don't dig up old scandals.---"Let's let the whole thing rest in peace."---Charles Kingsley (1855). Westward Ho! "Into her merits or demerits i do not enter deeply here, let her rest in peace." RESTS ON HIS LAURELS---Satisfied with what he has achieved; stop striving for success.---"I guess he is going to rest on his laurels."---The Greeks awarded wreaths of laurel leaves to the winners of the Pythian Games.---Emanuel Deutsche (1874). Literary Remains. "Let them rest on their laurels for a while." REVENGE IS BEST SERVED COLD---When you set out to get even for something it feels best to do it after the incident has been forgotten. The person will not remember and are unable to figure why someone would do this to them. This makes it much sweeter.---(See: Revenge is sweet.) REVENGE IS SWEET---It feels good to see someone pay for their misdeeds against you.---Painter (1566). Pal. of Pleasure. "Vengeance is sweete. RIDE ROUGHSHOD OVER---Treat harshly.---"I am going to run roughshod over those two."---In a roughshod horse the nails of the horse shoes are left sticking out to prevent the horse from slipping. Being ridden over by one would not be a pretty sight. Thomas Moore (1813). Intercepted Letters. "Tis a scheme of the Romanists, so help me God! To ride over Your Most Royal Highness roughshod."

RIGHT AS RAIN---W. Raymond (1894). Love and Quiet life. "Tis so right as rain, Sir. Hutchinson (1921). Winter Comes. "In about a week she'll be as right as rain and writing me letters all day." RIGMAROLE---Incoherent jumble of words.---"OK, what is all the rigmarole about."---Ragman was the designation for a feudal official by a statute instituted by Edward I of England. When he invaded Scotland in 1296, his aides forced all nobles and gentry to sign a ragman's roll as a token of allegiance. Once they finally complied, the king sent couriers all over the country reading these lists. he hoped that announcing the submission of leaders would bring resistance of the ordinary people to an end. Whether from weariness or carelessness, Edward's messengers reeled off the names so quickly that they were difficult to understand. hence any jumble of words was compared with a flow of names and called a ragman's roll. Streamlined from frequent use, the old term for the loyalty list is now familiar as rigmarole. RING LEADER---Head man; leader of a group.---"Harry is the ring leader of that group."---A dancing term. Many old dances began with participants holding hands in a ring or circle. The circle was broken and one person led the rest of the "ring" through the figures of the dance. RISE AND SHINE---Get out of bed and show some vigor.---"Rise and shine it's time to serve the corps."---Recruiters Bulletin of the U.S. Marine Corps (1916). "He rapped at the door and in stentorian tones cried, 'Rise and shine, wiggle a toe.'" RITZY---Elegant; high class; posh.---"Our new townhouse is sort of ritzy."--Cesar Ritz, a Swiss-born hotelier, won international fame by attracting notables to one after another of his institutions in Paris, London, New York and elsewhere. As a posh establishment, the Ritz more than lived up to expectations of investors and travelers. That's why we've adapted Swiss surname and use ritzy to label any establishment marked by costly elegance. ROB PETER TO PAY PAUL---Borrow from one person to pay a debt to another.---"He is robbing Peter to pay Paul."---14th century. John Wycliffe wrote: "How should God approve that you rob Peter, and give this robbery to Paul in the name of Christ?" ROCK THE BOAT (Don't)---Don't disturb the equilibrium; don't do anything to disrupt a stable situation.---"He is going to rock the boat, just wait and see."--Fredrick Lewis Allen (1931). Only Yesterday. "Unfortunate publicity had a tendency to rock the boat." RODE HARD AND PUT AWAY WET---Looks very bad.---"He looks as though he has been rode hard and put away wet."---Alludes to the way a horse looks after it has been rode hard and not cleaned up and brushed before he goes to his stall. ROGER---Message received.---Pilots of the British Air Force found it a bit easier to use "Roger" in place of "Message received" or "Message acknowledged", so it came into everyday use, and was used for many years in radio transmissions of all kinds. ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES---Adjust to adversity.---"You are going to have to learn to roll with the punches."---A boxer learns to move his body with a punch

to lessen its impact. Harry Kurnitz (1956). Invasion of Privacy. "He had mastered the trick of rolling with the punches, rendering himself invisible when a crisis darkened the neighboring skies." ROME WASN'T BUILT IN A DAY---Don't get in too big a hurry; don't be impatient.---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "Rome was not built in one daie." (One) ROTTEN APPLE SPOILS THE BARREL---One bad person may ruin the ones around them.---John Northebrooke (1577). A Treatise wherein Dicing, Dauncing Are Reproved. "A penny naughtily gotten, sayth Chrysostom, is like a rotten apple laid among sounde apples, which will rot all the rest." ROUGHER THAN A COB ROUND FILE---Trash can.---"Just put that report in the round file." RUB SALT IN THE WOUND---To make worse a defeat or affront; add insult.---"That's rubbing salt in the wound."---To rub salt in a wound would be quite painful physically. P. G. Wodehouse (1967). Company for Henry. "He could see that Henry was deeply stirred, and he had no wish to rub salt in his wounds." RUBE GOLDBERG---Mechanical contrivance thrown together to accomplish a task; jury rig.---"This is a real Rube Goldberg operation."---20th century cartoonist. His cartoons involved over complicated and whimsical contrivances to perform very simple tasks. RULE OF THUMB---A rough measure---"We will just use the rule of thumb."---The part of the thumb from the knuckle to the end is approximately one inch and often served as a measure when a more precise one was not available.--Sir William Hope (1692). The Complete Fencing Master. "What he doth, he doth by rule of thumb, and not by art." RULE THE ROOST---Be in charge; dominate.---"Jim has always ruled his roost."---In the days when families kept chickens, the rooster was in charge in the farm yard.---W.C. Hazlitt (16th century). English Proverbs. "What so ever ye brage or boste, my mayster yet shall teule the roste." RULES ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN---The existance of rules makes it likely that people will break them, sometimes for the better.---Arthur C. Clark (1953.) Expedition to Earth. RUN CIRCLES AROUND---Vastly outdo; exceed in skill.---"He can run circles around most pitchers."---The picture of the tortoise and the hare, where due to the hare's speed he could actually run around the tortoise as they raced and still win.---(1891). Melbourne Argus. "Considine could run rings around the lot of them." RUN OF THE MILL---Ordinary; routine.---"It was just your run of the mill game."---Referred to the everyday production of a mill, usually the bulk of production, without being graded for quality. RUN THE GAMUT---Including everything---"He has covered all the subjects from A to Z."---"Gamma" represented the last note on Guido d'Arezzo's musical scale and "ut" represented the first not used in his singing scale. So to run the gamut was to run the entire scale. RUN THE GAUNTLET---Go through a series of trials or tests.---"It's going to be a tough day, we are going to have to run the gauntlet."---The gauntlet started

out in the Thirty Years War (1618 - 1648) as "gantlope." It was a form of military punishment in which the soldier or seaman being punished had to run through two parallel rows of men, each of whom had a stick or a knotted cord that he would hit the man with as he passed.---Thomas Forde (1649). Lusus Fortunae. "Being now exposed to run the gantlope of the worlds censure." RUSSIAN ROULETTE---Foolhardy activity; dangerous as to be fatal.---"If he doesn't take the treatment he is playing Russian roulette."---From a practice said to have originated among Russian officers in World War I. The practice of putting one bullet in a revolver, spin the cylinder, point it at one's head and pull the trigger. A test of courage, or stupidity, that gave on a one in six chance of survival.---(1960). Manchester Guardian. "This party had 'played Russian roulette with American strength and American progress." SACRED COW---A thing, idea or event immune to criticism---"That project has become a sacred cow."---To the Hindus the cow is sacred.---(1910). Atlantic Monthly. "In the office these corporations were jocularly referred to as 'sacred cows'." SADDER BUT WISER---Having learned from an unpleasant experience.---"I am a little sadder but wiser after that experience."---Samuel Coleridge (1798). The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. "He went like one that hath been stunned, and is of sense forlorn; a sadder and a wiser man, he rose the morrow morn." SAVE FOR A RAINY DAY---Put something aside against a time of need.---"You shouldn't spend every penny you make, you had better put some away for a rainy day."---(1580). Bugbears. "Wold he have me kepe nothyng agaynst a raynye day?" SAVED BY THE BELL---Delivered from defeat at the last moment.---"That was close, I was saved by the bell."---Boxing term: The rules were that if the bell sounded the end of a round before a fighter could be counted out, he was saved to fight another round. SAY WHAT YOU MEAN AND MEAN WHAT YOU SAY SCAPEGOAT---One who takes the blame for something.---"When this all gets settled, Jim is going to end up being the scapegoat."---Bible: Leviticus 16:7. On the Day of Atonement the sins of the people were symbolically placed upon the head of a goat and it was then allowed to escape into the wilderness. SCARED OUT OF HIS WITS---Very scared; badly shaken by an experience.---"I was scared out of my wits, I thought something bad was wrong with her."---Thomas Babington (1840).* "The governor was frightened out of his wits." SCARCE AS HEN'S TEETH---Nonexistent or extremely rare.---"Money in this house is scarce as hens teeth."---Hens, of course, have no teeth.---James Gilmore (Edmund Kirke) (1862). My Southern Friends. SCATTERBRAINED ---Unorganized; don't think things through.---"He is the most scatterbrained person I know." SCRAPING THE BOTTOM OF THE BARREL SCRATCH THE SURFACE---Do something superficially.---"It was a great gesture but it only scratched the surface."---(1915). New Republic. "With all his

earnest intention Amherst merely scratched the surface of the immense field of American social endeavor." SCREAMING MEEMIES---Severe jitters.---"The thought of going to the hospital gives me the screaming meemies."---During WWII the Germans developed an artillery shell that made a sound halfway between a scream and a wail as it passed over. The first time American soldiers heard them they were startled and scared. This sound was never forgotten once heard. Allied fighting men used a word that echoed the sound. Many who heard it retreated into nervous hysteria that took the same vivid title. SCREWBALL---Oddball---"He is somewhat of a screwball isn't he."---Carl Hubbell, an all-time great baseball pitcher. His first big league game was a disaster; opposing batters knocked him out of the box. He convinced the manager to let him try a new pitch he had developed. A ball that rolled off the outer side of the middle finger in a reverse spin looked as though it would be a curve but behaved in the opposite fashion. The fans said there was only one thing to call a pitch that behaved in such an erratic fashion, a "screwball". As a result, screwball became our universal tag for someone who acts erratic. SCUTTLEBUTT---Information; mostly meaningless or erroneous information; rumors; gossip.---"I stopped in at the local tavern and got all the scuttlebutt."--The butt (cask of drinking water) aboard ship was placed next to the scuttle (hatch with a movable cover) and when crew members went to get a drink of water they liked to exchange the latest rumors with their mates, so talk under a scuttle that sheltered a butt became "scuttlebutt". SEAT OF YOUR PANTS---By instinct or experience.---"I am navigating by the seat of my pants."---Aviators saying. Harpers Magazine (1942). "When you check your instruments you find it [the airplane] is doing a correct job of flying and that the seat of your pants and your eyes would have tricked you had you been allowed to do the coordinating." SEE THE LIGHT---Grasp the meaning of something.---"I didn't realize the error till Tom pointed it out to me, he made me see the light."---(1812). Niles Register. "it is indispensably necessary that every man should 'see the light'." SEEING IS BELIEVING---You must prove it to me, I must see it to believe it.---Smedley (1850). Frank Fairlegh. "What an unbelieving Jew it is," said Archer; "hand him the list, and let him read it himself. Seeing is believing, they say." SEIZE THE MOMENT---Live for today; enjoy your life now since nobody knows what the future holds. (Carpe diem).---Horace (65 B.C.) Odes. "Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero." (Seize the day, put no trust in tomorrow.) (ORIGIN) SELL LIKE HOT CAKES---go over big.---"these things are selling like hot cakes."---In the 19th century hot cakes were a notably big seller, before hot dogs and ice cream came along. O.J. Victor (1860). The History of the Southern Rebellion. "Revolvers and patent fire arms are selling like hot cakes." SEPARATE THE WHEAT FROM THE CHAFF---Distinguish the wanted from the unwanted; valuable from the not valuable.---"We are going to have to separate the wheat from the chaff."---In days gone by the farmer would thrash the

