Interesting facts....

Ttulipss · #1 (**permalink**) 01-11-2002, 03:35 PM

In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was
either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington
showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while
others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were
not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs
were to be painted. Arms and legs are "limbs" therefore painting them would
cost the buyer more. Hence the expression "Okay, but it'll cost you an
arm and a leg."

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As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year!
(May & October) Women always kept their hair covered while men shaved
their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could
afford good wigs. The wigs couldn't be washed so to clean them, they
could carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell and bake it for 30
minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term "big
wig." Today we often use the term "here comes the Big Wig" because
someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.

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In the late 1700's many houses consisted of a large room with only one
chair. Commonly, a long wide board was folded down from the wall and used for
dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the chair while
everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Once in a while an invited guest
would be offered to sit in this chair during a meal whom was almost
always a man. To sit-in the chair meant you were important and in charge.
Sitting in the chair, one was called the "chair man." Today in business
we use the expression/title "Chairman."

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Needless to say, personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a
result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The
women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their
complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to
stare at