wheat and toss it into the breeze (winnow) so as to blow away the chaff (husk of the seed) and leave the grain.---Bible: Matthew 3:12. "Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." SET ONE'S TEETH ON EDGE---Severely annoying or unnerving.---"Every time I hear the chalk squeak on the board it sets my teeth on edge."---Bible: Jeremiah 31:28. "In those days they shall say no more. The fathers have eaten a sour grape; and the children's teeth are set on edge." SEVENTH HEAVEN---Extreme joy or happiness.---"She is in seventh heaven now."---Among the ancient Jews the seventh heaven was the highest: "heaven of heavens." the abode of God and the most exalted angels. Muhammad also recognized seven heavens.---Sir Walter Scott (1824). St. Ronan's Well. "He looked upon himself as approaching to the seventh heaven." SHAKE A STICK AT ---"He has more money than you can shake a stick at."--Shepherd"s term: If a shepherd had many animals to control, often times he had more than he could handle. There were more than he could shake his staff (stick) at. SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE---Share equally.---"Let's share and share alike, everyone gets the same amount."---Cotgrave (1611). "Whereat every guest paies his part, or , share and share like." SHE COULD MAKE YOU WRITE BAD CHECKS---Very alluring woman; someone you would do about anything for.---Shakespeare (1599). As You Like It. "Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold." SHE WOULD MAKE A HUSKY HUG A HOUND DOG---Not pretty. SHIPS THAT PASS IN THE NIGHT---Casual acquaintances or relationships; people you may only encounter once in life.---"They were like two ships passing in the night."---Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1863). Tales of a Wayside Inn. "Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice; then darkness again and silence." SHIVERING LIKE A DOG SHITTING RAZOR BLADES---Really shivering.---"He was so cold he was shivering like a dog shitting razor blades." SHIT IN ONE HAND AND WISH IN THE OTHER AND SEE WHICH ONE FILLS UP FIRST---Wishing is an exercise in futility. SHIT OR GET OFF THE POT---Take acton or let someone else have a chance. SHODDY---Second rate quality; poorly made.---"They sure use some shoddy workmanship in these new houses."---Recycling is not new, scarcity of wool during the Civil War had manufacturers salvaging rags in order to turn them back into yarn to make new cloth. The slang term used by textile workers for this material was "shoddy". During the war mills began shredding old woollen goods in order to turn out uniforms, they looked all right at first, but didn't wear well. So Union soldiers were forced to wear shoddy and the name came to mean anything of low quality. SHOE IS ON THE OTHER FOOT---Conditions have been reversed.---"Now the shoe is on the other foot."---Until the 19th century boots or shoes could be worn on either foot, they were interchangeable.---Winston Churchill (1908). My

African Journey. "Here the boot is on the other leg, and civilization is ashamed of her arrangements in the presence of a savage." SHOOT THE BULL---Talk discursively; general conversation of little meaning.---"We sat around and shot the bull for an hour."---Root of the expression, "bull shit". "Bull" was used euphemistically. ---Charles E. Funk Heavens to Betsy. "The end product of the domestic bull, used chiefly as fertilizer." SHORT END OF THE STICK---To be at a disadvantage; treated unfairly.---"I think I got the short end of the stick this time."---The "stick" or staff once used in fighting. If your opponent controls most of it and you have hold on only a short piece of it, you are in trouble.---T.A. Brown (1890). A Colonial Reformer. "If you happen to have the arrangement of a bargain with the rural Australian, you will rarely find that the impassive countryman has 'got the wrong end of the stick.'" SHOT AT AND MISSED SHIT AT AND HIT---Looking really bad.---"He looks like he has been shot at and missed, shit at and hit."---Slang expression meaning that one looks so bad, usually after going through some ordeal, that they would have been better off to have been shot. SHOT HIS WAD---Spent all his money; had his chance.---"He shot his wad, he's done."---Originally wad was a compact mass of cotton, hemp etc. used to hold the powder and shot in position in a gun for firing. It came to mean anything rolled up or compacted as a wad of tobacco or paper. In this case it is a wad of money. SHOT IN THE DARK---A guess made without much to go on.---"I guess I'll have to take a shot in the dark on this one."---Sir John Vanbrugh (1698). The Provok'd Wife. "Go, now I am in for Hobbe's Voyage; a great Leap in the Dark." SICK AS A DOG---Miserable; really laid low.---"I would have to get better to die, I am sick as a dog."---Bible: Proverbs 26:11. "As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly." SIGHT FOR SORE EYES---A person one is particularly glad to see.---"Good to see you, you are a sight for sore eyes."---Jonathan Swift (1738). Polite Conversation. "The sight of you is good for sore eyes." SIGHT UNSEEN---Without previous inspection.---"I bought the property, sight unseen."---Thomas Middleton (1622). The Old Law (play). "'Take that at hazard, sir', 'Unsighted, unseen, I take three to one."" SIGN OF THE TIMES---Something characteristic of times we live in.---"It is terrible, it's just the sign of the times."---Bible: Matthew 3:16. "O ye hypocrites! ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?" SILENCE IS GOLDEN---Sometimes it is best to keep quiet and say nothing.--H. W. Nevinson (1923.) Changes. SINCE HECTOR WAS A PUP---A long time.---"Good to see you, I haven't seen you since hector was a pup."---A character in Greek mythology, it's been a long time since Hector was young. SINK OR SWIM---Succeed or fail, according to your own efforts.---"He will either sink or swim."---Thomas Starkey (1538). England in the Reign of Henry the Eighth. "They care not (as hyt ys commynly sayd) 'whether they synke or swyme.'"

SIT TIGHT---Hold your ground; wait.---"Just sit tight, they will help you in a minute."---Poker expression, If you don't want to bet further, you "sit tight".--Violet hunt (1897). Unkist, Unkind. "'Sit tight!' she exclaimed, pinching my arm violently. She always talks slang when she is excited." SITTING DUCK---An easy mark or target.---"With his bad record in business, he was a sitting duck at the meeting."---Marksmanship in duck hunting is determined by the ability to hit ducks in flight, shooting a duck sitting in the water is an easy mark and would be unsportsmanlike.---I. Willis Rullell (1949). American Speech. (1944). Readers Digest. "Why Tankers Are No Longer Sitting Ducks." SITTING PRETTY---Well situated; in an advantageous position.---"He has a new job and a new home, he is sitting pretty now."---P.G Wodehouse (1925) Sam the Sudden. "If you are American, we're sitting pretty because it's only us Americans that's got real sentiment in them." SIX OF ONE AND HALF A DOZEN OF THE OTHER---It's all the same.---A cold lasts a week if you treat it, seven days if you don't. Frederick Marryat (1836). The Pirate and the Three Cutters. "I knows the women, but I never knows the children. It's just six of one and half a dozen of the other, ain't it, Bill?" SKELETON IN THE CLOSET---Something you don't want known; a family secret.---"Our neighbor has some skeletons in his closet."---(1878). Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. A tale about an effort to find someone who had not a single care. A woman seemed to qualify, but she showed the inquirers a closet containing a human skeleton, telling them that it was a rival her husband had killed in a duel. "I try to keep my trouble to myself," she said, "but every night my husband compels me to kiss that skeleton." SLEAZY---Inferior in quality.---A special kind of linen which British merchants bought from the Silesian district in Germany. It was of inferior quality and did not hold up well. SLEEP ON IT---Defer a decision until tomorrow; think about it.---"I can't decide right now I will have to sleep on it."---Florio (1578). First Fruites. "The nyght is the mother of thoughts." Congrave (1611). "Night gives advice; we say, take counsel of your pillow." SLIPSHOD---Slovenly in appearance; careless.(MEAN)---As early as the 15th century house slippers came into vogue. Slip shoes, as they were called were for indoor use but some people would wear them outside in public. By 1580, it became proverbial that a shameless person would go slip shod to worship. People who were careless about their appearance were said to be "slip shod". SLOW BUT SURE---Fuller (1639). Holy War. "These though slow, were sure." SLOWER THAN MOLASSES IN JANUARY---Very slow.---"That girl is slower than molasses in January."---Molasses thickens up in the cold and runs very slowly. SLUSH FUND---Funds to buy extras; used for corrupt enterprises.---Before refrigeration a ship's captain would take aboard as much salt pork as he could buy. When fried or boiled, the all important meat yielded grease in such quantities that special storage vats were used for it. Much waste fat, or slush, was used to grease timbers. The slush seemed to accumulate faster than it could be used. A vessel

returning home might have hundreds of pounds of slush which was sold to buy extras for members of the crew. This became known as the slush fund. SMART AS A WHIP---Bright; clever.---"That boy is smart as a whip."---A whip "smarts" when it is used on someone or some animal. You can see the natural transfer, a play on words. SMOOTH AS SILK---Done in a felicitous way; highly slick way.---"He was smooth as silk when he asked for a raise."---Silk was the softest and smoothest fabric.---Thomas Wright (1842). Specimens of Lyric Poetry. "Body ant brest wel mad al, eyther side soft as sylk." SNAKE IN THE GRASS---A treacherous or unexpectedly threatening person.---"Keep an eye on him, he is a snake in the grass."---A snake in the grass is sneaky, stealthy and for most people unnerving. A person who is this way does most of their dirty work under cover and sneakily like a snake.---Vergil (13th century). Eclogues. "Latret anguis in herba" [a snake lurks in the grass]. SNOW JOB---To distract someone from the facts with flattery or talk.---"He talked her into going out with him, did he ever give her a snow job."---When it snows everything is covered with a beautiful white blanket, all the bad things are covered up.---Morroe Berger (1945). American Speech. "Snow job comes from the phrase 'to snow someone under,' and make a concerted effort to convince a girl, a superior or a fellow soldier of something that takes a lot of convincing." SNUG AS A BUG IN A RUG---Comfortable; safe.---"Since we were able to buy our new home, we are as snug as a bug in a rug."---A play: (1769). The Stratford Jubilee. "If she has the mopus's, (lost word meaning money) I'll have her, as snug as a bug in a rug." SOFT SOAP---Flattery---"We'll soft soap him and maybe we will get the contract."---When soap becomes wet and soft it is very slippery. Con men originally used the term to describe how they slicked a sucker up for the kill. SOME DAYS YOU EAT THE BEAR, SOME DAYS THE BEAR EATS YOU SOMETHING IS ROTTEN IN DENMARK---I suspect that something is very wrong.---Shakespeare (1601.) Hamlet. Marcellus: "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." SON OF A GUN---You don't say; oh, him.---"I'll be a son of a gun."---The phrase serves equally as a mild expression of dislike, an affectionate response and an exclamation of surprise. British Admiral William Henry Smyth (1865). The Sailor's Word Book. "An epithet applied to boys born afloat, when women were permitted to accompany their husbands to sea; one admiral declared he literally was thus cradled, under the breast of a gun carriage." SORRY DON'T FEED THE CAT--- When money is involved being sorry often isn't enough.---Spurgeon (1869). John Ploughman. "A hundred years of regret pay not a farthing of debt." SOUR GRAPES---Something you want but cannot attain or get, you say you really don't want it.---"He says he don't want the job but that is just sour grapes."---T. Adams (1630). Works. "The Fox despiseth the grapes he cannot reach.

SOUTHPAW---Being left handed.---Major league ball diamonds were laid out so that the batter faced east, thus putting the afternoon sun behind his back and making it easier to see the ball. Therefore, when the pitcher faces the batter he's facing west and his left arm is to the south. SOW WILD OATS---Do some foolish things while you are young.---"I guess he will just have to sow his wild oats."---Usually referred to a young man getting all his frivolity done before he settled down to raise a family. It would be foolish to sew wild oats and expect a yield of grain because it is actually a tall grass. Thomas Newton (1576). Lemnie's Touchstone of complexions. "That willful and unruly age, which lacketh rypenes and discretion, and hath not sowed all theyr wyeld Oats." SPARE THE ROD AND SPOIL THE CHILD---A child needs correction, and looks for it from someone.---Bible: Proverbs 19:18 "Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.---S. Rowley (1613). When You See Me. "A rod in scoole, a whip for a foole, is alwaies in season." Thackeray (1855). Newcomes. "A brother to whom my peer mother spared the rod, and who has turned out but a spoilt child." SPEAK OF THE DEVIL---Saying used when someone shows up that you were talking about.---"Well, speak of the devil, here's Harry."---Torriano (1666). Piazza Univ. "Talk of the Devil, and he's presently at your elbow." SPEAK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG STICK---Don't be overly aggressive, but have the ability to use whatever force is necessary.---Theodore Roosevelt (1901.) SPILL THE BEANS---Tell what you know when it is supposed to be kept secret; prematurely expose a plan.---"If she keeps after him he is going to spill the beans."---Comes from two words with origins as early as the 13th century. "Spill" meant to talk and "beans" meant what you knew.---Eric Linklater (1929). Poet's Pub. "'Tell me the truth,' she says. 'Spill the beans, Holly, old man!'" new! SPITTING IMAGE---Exact copy; the same.---"He is the spitting image of his father."---Herold Wentworth (suggested that spit was an American coruption of spirit, and that the phrase may have originated as "spirit and image". SPLIT HAIRS---Concern oneself with fine distinctions; quibble.---"Let's get the deal signed and quit splitting hairs about the details."---It was once thought that a hair was so fine that the effort needed to split it would be a waste of time. Gabriel D'Emillianne (1691). Observations on a Journey to Naples. "Shewing himself very inventive and dexterous at splitting a hair in his way of handling scholastic matter." SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE---A misfit; a person mismatched or unfit for the task at hand.---"Trying to get those two together is like trying to put a square peg in a round hole."---Sydney Smith (19th century) (lecture). "We shall generally find that the triangular person has got into the square hole, the oblong into the triangular, and a square person has squeezed himself into the round hole." SQUEAKING WHEEL GETS THE OIL (GREASE)---A person who complains the most usually gets the most attention; an immediate problem gets attention.---"Just keep asking, remember, the squeaking wheel gets the oil."---In the days of wagons and horses, the wagon wheels had to be greased regularly or it

would begin to squeak and wear the axle. The wagon owners would put off this task until a wheel started squeaking. The one that squeaked got the grease. STAND ON YOUR OWN TWO FEET---Be independent.---"You are going to have to learn to stand on your own two feet."---Thomas Jefferson (1791.) Works of John Adams. STARK RAVING MAD---Out of one's mind; acting bizarrely.---"The dog chewed up his new furniture and he went stark raving mad."---Gabriel Harvey (1593). Pierces Supererogation. "I wis hee mought have spied a difference betwene raging, and starke madde." START FROM SCRATCH---Begin with nothing; without advantage.---"We have lost it all, I guess we will have to start from scratch."---Literally a line scratched on the ground, the starting line. Horses or people racing with a handicap start ahead of the line, ones without handicap start behind the line; start from scratch. James Joyce (1922). Ulysses. "A poor foreign immigrant who started scratch as a stowaway and is now trying to turn an honest penny." STEAL HIS THUNDER---Take credit for someone's idea or accomplishment.---"He is trying to steal my thunder."---John Dennis in 1709 wrote Appius and Virginia, a play. It was a failure, but it had one distinction in that Dennis had devised a way of creating the sound of thunder as part of the staging. Later he heard his thunder at a presentation of Macbeth "My God," he said, "the villains will play my thunder but not my plays!" STEER CLEAR OF---Avoid.---"You had better steer clear of that bunch."--Daniel Defoe (1723). The History and Remarkable life of Colonel Jacque. "We would have steered clear of them, and cared not to have them see us, if we could help it, but they did see us, and cried, who comes there?" STEP ON A CRACK, BREAK YOUR MOTHER'S BACK---A children's old adage, stepping on a crack in the sidewalk would bring bad luck. STICK IN ONE'S CRAW---An unacceptable event or situation one cannot stop thinking about.---"The way he acted, that really sticks in my raw."---A part of a bird's digestive tract (craw) (gizzard) (crop) where food is ground up. Sir Thomas Player (1679). "Tis the matter, not the manner, that sticks in our unworthy respondents gizzard." STICK IN THE MUD---Not progressive; satisfied with ones position.---"He is a real stick in the mud."---A wagon stuck in the mud, it's not going anywhere. STICK TO YOUR GUNS---Don't quit; hold your position in the face adversity.---"Don't give up now, stick to your guns."---Military saying, probably naval. Samuel Warren (1839). "Titmouse, though greatly alarmed, stood to his gun pretty steadily." STICK YOUR NECK OUT---Take a chance; expose yourself to failure or criticism.---"If we are going to succeed we are going to have to stick our necks out."---Alludes to a chicken in the farm yard with his neck stretched out on the chopping block.---Shakespeare Henry V. Fluellen, thinking the soldier Williams has done a traitorous thing, says, "Let his neck answer for it." STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES BUT WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME---Words can never physically hurt you.---(1897). Notes &

Queries. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but cruel words can never harm me." STILL WATERS RUN DEEP---Quiet people are often found to have profound insights.---The shallow water in a creek or river run fast and are often turbulent, the deep water runs slow and is calmer. Shakespeare Henry VI "Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep; and in his simple show he harbours treason." (Like) STINK ON SHIT---Something you can't get off; a situation that won't go away.---"The IRS was on him like stink on shit." STIR UP A HORNET'S NEST---Provoke an angry reaction.---"He really stirred up a hornet's nest with that suggestion."---Samuel Richardson (1739). Pamela. "I rais'd a hornet's nest about my ears, that may have stung to death my reputation. STOLEN WATERS ARE SWEET---What is forbidden seems to be the best.--Bible: Proverbs 9:17. "Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. STONEWALL---To impede progress; put up obstacles.---"He is stonewalling again, he doesn't want us to find out the real reason."---Attributed to "Stonewall" Jackson at the battle of Bull Run. He was ordered to hold his position against the Federal forces and did so. He was said to have stood like a stone wall. Today the term is used to describe stalling or throwing other issues in the way to impede or stop investigations, inquiries or actions by another party. STOOL PIGEON---Someone who betrays his friends or associates.------Pigeons were once an important source of meat. many were captured and some shot, but damaged meat was considered less tasty. Trappers learned to tie a tame pigeon to a stool, and lure the wild pigeons into their trap. STRAIGHTEN UP AND FLY RIGHT---Behave yourself; do what is right.---"You had better straighten up and fly right." STRAIN AT A GNAT AND SWALLOW A CAMEL---Worry over small wrongs but commit or accept big ones.---Bible: Matthew 23:24. Jesus said, "Ye blind guides! which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel." STRETCH THE TRUTH---Exaggerate.---"Don't you think you are stretching the truth a bit."---Mark Twain (1884). Huckleberry Finn. "There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth." STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT---Act at a favorable time; take advantage of a situation.---"You had better strike while the iron is hot."---A blacksmith in order to shape and work the iron must do so when it is hot. Chaucer (1386). "Whil that iren is hoot, men shoulden smyte." STUBBORN AS A MULE---Ornery; very stubborn.---"Gary is stubborn as a mule."---Many mule drivers will tell you that if a mule does not want to move it takes a considerable effort to get it going.---Maria Edgeworth (1809). Absentee. "She was as obstinate as a mule on that point." STUDY LONG YOU STUDY WRONG---If you ponder a question too long you will come up with the wrong answer.---Of course the saying: "Haste makes waste," is another view. STUFFED SHIRT---A pompous man; self righteous.---"He certainly is a stuffed shirt."---A look at a mannikin in a men's clothing store, well dressed but lifeless

may explain this.---Willa Cather (1913). O Pioneers! "he characterized Frank Shabata by a Bohemian expression which is the equivalent of stuffed shirt." STUPID QUESTIONS ARE THOSE UNASKED SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE---Accept what is happening or what is being offered even though it may be humiliating.---"I guess I am just going to have to swallow my pride and admit my mistake."---Some times if you let pride get in the way you may miss an opportunity. John Pintard (1821). Letters from John Pintard to His Daughter. "How much pride have i to swallow?" SWAN SONG---A farewell; one's last appearance.---"This is going to be my last softball tournament boys, this is my swan song."---Ancient legend has it that although a swan does not sing, a dying swan does manage at last to give voice to something like a song.---John Pintard (1821). Letters form John Pintard to His Daughter. "The swane ageynist his dethe shall sing his penavnse [penance]." SWEETNESS AND LIGHT---False or overdone good cheer.---"He is all sweetness and light when he wants something."---It has come to be used in the negative context, originally it was not.---Jonathan Swift (1697). Battle of the Books. He wrote an imaginary fable in the Aesop mode; it concerned the merits of the bee, representing the old, and the spider, representing the the new. Swift concluded: "The difference is that instead of dirt and poison, we have rather chosen to fill our hives with honey and was, thus furnishing mankind with the two noblest of things, which are sweetness and light." (Light because the wax would be turned into candles). TABOO---Forbidden.---"It is taboo, in my house, to stay out too late with the guys."---The term was picked up by European sailors in the Polynesian islands. Among the Tongans, it seemed that everywhere a seaman turned he was confronted by a priest who barred his way and muttered: "Tabu! Tabu!" (Forbidden). TAIL BETWEEN YOUR LEGS---When a dog is cowed he puts his tail between his legs showing submission.---"Are you just going to put your tail between your legs and quit?"---(1400). Lanfrank's Science of Cirurgie. "A wood hound that goes off with his tail betwene hise leggis." TAKE A RAIN CHECK---Accept a promise of future delivery; arrange to take a certain item or opportunity later.---"I would like to golf with you today but I'll have to take a rain check."---Started in as part of the ticket issued for a professional baseball game in the 1880s. It has come to mean deferral in a variety of forms. Jack Lait (1930). The Big House. "A parole is a rain check." TAKE A SHINE TO---Take a liking to someone newly met.---"I think she has taken a shine to him."---In the late 19th century the expression "shine up to" was very popular. To put on a shining or happy face and the accompanying behavior.---James Russell Lowell (1848). Bigelow Papers. "My gracious! it's a scorpion that's took a shine to play with't." TAKE HIM DOWN A PEG---Deflate a pompous person; show up a boaster.---"He needs to be taken down a peg or two."---Appeared as early as the 16th century. Ships colors, for example, were put on pegs at a height reflecting the honor the ship had gained. Bacon (1550). Catechism. "This doctrine plucketh them down one staff lower that they were before."

TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT---Be skeptical.---"I would take what he says with a grain of salt."---Salt makes food a little easier to swallow. John Trap's commentary on the Bible: (1647). "This is to be taken with a grain of salt." TAKE THE BITTER WITH THE SWEET---You have to take the bad with the good.---John Locke (1690). An Essay Concerning human Understanding. "A little bitter mingled in our cup, leaves no relish for the sweet." TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS ---Face up to a difficult situation; take action in a crisis.---"You are just going to have to take the bull by the horns and deal with it."---A matador tries to tire and weaken the bull in various ways, then seizes it by the horns in an effort to twist it to the ground. TAKE THE LOAD OFF YOUR FEET---Sit down and relax; informal greeting.---"Come on in, sit down and take the load off your feet."---Arthur Kober (1945). Parm Me. "How's about taking a load off your feet." TAKE THE WIND OUT OF YOUR SAILS---To deflate the ego; impede momentum.---"She really took the wind out of his sails."---What one does in sailing. By sailing close to and upwind from another vessel your sails rob the other boats sails of wind.---Sir Walter Scott (1822). Nigel. "He would take the wind out of the sail of every gallant." TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS---Losing one's money, usually by dishonest means.---"I really got taken to the cleaners on that deal."---Cleaned out in a card game for instance.---James H. Vaux (1812). New and Comprehensive Vocabulary of the Flash (slang). "Said of a gambler who has lost his stake at play; also of a flat (dupe) who has been stript of all his money." TALK IS CHEAP---It doesn't cost you anything to talk about something. Doing is a different thing.---Ray (1678). "Prate is but prate, its money buyes the land." TARRED WITH THE SAME BRUSH---Made a victim of the same punishment, indignity or treatment visited on someone else.---"I didn't know anything about it and I am being tarred with the same brush."---Treating of the sores of sheep with a brush dipped in tar. They all got the same brush.---Stefano Guazzo (1581). the Civile Conversation. "Of one selfe pitch, we all have a touch." TALK IN CIRCLES---Make unsupported statements that prove nothing; set forth a proposition, use it to make a conclusion, then use the conclusion to prove the proposition. OR BE A POLITICIAN---"They always talk in circles."---Henry Moore (1647). "You dispute in a Circle as all Logicians know." (Logician expert in logic). TALK TURKEY---Get serious; get down to business.---"Let's quit beating around the bush and talk turkey."---Making noises like the gobble of a turkey. Originally meant to talk pleasantly.---A 19th century tale had a white man and an Indian hunting, catching among other things some turkeys. The white man began dividing the catch in such a way that he got all the turkeys. The Indian finally said: "All time you talk turkey, now I talk turkey to you." TALK YOUR EAR OFF---Talks to the point of boredom.---"That boy will talk your ear off if you let him." TALK YOUR LEG OFF (A horse's)(A dog hind)---Talks too much. ---"She never quits, she would talk your leg off if you let her."---(1868). Notes &

Queries "In Lancashire a loquacious person, whether man or woman, is said to be able to talk a horse's leg off." TELL TALES OUT OF SCHOOL---To reveal confidential matters.---"He is telling tales out of school now."---Tyndale (1530). Pract. of Prelates. "So that what cometh once in may never out, for fear of telling tales out of school." TENDER AS A MOTHER'S LOVE---Very tender.---"She was as tender as a mother's love." THAT TAKES THE CAKE---something or some feat good enough to win the prize.---It was ordinary practice at local competitions to give cakes as prizes.--(1884). Lisbon Star. "Sheriff Moore takes the cake for the first wheat harvesting in Ranson County." THAT'S THE WAY THE BALL BOUNCES ---Fatalistic; this is the way things happen. THE ACORN DOESN'T FALL FAR FROM THE TREE---A child will usually be like his parents. THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD THE BEST THINGS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES---Valuable things, like jewelry, are often of small size.---(13th Century.) French Menues parceles ensemble sunt beles. Small packages considered together are beautiful." THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE---The best things in life such as the moon, the sun, the stars, the flowers in spring and robins that sing are free.--Buddy G. De Silva (1927.) Song The Best Things In Life Are Free. "The moon belongs to ev'ryone, The best things in life are free, The stars belong to ev'ryone, They gleam there for you and me." THE BIGGER THEY ARE THE HARDER THEY FALL---A big man may be hard to bring down but falls the hardest too.---Chaucer (1380). Troylus. "For swifter cours com'th thing that is of wighte, whan it descendeth, than don thinges lighte." THE BITTERNESS OF LOW QUALITY LINGERS LONG AFTER THE SWEETNESS OF LOW PRICE IS FORGOTTEN---You get what you pay for.---Larry Anderson THE CHECK IS IN THE MAIL---The saying is used to avoid responsibility, especially for financial debts.---Recent. THE CHILD IS FATHER OF THE MAN---The character of a person is determined by his or her childhood.---William Wordsworth (1807.) Poem. THE CLOSER TO THE BONE THE SWEETER THE MEAT---(1559). Ballads. "The nigher the bone, the flesh is much sweeter." THE COBBLER SHOULD STICK TO HIS LAST---One should not interfere in matters in which one is not knowledgeable or informed.---Apelles (325 B.C.) Ne supra crepidaam sutor iudicaret. (The cobbler should not judge beyond his shoe.) THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE NEVER RUNS SMOOTH---Problems may crop up even in the most passionate of courtships and the best of marriages.--Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream. THE CURE IS WORSE THAN THE DISEASE---Taverner (1539). Proverbs. "Stronge disease requyreth a stornge medicine."

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MEN AND BOYS IS THE PRICE OF THEIR TOYS THE EAGLE SHITS TODAY---It's payday. THE EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM---The one who starts an action first is more likely to succeed.---Camden (1605). Remains. "It's the early bird, as the saying goes, that gets the rations." THE EXCEPTION PROVES THE RULE---Originally the word "prove" meant "test." In this sense the saying is quite logical. There are exceptions to every rule. J. Wilson (1664). The Cheats. "To Reader, for if I have shown the odd practices of two vain persons pretending to what they were not, I think I have sufficiently justified the brave man even by this reason, that the exception proves the rule." THE GREATER THE SINNER THE GREATER THE SAINT---Nothing more dedicated than a reformed sinner. (A reformed anything).---"He is a real pain in the butt since he quit drinking, he is trying to reform everyone."---E. Hinchliffe (1856). Barthomley. "How well is the old proverb illustrated, the greater the sinner, the greater the saint." THE HURRIER I GO THE BEHINDER I GET---Sometime the faster you hurry the farther behind you get.---Rivers (1477). Dictes and Sayings. "he that goth owte of his weye, the more he goth, the ferther he is behinde. THE LEFT HAND DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT HAND IS DOING---One is not fully aware of what one is doing; in a group, one person on a project is unaware of the actions of others; unproductive.---"They will never get anything done, one hand doesn't know what the other is doing."---Bible: Matthew 6:3. "But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." THE LORD GIVETH AND THE LORD TAKETH AWAY---We cannot question the will of God.---Bible: Job 1:21. "Naked came I out ot my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: The Lord gave, and the Lord hathe taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH---Humble people will triumph in the end.---Bible: Matthew 5:5. "Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth." THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME--Nothing ever changes too much; basic human nature has been the same since the beginning of time.---Alghonse Karr (1849.) Les Guepes. "Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose." (The more things change, the more they remain the same.) THE NAIL THAT STICKS UP GETS POUNDED DOWN THE ONLY WAY TO GET RID OF TEMPTATION IS TO YIELD TO IT THE OPERATION WAS A SUCCESS BUT THE PATIENT DIED---Used when a technical success nonetheless results in an overall failure. (Said ironically) THE PETER PRINCIPAL---In corporations expecially, management tends to promote people to their level of incompetence.---"They promoted Sam to sales manager, the Peter Principal is alive and well."---Lawrence J. Peter (1969.) The Peter Principal. "In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence."---Example: Sam is the best salesman a company has, instead of rewarding him monetarily for his doing a superb job the hierarchy promotes him

to sales manager. In the management position he gets a raise but is unable to do the job. He has risen to his level of incompetence. THE RACE IS NOT TO THE SWIFT---A likely winner is not a sure winner; anybody can win; perseverance will win out.---Bible: Ecclesiastes 9:11 "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, not yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all." THE RICH GET RICHER AND THE POOR GET POORER---People who already have money can earn more money easily, they have money to invest. Poor people can never accumulate enough money.---G. Kahn & R. Eagan (1921.) (Song) Ain't We Got Fun. "There's nothing surer, The rich get richer and the poor get poorer, In the meantime, in between time, Ain't we got fun." THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS---It doesn't do much good to intend to mend your ways you must do it.---E. Hellowes (1574). Guevara's Epistles. "Hell is full of good desires." THE ROAD TO TRUE LOVE NEVER RUNS SMOOTH---Reade (1857). THE SHIT HITS THE FAN---A nasty angry reaction when some deed goes undone or a bad situation becomes known to those in charge; everybody catches hell.---(1930's.) James Jones (1951.) From Here to Eternity. "Those things are going to have to be separated for size," he said.........."They already been separated," Warden said, without looking up. "Where were you when the shit hit the fan?" THE SPIRIT IS WILLING BUT THE FLESH IS WEAK---I would like to do this but I am unable.---Bible: Matthew 26:41 Jesus says to his disciples, "Watch, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." THE TIDE IS TURNING THE WALLS HAVE EARS---Be careful what you are saying.---"Let's talk over here, the walls have ears."---Shirley (1633). Bird in a Cage. "There is a way, but walls have ears and eyes." THE WAY TO A MAN'S HEART IS THROUGH HIS STOMACH THE WHOLE BALL OF WAX---Everything included.---"She got the whole ball of wax."---Old English law. The division of land in an estate. Parcels of land or property were written on a small piece of paper and wrapped in a ball of wax. The balls of wax were placed in a hat and each heir took a ball of wax and his parcel was described within. Being the only heir you received the whole ball of wax. THE WHOLE NINE YARDS--- Everything; all.---"That's the whole nine yards."---Apparently a WWII saying. The ammunition belts (gun belts) on fighter aircraft were 27 feet long, so when ordered to give the enemy the "Whole nine yards," you used all the ammunition you carried. [sub. by B. Butt] Another possible origin: The masts of 19th century British frigates were 27' high and if you set all your sail it would be giving all nine yards. Take your pick. THE WORM TURNS (HAS TURNED)---Even the most humble will strike back if mistreated and abused beyond a certain point.---"They have pushed him

too far, I think the worm has turned."---Heywood (1546.) Shakespeare (1590.) Henry VI. "The smallest worm will turn being trodden on." THERE IS A LITTLE TRUTH IN EVERY JEST---Every jest is covering a little bit of truth.---(1665). Roxbury Ballads. "Many a true word hath spoke in jest." THERE IS AN EXCEPTION TO EVERY RULE---Shelton (1620). Quixote. "There is no rule without exception." THERE IS HONOR AMONG THIEVES---Matteux (1712). Quixote. "The old proverb still holds good, thieves are never rogues among themselves." THERE IS METHOD TO MY MADNESS---It may not be evident but I have a reason.---Shakespeare Hamlet. "Though this be madness yet there is method to it." THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME THERE'S THE RUB---There is where the difficulty lies; obstruction or impediment.---"There's the rub, the wire is broken."---Shakespeare. Hamlet says: "To die, to sleep; To sleep; perchance to dream; ay, there's the rub; for in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,......" THICK AS THIEVES---Conspirators; intimate; close.---"Those two are thick as thieves."---Thieves usually hang around with each other. Theodore E. Hook (1833). The Parsons Daughter. "She and my wife are thick as thieves, as the proverb goes." (A) THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER---The impact of something beautiful is strong and lasting.---John Keats (1818). Endymion. "A thing of beauty is a joy forever; Its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness;......" Often times used as a trite statement, in a negative context. THIRD DEGREE---Rough treatment by the authorities.---"I got home late and she gave me the third degree."---In the Masonic organization, one only advanced to the third degree (Master Mason) after an exhausting examination of one's qualifications. New York Times (1904). "He was at first arrested merely as a suspicious person, but when put through the 'third degree' at the station admitted that he entered the house last night." THIRD TIME IS A CHARM---It is said that the third time is the successful one.---(1922). Punch "Mrs. Ellison has already been twice married. The third time pays for all, so they say." THIRTY DOLLARS WORTH OF FREE BOXING LESSONS---An invitation to fight.---"Say, how would you like to have thirty dollars worth of free boxing lessons." THIRTY TWO WINDOW COUPE---A bus.---"I don't have my car I'll have to take the thirty two window coupe." THORN IN THE SIDE---An annoyance; a bothersome person or problem.---"My mother-in-law has always been a thorn in my side."---Bible: Corinthians 12:7. "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me......"

THREE DOG NIGHT---Very cold night.---"I think it is going to be a three dog night."---In the old days when heat was at a premium, people used to let their dogs sleep with them to help keep them warm. On a really cold night it might take three dogs. THREE SHEETS TO THE WIND---Drunk.---"That boy is three sheets to the wind."---On a sailing vessel "sheet" is a rope that controls a sail; if it is allowed to go slack, it is said that to be "in the wind," as a result the sail in ineffective. If several sheets are in the wind, the ship goes erratically. THREE SCORE AND TEN---The allotted span of human life.---Bible: Psalms 90:10. "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet it is their strength, labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away." THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE---Person to person communication.---"I don't know if the rumor is true, but I heard it through the grapevine."---Became a popular expression during the Civil War. The telegraph was just starting to be used with wires strung from poles and sometimes from tree to tree, looking much like grapevines. In remote areas it was sometimes amazing how rumors and gossip traveled, with out any telegraph. So when information got to these remote areas it was said that it must have come through the grapevine. THROUGH THICK AND THIN---Supporting someone in good times and bad.---"She has seen me through thick and thin."---Clearly refers to a rider on a horse who in his travels encounters thick forest and brush, and the thin growth of the meadow. Edmond Spencer (1590). The Faerie Queene. "His tyreling Jade he fiersely forth did push through thicke and thin, both over banck and bush." THROW A MONKEY WRENCH IN THE WORKS---Interfere with or sabotage a plan or operation.---"He really threw a monkey wrench in the works this time."---The picture is one of throwing a wrench into the gears of an operating piece of machinery.---Garry Allighan (1929). Romance of the Talkies. "The Talkies (motion pictures with sound) threw several kinds of monkey wrenches into the machinery of production." THROW CAUTION TO THE WINDS---Decide on a bold or brazen course of action.---"I am going to throw caution to the wind and bet it all."---John Milton (1677). Paradise Lost. "Fear of death deliver to the winds." THROW IN THE SPONGE---To quit.---"If things don't get any better I am going to throw in the sponge."---A boxer's corner man or trainer could throw the sponge, used to wipe the boxer off, into the ring as a sign that his man had enough and the fight was over. THROW THE BOOK AT---File all possible criminal charges or give the maximum penalty.---"After all he has done, I hope the judge throws the book at him."---Law books.---(1932). Flynn's Weekly. "The prosecuting attorney is determined to try to get the trial judge to 'throw the book' at him." TICKLE YOUR FANCY---Please; divert or amuse you.---"I bought her some flowers, I hope this tickles her fancy."---Fancy: Love i.e. the passion of the fantasy or imagination. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice. "Tell me, where is fancy bred, or in the heart or in the head?"---A more delicate image than the companion phrase "strike your fancy". It was characterized as vulgar by Abraham

Tucker (1774). The Light of Nature Pursued. "Whose play had a quality of striking the joyous perception, or, as we vulgarly say, tickling the fancy." TIED TO THE APRON STRINGS---Unusually influenced or ruled by a woman. (usually said of an adult male in relation to his mother or wife).---"He is being turned into a real wimp, he needs to cut the apron strings."---Anne Bronte (1848). The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. "Even at his age, he ought not to be always tied to his mother's apron strings." TIGHTER THAN THE BARK ON A TREE---Miserly; cheap. TIGHTER THAN THE SKIN ON A WIENER---Miserly; cheap. TIME AND TIME AGAIN---Repeatedly.---"I have told him time and time again but he won't listen to me."---Donald G. Mitchell (1864). Seven Stories. "time and again I looked over the way." TIME FLIES WHEN YOU ARE HAVING FUN---Time seems to move more quickly when you are enjoying yourself.---Fuller (1732). "Pleasant hours fly fast." TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS TIME WAITS FOR NO MAN---Time marches on.---Chaucer (1386). C. Tales. "For thogh we slepe or wake, or rome, or ryde, ay fleeth the tyme, it nil no man abyde." Bailey (1736). Dict. "Time, time and tide will stay for no man." TIP OF THE ICEBERG---A small part of a larger problem.---"He thinks he is in trouble now, this is just the tip of the iceberg."---Only 1/7 of an actual iceberg is visible.---Michael Gilbert (1969). The Etruscan Net. "I believe that Broke's been made the victim of an elaborate frame up. I think, to employ a well known metaphor, that all we can see is the tip of the iceberg, and that there is depth beyond depth below it." TIT FOR TAT---Retaliation; blow for blow.---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "Requite as tick for tacke." TO BE FOREWARNED IS TO BE FOREARMED TO ERR IS HUMAN, TO FORGIVE DIVINE TO BE ON ONE'S LAST LEGS---Near death.---"Joe looks like he is on his last legs."---Massinger (1599). Old Law. "My husband goes upon his last hour now, on his last legs I am sure. TO THE VICTOR GOES THE SPOILS TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT---To the point of full satisfaction.---"You just play to your heart's content."---Shakespeare King Henry VI. "...Makes me from wondering fall to weeping joys; such is th fullness of my heart's content...." TOAD STRANGLER---Downpour.---"The rain is really coming down now, it's going to be a toad strangler." TODAY A ROOSTER TOMORROW A FEATHER DUSTER TONGUE IN CHEEK---Speaking insincerely; jokingly.---"It was a kind of tongue in cheek statement, evidently she didn't take it that way."---Probably the way you might put your tongue in your cheek, as you might wink, to show that you are not being serious.---Richard Barham (1845). The Ingoldsby Legends. "He cried "superb! magnifique!' (with his tongue in his cheek)." TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE---Not believable.---"This is too good to be true, I am finally going to get to retire."---The mind of the pessimist is evident; if a thing

looks or sounds good, something must be wrong with it.---Thomas Lupton (1580). Sivqila. "Too good to be true." TOO MANY CHIEFS AND NOT ENOUGH INDIANS---Too many people giving directions and not enough doing the work. TOO MANY COOKS SPOIL THE BROTH---If someone else adds something, nobody knows what has been added and the broth or meal gets ruined.---Fuller (1732). "The more cooks the worse broth." TOO MANY IRONS IN THE FIRE---Too many things going on at one time---"I can't get anything done, I just have too many irons in the fire."---A blacksmith will keep several pieces of iron in the fire so he will always have one ready for the anvil. If he gets too many in the fire he cannot tend them properly and will burn or melt the metal.---Sir Paget (1549). "Put no more so many yrons in the fyre at ones." TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING---Too much of anything can be bad for you.---Shakespeare (1601). As You Like It. "Why then, can one desire too much of a good thing?" Cotgrave (1611). "A man may take too much of a good thing." TOO SOON OLD, TOO LATE SMART---By the time we learn about life we are old.---Clarke (1639). "The older the wiser." TOUGH NUT TO CRACK---A difficult problem; a person who cannot easily be persuaded to do something.---"I think I got his approval but he was a tough nut to crack."---William Stephens (1739). Journal of the Proceedings in Georgia. "Wherefore that nut was a little hard for us to crack." TOUGH ROW TO HOE---A difficult or unappealing task.---"I feel sorry for Jim, with all those children, he has got a tough row to hoe."---Weeding rows in a garden can be hard and tedious work.---David Crockett (1835). Tour of the North and Down East. "I never opposed Andrew Jackson for popularity, I knew it was a hard row to hoe." TRUE BLUE---A true friend; honest.---"Shirley is really true blue."---Literal origin of the phrase is in the blue thread made in Coventry in the Middle Ages; it was prized for holding its color.---John Ray (1670). "Coventry had formerly the reputation for dying of blues; insomuch that true blue became a proverb to signify one that was always the same and like himself." (1622). Roxbury Ballads. "That showes a good fellow true blew." Fuller (1732). "True blue was the colour which never will stain." TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION---Byron (1823). Don Juan. "For truth is always strange, stranger than fiction." TRUTH WILL PREVAIL---The truth will come out.---Fulwell (1580). "Tureth in the ende shall preuayle." TURN A DEAF EAR---Ignore someone; refuse to acknowledge a statement or request.---"I just turned a deaf ear to him, I have heard it all before."---Walter Hylton (1440). Scala Perfeccionis. "Make deef ere to hem as though thou herde have not." TURN ABOUT IS FAIR PLAY---We should do things by turns; each of us should have some time in this good of bad situation. "Turnabout" is an old noun meaning for two people to do something alternately or by turns.---(1755). The Life of Capt. Dudly Bradstreet.

TURN OVER A NEW LEAF---To change your ways.---"Van is staying out of trouble now, I think he has turned over a new leaf."---Hall (1548). Chronicals "When they sawe the englishmen at the weakest, they turned the leafe and sang another song." TURN THE TABLES---Take something someone is using against you and use it against them.---George Chapman (1612). The Widdowes Teares (play). "I may turn the tables with you ere long." TURN UP ONE'S NOSE---Show disdain or scorn.---"Blitz will not eat that dog food, he just turns his nose up at it."---Johann Wigand (1562). De Neutralibus. "The Papists caste up the nose into the wynde and crake, that the churche is tyed to the Byshoppe of Rome and hys college." TWO FACED---A liar; one who tells you one thing to your face and tells another a different thing.---"Don't trust him he is two faced."---Deloney (1586). Works. "With false Judas you can beare two faces in one hoode." TWO IS COMPANY, THREE IS A CROWD---E. Lyall (1897). Wayfaring Men. "Two is company, three is trumpery." TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT---Cheales (1875). Proverb. "Two wrongs will not make one right." UNCLE SAM---United States Government.---"It's April 15th, time to pay Uncle Sam."---The original "Uncle Sam" was Samuel Wilson, born in West Cambridge, Massachusetts. In time, he moved with his brother Ebenezer to Troy, New York, where they formed a partnership in the meat packing business. The brothers contracted to supply the Army with beef and pork during the War of 1812, and marked their shipping barrels "US." The soldiers jokingly called the meat "Uncle Sam's beef." A soldier drew a caricature of Sam Wilson with his goatee and flowing hair and labeled the picture, "Uncle Sam of the U.S.A." This is the exact picture you see today. UNDERDOG---At a disadvantage.---"Our team is the underdog today, but I still hope they can win."---When dogs fight the dog on the bottom is at a distinct disadvantage. Thus the expression underdog, meaning to be on the bottom, or in a position of disadvantage. UNDER THE COUNTER---A transaction done on the sly.---"I think most of his dealings are under the counter."---Saying came about in WWII when goods were rationed and in short supply. Some store owners kept items under the counter for friends and good customers. UNDER THE THUMB---Under someone's control.---"The boss has really got him under his thumb."---Samuel Richardson (1754). The History of Sir Charles Grandison. "She....is obliged to be silent. I have her under my thumb." UNDER THE WEATHER---Ill.---"I am a little under the weather today."--Originated on British sailing ships. When a sailer became ill he was put below decks out of the weather, so it was said that he was under the weather.---D.G. Mitchell (1850). The Lognette. "As for the Frenchman, though now, between the valorous Poussin and the long faced Bonaparte, a little under the weather." UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL---If people don't stick together, they will fail in their struggle.---John Dickinson (1768.) Great American Folk

Songs. "Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all, By uniting we stand, be dividing we fall......" UNLUCKY IN LOVE---Swift (1738). Polite Conversation. "Unlucky in love lucky at play." UNTIL HELL FREEZES OVER---Something that could take forever.---"I will stay here till hell freezes over if I have to."---Admiral J.A. Fisher (1919). "Yours till hell freezes." UP A CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE---Stuck in a dilemma from which there seems no escape; stranded;out of luck.---"I think I am up that proverbial body of water with no visible means of locomotion."---Also "UP THE CREEK" or "UP SHIT CREEK"--UP FOR GRABS---Available if one makes the effort; open to competition; easily obtained.---"You had better get your bid in, it is up for grabs."---Lou Shelly (1945). Hepcats Jive Talk Dictionary. "Easy to get gal." (1967). Boston Globe. "Right now every position is up for grabs, every player is going to get a shot." UP IN ARMS---Ready to fight.---"He was really up in arms when he found out."---Shakespeare: King Henry VI. "The princely Warwick, and the Nevils all, Whose dreadful swords were never drawn in vain, As hating thee, are rising up in arms." UP TO PAR---Normal.---"I am not feeling quite up to par this morning."---One associates par with golf but the word is much older than the game. The meaning is the same, a standard or norm.---Laurence Sterne (1767). Tristram Shandyj. "The liver or two above par for your supper and bed." UP TO SCRATCH---Satisfactory; meeting a standard.---"My game is not quite up to scratch today."---The "scratch" was a line drawn as a starting line in several sports. In boxing, for example, it was the line where the two fighters met before starting the match. Thomas De Quincey "No prudent champion, however game, would have chosen to offer himself to the scratch for the second round." The same sort of "scratch" serving as the starting point for a race, gave rise to the term "start from scratch" meaning without a handicap. UP TO SNUFF---Up to standards; correct.---"Everything seems to be up to snuff"---Poole (1811). Hamlet Trav. "He knows well enough the game we're after: Zooks , he's up to snuff." UP TO THE HILT---All the way; to the utmost.---"I have had it with those guys, right up to the hilt."---If you plunge a dagger or sword in up to the hilt, you have plunged it as far as it will go. it is a gruesome image of support or totality, but it comes from a passionate act and bespeaks a passionate feeling.---Sir Roger L'Estrange (1687). An Answer to a Letter to a Dissenter. "He is all, politiques here, up to the hilts." A related expression is "back him to the hilt," meaning to give him the utmost support. UPHILL BATTLE---A difficult struggle.---"It is going to be an uphill battle for our team to win."---Commanding the top of the hill is always the best position. Fighting up the hill to capture it is always a tough fight. UPPER CRUST---The aristocracy; the elite.---"He is part of the upper crust."--The upper crust is thought, the most visible part and the mark by which you can judge the quality of the bread before you buy or taste it.

UPSET THE APPLE CART---Upset a plan; make a mess of a situation.---"He always seems to find a way to upset the apple cart."---Upsetting an apple cart would cause a real mess which would take some time to clean up. Thomas G. Fessenden (1800). (In a poem attacking Thomas Jefferson.) "He talketh big words to congress and threateneth to overturn their apple-cart." UPSTAGE---To best; get more attention.---"He is trying to upstage me."---In the theater "upstage" refers to the rear of the stage and at one time the rear was higher than the front. Since the actor standing "upstage" stood higher than the rest, this was the traditional position for the actor king and any other actor going upstage was pretending to an exalted position he did not deserve. USELESS AS TITS ON A BOAR---Very useless.---"That boy is as useless as tits on a boar." VANISH INTO THIN AIR---Disappear.---"I don't know where she went, she vanished into thin air."---Said of people, money, or ideas.---Thomas Dekker (1609). The Guls Horne-book. "Plaudities, and the breath of the great beast, which (like the threatenings of two cowards), vanish all into aire." VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE---Life is boring without a change once in a while. VICIOUS CIRCLE---A disagreeable situation that keeps repeating itself; a chain of events in which dealing with one problem creates another.---"It is a vicious circle, I no sooner get one thing fixed and another thing breaks."---(1792). Encyclopaedia Britannica. "He runs into what is termed by logicians a vicious circle (failure to make connection between premise and conclusion.)" VIRTUE IS IT'S OWN REWARD---You are rewarded by the feeling of doing good.---Dryden (1673). Assignation. "Virtue, sir, is its own reward, I expect none from you." VOTE WITH YOUR FEET---Leave a place or situation you don't like; show your disapproval by leaving.---"I have heard all I want to hear, I am voting with my feet."---The New York Times picked it up in 1966. "Some East Berliners continue to vote with their feet by climbing over,digging under, or slipping through the Wall. WAIT WITH BATED BREATH---Be expectant or apprehensive---"I am waiting with bated breath to find out what is happening."---Bate means to moderate, restrain, reduce the intensity of. Suggests slightly less of a crisis than would cause one to hold your breath. Adam Bede (1859): "To his dying day he bated his breath a little when he told the story." WALK ON EGGS---Proceed with caution; careful.---"You have to walk on eggs around Linda, her feelings get hurt so easily."---John Harrington (1591). "So soft he treads......As though to tread on eggs he were afraid. WANT WHAT YOU HAVE, AND YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE WHAT YOU WANT---(1629). Book of Merry Riddles. "You want the thing you have." WARM AS TOAST---Reade (1860). Cl. & Hearth. "They were soon as warm as toast, and fast asleep." WASH ONE'S HANDS---End one's participation or involvement in a matter.---"I am through with this whole situation, I am washing my hands of

it."---Pontius Pilate did this when he yielded to the people and condemned Jesus even though he found him guiltless. WASH ONE'S LINEN IN PUBLIC---Talk openly about private matters.---"There is no reason to wash our dirty linen in public."---Napoleon, in a speech on his return from Elba. "It is in the family, not in public, that one washes one's dirty linen." WASTE NOT, WANT NOT---If you don't waste you will always have some.--J. Platt (1882). Economy. "Waste not, want not, is a law of nature." WASTE OF BREATH---Not worth saying.---"I am wasting my breath talking to him."---John Dryden (1697). Aeneid. "Why these insulting words, this waste of breathe, To souls undaunted, and secure of death?" WATER OVER THE DAM---Something done; irreversible.---"You may as well forget it, it's water over the dam."---Richard Sale (1942). Passing Strange. "'That's water under the dam.' Or water over the dam.'" WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE, BUT NOT A DROP TO DRINK--Despite being surrounded by something, you still can't benefit from it.---Samuel T. Coleridge (1798.) The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. "Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink. WE WILL CROSS THAT BRIDGE WHEN WE COME TO IT---Don't worry unduly about problems that have yet to happen. WEARS THE PANTS---One who dominates; in charge.---"She wears the pants around that house."---(1606). Choice,Chance and Change. "She that is master of her husband must weare the breeches." WELCOME WITH OPEN ARMS---To receive enthusiastically.---"If he would come back, I would welcome him with open arms."---Alexander Pope (1735). Satires and Epistles of Horace Imitated. "And St. John's self......with open arms received on Poet more." WEAR YOUR HEART ON YOUR SLEEVE---Feelings too easily hurt; leave oneself vulnerable.---"She is always getting her feelings hurt, she wears her heart on her sleeve."---Shakespeare (1604). Othello. "I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at." WERE YOU BORN IN A BARN? WET BEHIND THE EARS---Innocent; naive.---"The boy is a little wet behind the ears." WET BLANKET---Spoilsport; dud; no personality.---"He certainly put a wet blanket over this party."---If a person is having a good time and someone were to throw a wet blanket over them, the effect would be obvious. So it is with some people, their mere presents and their attitude take the fun out of a gathering.--John Galt (1830). Lawrie Todd, or the Settlers in the Woods. "I have never felt such a wet blanket before or syne." WET ONE'S WHISTLE---Take a drink.---"I need to wet my whistle."--Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (The Reeve's Tale). "So was hir ioly (jolly) whistle well y-wet." WHAMMY---Curse; spell.---"I think she put the whammy on me."---Al Capp the creator of Li'l Abner in the comics gave us this one. It was a paralyzing stare or potent glance used by the characters in Dogpatch, that would stop someone dead

in their tracks. There was also a double whammy that was even more potent. If you wanted to put a whimsical curse on someone you would "Put the whammy on them". WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE, WHEN WE PRACTICE TO DECEIVE---When we lie, we must tell another lie to cover the lie we just told and on and on. It becomes a tangled mess of lies. We end up getting caught in our own web.---Walter Scott (1808.) Marmion. "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive!" WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND---What you do or say today will come back to you in the future.---(1970's) WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS GOOD FOR THE GANDER--What is good for one is good for the other.---Head and Kirkman (1671). Eng. Rogue. "I could not justly complain seeing what was sauce for a goose was sauce for the gander." WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW CAN'T HURT YOU---Often it is less painful to remain ignorant than to have all the facts.---G. Pattie (1576.) Petite Palace of Pleasure. WHAT'S DONE IS DONE---Once something is finished it can't be changed.--Shakespeare (1605.) Macbeth. Lady Macbeth: "Things without all remedy should be without regard: what's done is done." WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE---At the end.---"When all is said and done the project will be a success."---Thomas Ingelend (1560). The Disobedient Child. "Whan all is saide and all is done, concernynge all thynges both more and lesse...." WHEN IN ROME DO AS THE ROMANS DO---Go along with local customs.---St. Augustine in one of his letters tells how his mother, Saint Monica, once asked Saint Ambrose: "At Rome they fast on Saturday, but not at Milan; which practice ought to be observed?" Saint Ambrose replied: "When I am at Milan, I do as they do at Milan; but when I go to Rome, I do as Rome does!" WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS---When bad things start happening they just seem to get worse and worse; sometimes when you've been waiting a long time for something, you get too much of it.---"Not another problem, when it rains it pours."---Charles Kingsley (1848). Yeast. "It never rains but it pours, and one cannot fall in with a new fact or a new acquaintance but next day twenty fresh things shall spring up as if by magic." WHEN THE BLIND LEAD THE BLIND, THEY ALL FALL IN THE DITCH---Bible Luke 6:39. "Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?" WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY THE MICE WILL PLAY--Florio (1578). First Fruits. "When the cat is abroade the mise play." WHEN THE GOING GET'S TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING---When the situation gets critical, those who aren't weak work harder and never give up.--Joseph P. Kennedy WHEN THE SHIT'S ON YOU, THE SHIT'S ON YOU---It seems as though sometimes when bad thing start happening it is one thing after another. You just

can't seem to get a break.---"What else can happen, when the shit's on you the shit's on you."---If you have ever had it on you it seems to get spread around before you know it and it is almost impossible to get all the smell off. When it's on you, it's on you, and nobody has any doubt about it. WHEN THE DUMMY'S ON THE RIGHT LEAD THE WEAKEST THING IN SIGHT---Firehouse Bridge term. When you don't know what to lead with the dummy on your right, lead the weakest thing you see. WHEN YOU GOT IT, FLAUNT IT---Wealthy or otherwise well endowed people have a right to be ostentatious; commonly referrers to anything special anyone may have.---Mel Brooks (1968.) The Producers. "That's it baby. If you've got it, flaunt it." WHERE THERE'S A WILL THERE'S A WAY---If you want to do something bad enough there is usually some way.---Herbert (1640). Jac. Prudentum. "To him that will, ways are not wanting." WHERE THERE'S LIFE THERE'S HOPE---There is always hope.---Taverner (1539). "The sycke person whyle he hath lyfe, hath hope." WHERE THERE'S SMOKE THERE'S FIRE---Some clues are highly suggestive or revealing.---When there are clues that something is going on, it usually is. Publilius Syrus (43 B.C.). Sententiae. "Nor, when a fire is made, will smoke be lacking." WHERE THERE'S NO VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH---People suffer if they have no plans for or dreams of a better future.---Bible: Proverbs 29:18. "Where there is no vision the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." WHIPPERSNAPPER---Usually a boy or young man; anybody a lot younger than you.---"Have you noticed, there are a lot of young whippersnappers working here now."---Started as a western expression. One of the easiest skills learned by a greenhorn cowboy is that of snapping a whip. Decades ago, lots of fellows who were not old enough to bulldog a steer or rope a maverick, would strut through town calling attention to themselves by snapping their whips. They were called whip snappers and so young fellows come to be known as "whippersnappers". The expression is still used today by older men when they refer to someone younger. WHIPPING BOY---Someone who takes the blame for something someone else did.---"The project failed and Ken is going to be the whipping boy."---In the early days when the King's son deserved to be whipped for misbehavior, because of his royal blood he couldn't be, so it was the custom to keep about the court some other boy who could be whipped in his place.---Hudibras. And that is, if a man may do't, by proxy whipp'd, or substitute....., Justice gives sentence, many times, on one man for another's crimes. WHITE ELEPHANT---A useless possession.---"That car is certainly a white elephant.---Legend has it that rare albino elephants in ancient Siam automatically became the property of the king. At least one such king had the custom of giving a white elephant to any courtier who had fallen out of favor. The courtier was soon ruined by the cost of keeping the elephant. Sir Thomas Elyot (1531). The

Gouernour. "Elyot regarded the new dignity much as the gift of a white elephant." WHITE ON RICE---Something you can't get off; can't change.---"His wife has been on him like white on rice." WHOSE BREAD I EAT, HIS SONG I SING---I am loyal to whoever feeds me.---Upton Sinclair (1946.) A World to Win. "Whose bread I eat, his song I sing, or at any rate, his song I hear." WIDE BERTH---Stay out of the way; avoid confrontation.---"He is mad as hell, you better give him a wide berth."---Berth is a nautical term referring to the spot where a ship is anchored. If it has been anchored so it can swing freely with the wind and tide it needs a "wide" berth in order to avoid contact with other ships. WILD GOOSE CHASE---A course that leads to no goal---"They led us on a wild goose chase."---A sort of game, a horse race in which the second and each succeeding horse had to follow the leader accurately and at a definite interval. Since the horses had to keep their positions like geese in flight, and since no one could actually win the race, the phrase "wild goose chase" was adopted. Shakespeare (1592). Romeo. "Nay, if thy wits run the wild goose chase, I have done." WILLY NILLY---Willing or not. WIN IF YOU CAN, CHEAT IF YOU MUST---Do whatever it takes to win; if you can win by not cheating do it, if not......... WINDFALL---Unexpected good luck; gain.---"My tax refund was a real windfall."---Certain members of the English nobility were forbidden by the tenure of their estates to fell any timber, all trees being reserved for the use of the Royal Navy. They could, however, use any that were blown down by the wind. WINNERS NEVER QUIT AND QUITTERS NEVER IN---People who are successful never quit and people who quit are never successful. WITH BELLS ON---Ostentatious display.---"Don't worry I will be there with bells on."---Peddlers used to come into a village with bells on to draw attention to their wares. WIN HANDS DOWN---Win easily.---"He is going to win hands down."--Jockeys let their hands down and relax the tension on the reins, when victory seems assured. (1867). Lyrics and Lays. "There were good horses in those days, as he can well recall, But Barker upon Elepee, hands down, shot by them all." WIN ONE FOR THE GIPPER---If you need a reason to win, do it for someone who inspires you.---Originated in the 1920's and is attributed to Knute Rockne, then coach of the Notre Dame football team. One of his best players, George Gipp, died at the age of twenty five. Before he died, he told Knute Rockne: "Rock, someday when things look real tough for Notre Dame, ask the boys to go out and win for me." The coach honored his deathbed request and Notre Dame defeated Army. WISH IN ONE HAND AND SHIT IN THE OTHER AND SEE WHICH ONE FILLS UP FIRST---Wishing isn't going to make it happen. WITH FLYING COLORS---Triumphantly; proudly.---"He won the race with flying colors."---The "colors" were the flags or banners borne by a naval ship or military unit. In victory they were prominently displayed, in defeat they were

lowered. John Locke (1692). A Letter Concerning Toleration. "It may bring a man off with flying colours." WITS END---Unable to think of what to do; unable to think clearly.---"I have thought about it all day, I'm at my wits end."---Chaucer (1373). Troilus and Criseyde. "At dulcarnon [in a dilemma], right at my wittes end." WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING---Pretending to be something you aren't for sinister reasons.---"Watch her, she is a wolf in sheep's clothing."---(1460). Wisdom. "They flatter and lye as they were woode (mad); ther ys a wolffe in a lombys shyne." WORN TO A FRAZZLE---Extremely tired.---"I am worn to a frazzle."--Frazzle: to fray or tear to ribbons. J. C. Harris (1881). Uncle Remus. "Brer Fox dun know Brer Rabbit uv ole, en he know dat sorter game done wo'ter a frazzle." WOULDN'T SAY SHIT IF HE HAD A MOUTH FULL---Very quiet; passive; shy.---"I don't understand why he doesn't speak out for himself, he wouldn't say shit if had a mouth full." WREAK HAVOC---Destroy; devastate something.---"We are going to wreak havoc on these guys."---Long ago the cry "Havoc!" was a signal or order to soldiers to seize spoils or to pillage. Wreak: To revenge or punish. William Craxton (1480). The Cronicles of England "They slowe [slew] al alyens and despoilled all hir goodes and made hauoke." XMAS---Christmas.---The "X" in this case is the Greek letter chi. Chi is the initial letter of the Greek word for "Christ."---The Greek word for Christ was "Xristos", it became popular in Europe in the 1500's in the short form XMAS. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT---Your health, looks, and well-being are said to result from the kinds of food you consume.--YOU CAN BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR---You can be sure of it.---"You can bet your bottom dollar that I am going fishing today."---The "bottom dollar" is the last one in a hypothetical stack; if you are prepared to risk that on something, it must be a good bet.---(1866). Congressional Globe. "A State can go out of the Union and he is willing to bet his bottom dollar on his judgement." YOU ARE ONLY AS OLD AS YOU FEEL---Youthfulness is a matter of attitude, not chronological age.---(1871.) Thames Journal. YOU CAN CATCH MORE FLIES WITH HONEY THAN YOU CAN WITH VINEGAR---Be nice and something may come your way.---Fuller (1732). "More flies are taken with a drop of honey than a tun of vinegar." YOU CAN FOOL SOME OF THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME, ALL THE PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME, BUT YOU CAN'T FOOL ALL THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME---You can't fool people all the time.---Abraham Lincoln. YOU CAN LEAD A HORSE TO WATER BUT YOU CAN'T MAKE HIM DRINK---You can only go so far in trying to persuade a stubborn person to do something. John Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "A man may well bring a horse to the water, but he can not make hym drynk without he will." YOU CAN PLEASE SOME OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME AND ALL OF THE PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME, BUT YOU CAN'T PLEASE

ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME---Lydgate (1430). Minor Poems. "To please al folk it is ful hard." YOU CAN PRACTICE AND BECOME GOOD BUT YOU CAN'T PRACTICE AND GET LUCKY YOU CAN STUFF MORE CRAP IN THE BIG END OF A HORN THAN YOU CAN THE SMALL END---Old Fire Dept. saying. Officers wore bugles on their hats or helmets. Some just enjoyed giving out orders i.e. blowing their bugles. The men would tell them on occasion that we could stuff more shit in the big end of the bugle than they could stuff in the small end. (Cause them more grief than they could cause us.) YOU CAN TAKE A BOY OUT OF THE COUNTRY, BUT YOU CAN'T TAKE THE COUNTRY OUT OF THE BOY---Changing the place a person lives does not change one's character or personality.---B. Baer (1938.) Hollywood. YOU CAN'T ARGUE WITH SUCCESS---Success justifies everything. YOU CAN'T BEAT A MAN AT HIS OWN GAME---You can't surpass people in their own environment of if they're more qualified.---(1756.) Papers of Henry Laudrens. YOU CAN'T DO NOTHING ABOUT NOTHING---You can't so something about a situation that does not exist.---Breton (1599). Works. "Then of nothing growes nothing, but nothing." YOU CAN'T EAT YOUR CAKE AND HAVE IT---You can't have something both ways.---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "Wolde ye bothe eate your cake and haue your cake?" YOU CAN'T FIGHT CITY HALL---It's hard for ordinary people to overcome bureaucracy and red tape.---(20th Century.) YOU CAN'T GET BLOOD OUT OF A TURNIP YOU CAN'T GET SOMETHING FOR NOTHING---Nothing will come to you without effort on your part.---Benjamin Disraeli (1845.) Sybil. "To do nothing and get something, formed a boy's ideal of a manly career." YOU CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER YOU CAN'T LIVE WITH THEM AND YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THEM---I guess this means men need women.---Clarke (1639). "Wives must be had, be they good or bad." YOU CAN'T MAKE A SILK PURSE OUT OF A SOW'S EAR---You can't make something good out of inferior or inappropriate raw material. ---Stephen Gosson (1597). Ephemerides. "seekinge.....too make a silke purse of a Sowes eare." YOU CAN'T MAKE AN OMELET WITHOUT BREAKING A FEW EGGS---One cannot accomplish something worthwhile without some sacrifices.---T. P. Thompson (1859.) Audi Alteram Partem. YOU CAN'T SOAR WITH THE EAGLES IF YOU FLY WITH THE TURKEYS---If you are going to be somebody you have to get away from those who aren't.---"How do you expect to do anything if you hang around with that bunch."---Rowlands (1607). Guy, East of Warwick. "Princely eagles scorn the catching flies."

YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU---Material possessions will count for nothing when you're dead.---Frederick Marryat (1841.) Masterman Ready. YOU CAN'T TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS---Old people or people with long experience find it difficult to learn new ways; unwilling to change.--John Fitzherbert (1523). Treatyse Moost Profytable for Husbande Men. "The dogge must lerne when he is a whelpe, or els it wyl not be, for it is harde to make and olde dogge to stoupe." Camden (1605). Remains. "It is hard to teach and old dog tricks." YOU CAN'T WIN 'EM ALL---You won't always succeed; (said often of people who usually succeed).---James Munro (1969). The Innocent Bystanders. "He hesitated just a split second too long, and was already starting to turn when Craig's voice spoke behind him. 'Be sensible,' said Craig. 'You can't win them all. Guns on the bed please.'" YOU COULD HAVE KNOCKED ME OVER WITH A FEATHER---I was overwhelmingly surprised YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR---If you buy something cheap it won't last; you don't get much value or quality.---From the Latin: Gabriel Biel (15th century). Expositio Cannonis Missae. "Pro tali numismate tales merces." YOU HAVE TO BREAK A FEW EGGS TO MAKE AN OMELET YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE BITTER WITH THE SWEET---One has to accept unpleasant things along with the pleasant; life isn't always going to be pleasant.---John heywood (1546.) Proverbs. YOU MADE YOUR BED NOW YOU MUST LIE IN IT---You created the circumstance now you must live with it.---G. Harvey (1590). Marginalia. "Let them go to there bed, as themselves shall make it." YOU MAKE A BETTER DOOR THAN YOU DO A WINDOW---Get out of the way I can't see. YOU MUST LEARN TO CRAWL BEFORE YOU CAN WALK---You can't skip the basics; don't get over anxious.---"You can't start out on top, you have to crawl before you can walk."---Barrow (1851). Lavengro. "Ambition is a very pretty thing; but, sir, we must walk before we run." YOU NEVER MISS THE WATER TILL THE WELL RUNS DRY---You don't realize how much you have until you lose it.---James Carmichael (1628.) Collection of Scottish Proverbs. YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW---There are consequences for our actions.---"One of these days he is going to reap what he has sown."---Cynewulf (8th century). Crist, You Reap. "All the children of men as they sow in sorrow, so afterwards they reap. they bring forth for death."---Bible Galatians 6:7. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." YOU SAID A MOUTHFUL---You have summed up the situation.---Ring Lardner (1936). First and last. "Well Lardy we will have to make it some other time", said Gerry. "You said a mouthful Gerry was my smiling reply." YOU SCRATCH MY BACK AND I'LL SCRATCH YOURS---A favor should be reciprocated; you do a favor for me and I'll do a favor for you.---Montaigne (1605.)

YOU WIN SOME, YOU LOSE SOME---You can't win all of the time.--Rudyard Kipling (1897.) Captains Courageous. YOU WOULD LOOSE YOUR HEAD IF IT WEREN'T FASTENED ON--Scatterbrained; forgetful; careless.---"She can't find here keys again, she would lose her head if it weren't fastened on." YOU'RE NO SPRING CHICKEN---You are not young anymore."She looks pretty good, but she's no spring chicken."---Chick has meant a young person, chicken an older person. Spring was added to chicken as a bastardization and gives the sense of young or a renewing.---G.D. Prentice (1860). Prenticeana. "Call a lady 'a chicken,' and ten to one she is angry. Tell her she is 'no chicken,' and twenty to one she is still angrier." YOUR DADDY WASN'T A GLASS MAKER---You are blocking my view.--You are not made of glass, I can't see through you. YOUR EYES WERE BIGGER THAN YOUR STOMACH---Being so hungry you take more than you can eat.---Swift (1738). Polite Conversation. "I thought I could have eaten this wing of a chicken; but my eye's bigger than my belly." YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE---Neither of us knows for sure.---Irene Baird (1939). Waste Heritage. YANKEE---Meaning depends on where you are: Overseas anyone from the United States is a Yankee, if you live in the south anyone from the north is a Yankee and if you live in the midwest anyone in the New England states is considered to be a Yankee.---The word came from a nickname for the Dutch, Jan Kaas, meaning "John Cheese." Holland has long been famous for its cheeses and so the nickname Jan Kaas is appropriate to them. In pirate days, English sailors adopted the term as a derisive name for Dutch pirates. In this sense it became familiar in New York. Then the Dutch settlers there, noting its unpleasant significance, began to apply it to the English settlers of Connecticut. Today it is used by southerners as a derisive term because of their dislike for people who live in, or come from northern states. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT---Your health, looks, and well-being are said to result from the kinds of food you consume.--YOU CAN BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR---You can be sure of it.---"You can bet your bottom dollar that I am going fishing today."---The "bottom dollar" is the last one in a hypothetical stack; if you are prepared to risk that on something, it must be a good bet.---(1866). Congressional Globe. "A State can go out of the Union and he is willing to bet his bottom dollar on his judgement." YOU ARE ONLY AS OLD AS YOU FEEL---Youthfulness is a matter of attitude, not chronological age.---(1871.) Thames Journal. YOU CAN CATCH MORE FLIES WITH HONEY THAN YOU CAN WITH VINEGAR---Be nice and something may come your way.---Fuller (1732). "More flies are taken with a drop of honey than a tun of vinegar." YOU CAN FOOL SOME OF THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME, ALL THE PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME, BUT YOU CAN'T FOOL ALL THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME---You can't fool people all the time.---Abraham Lincoln.

YOU CAN LEAD A HORSE TO WATER BUT YOU CAN'T MAKE HIM DRINK---You can only go so far in trying to persuade a stubborn person to do something. John Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "A man may well bring a horse to the water, but he can not make hym drynk without he will." YOU CAN PLEASE SOME OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME AND ALL OF THE PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME, BUT YOU CAN'T PLEASE ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME---Lydgate (1430). Minor Poems. "To please al folk it is ful hard." YOU CAN PRACTICE AND BECOME GOOD BUT YOU CAN'T PRACTICE AND GET LUCKY YOU CAN STUFF MORE CRAP IN THE BIG END OF A HORN THAN YOU CAN THE SMALL END---Old Fire Dept. saying. Officers wore bugles on their hats or helmets. Some just enjoyed giving out orders i.e. blowing their bugles. The men would tell them on occasion that we could stuff more shit in the big end of the bugle than they could stuff in the small end. (Cause them more grief than they could cause us.) YOU CAN TAKE A BOY OUT OF THE COUNTRY, BUT YOU CAN'T TAKE THE COUNTRY OUT OF THE BOY---Changing the place a person lives does not change one's character or personality.---B. Baer (1938.) Hollywood. YOU CAN'T ARGUE WITH SUCCESS---Success justifies everything. YOU CAN'T BEAT A MAN AT HIS OWN GAME---You can't surpass people in their own environment of if they're more qualified.---(1756.) Papers of Henry Laudrens. YOU CAN'T DO NOTHING ABOUT NOTHING---You can't so something about a situation that does not exist.---Breton (1599). Works. "Then of nothing growes nothing, but nothing." YOU CAN'T EAT YOUR CAKE AND HAVE IT---You can't have something both ways.---Heywood (1546). Proverbs. "Wolde ye bothe eate your cake and haue your cake?" YOU CAN'T FIGHT CITY HALL---It's hard for ordinary people to overcome bureaucracy and red tape.---(20th Century.) YOU CAN'T GET BLOOD OUT OF A TURNIP YOU CAN'T GET SOMETHING FOR NOTHING---Nothing will come to you without effort on your part.---Benjamin Disraeli (1845.) Sybil. "To do nothing and get something, formed a boy's ideal of a manly career." YOU CAN'T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER YOU CAN'T LIVE WITH THEM AND YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THEM---I guess this means men need women.---Clarke (1639). "Wives must be had, be they good or bad." YOU CAN'T MAKE A SILK PURSE OUT OF A SOW'S EAR---You can't make something good out of inferior or inappropriate raw material. ---Stephen Gosson (1597). Ephemerides. "seekinge.....too make a silke purse of a Sowes eare." YOU CAN'T MAKE AN OMELET WITHOUT BREAKING A FEW EGGS---One cannot accomplish something worthwhile without some sacrifices.---T. P. Thompson (1859.) Audi Alteram Partem.

YOU CAN'T SOAR WITH THE EAGLES IF YOU FLY WITH THE TURKEYS---If you are going to be somebody you have to get away from those who aren't.---"How do you expect to do anything if you hang around with that bunch."---Rowlands (1607). Guy, East of Warwick. "Princely eagles scorn the catching flies." YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU---Material possessions will count for nothing when you're dead.---Frederick Marryat (1841.) Masterman Ready. YOU CAN'T TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS---Old people or people with long experience find it difficult to learn new ways; unwilling to change.--John Fitzherbert (1523). Treatyse Moost Profytable for Husbande Men. "The dogge must lerne when he is a whelpe, or els it wyl not be, for it is harde to make and olde dogge to stoupe." Camden (1605). Remains. "It is hard to teach and old dog tricks." YOU CAN'T WIN 'EM ALL---You won't always succeed; (said often of people who usually succeed).---James Munro (1969). The Innocent Bystanders. "He hesitated just a split second too long, and was already starting to turn when Craig's voice spoke behind him. 'Be sensible,' said Craig. 'You can't win them all. Guns on the bed please.'" YOU COULD HAVE KNOCKED ME OVER WITH A FEATHER---I was overwhelmingly surprised YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR---If you buy something cheap it won't last; you don't get much value or quality.---From the Latin: Gabriel Biel (15th century). Expositio Cannonis Missae. "Pro tali numismate tales merces." YOU HAVE TO BREAK A FEW EGGS TO MAKE AN OMELET YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE BITTER WITH THE SWEET---One has to accept unpleasant things along with the pleasant; life isn't always going to be pleasant.---John heywood (1546.) Proverbs. YOU MADE YOUR BED NOW YOU MUST LIE IN IT---You created the circumstance now you must live with it.---G. Harvey (1590). Marginalia. "Let them go to there bed, as themselves shall make it." YOU MAKE A BETTER DOOR THAN YOU DO A WINDOW---Get out of the way I can't see. YOU MUST LEARN TO CRAWL BEFORE YOU CAN WALK---You can't skip the basics; don't get over anxious.---"You can't start out on top, you have to crawl before you can walk."---Barrow (1851). Lavengro. "Ambition is a very pretty thing; but, sir, we must walk before we run." YOU NEVER MISS THE WATER TILL THE WELL RUNS DRY---You don't realize how much you have until you lose it.---James Carmichael (1628.) Collection of Scottish Proverbs. YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW---There are consequences for our actions.---"One of these days he is going to reap what he has sown."---Cynewulf (8th century). Crist, You Reap. "All the children of men as they sow in sorrow, so afterwards they reap. they bring forth for death."---Bible Galatians 6:7. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

YOU SAID A MOUTHFUL---You have summed up the situation.---Ring Lardner (1936). First and last. "Well Lardy we will have to make it some other time", said Gerry. "You said a mouthful Gerry was my smiling reply." YOU SCRATCH MY BACK AND I'LL SCRATCH YOURS---A favor should be reciprocated; you do a favor for me and I'll do a favor for you.---Montaigne (1605.) YOU WIN SOME, YOU LOSE SOME---You can't win all of the time.--Rudyard Kipling (1897.) Captains Courageous. YOU WOULD LOOSE YOUR HEAD IF IT WEREN'T FASTENED ON--Scatterbrained; forgetful; careless.---"She can't find here keys again, she would lose her head if it weren't fastened on." YOU'RE NO SPRING CHICKEN---You are not young anymore."She looks pretty good, but she's no spring chicken."---Chick has meant a young person, chicken an older person. Spring was added to chicken as a bastardization and gives the sense of young or a renewing.---G.D. Prentice (1860). Prenticeana. "Call a lady 'a chicken,' and ten to one she is angry. Tell her she is 'no chicken,' and twenty to one she is still angrier." YOUR DADDY WASN'T A GLASS MAKER---You are blocking my view.--You are not made of glass, I can't see through you. YOUR EYES WERE BIGGER THAN YOUR STOMACH---Being so hungry you take more than you can eat.---Swift (1738). Polite Conversation. "I thought I could have eaten this wing of a chicken; but my eye's bigger than my belly." YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE---Neither of us knows for sure.---Irene Baird (1939). Waste Heritage. YANKEE---Meaning depends on where you are: Overseas anyone from the United States is a Yankee, if you live in the south anyone from the north is a Yankee and if you live in the midwest anyone in the New England states is considered to be a Yankee.---The word came from a nickname for the Dutch, Jan Kaas, meaning "John Cheese." Holland has long been famous for its cheeses and so the nickname Jan Kaas is appropriate to them. In pirate days, English sailors adopted the term as a derisive name for Dutch pirates. In this sense it became familiar in New York. Then the Dutch settlers there, noting its unpleasant significance, began to apply it to the English settlers of Connecticut. Today it is used by southerners as a derisive term because of their dislike for people who live in, or come from northern states. ZEST---Enthusiasm.---In its Greek form "zest" meant a piece of orange or lemon peel. And the addition of a slice of orange or lemon peel adds "zest" to a drink or dish and makes one more enthusiastic about it.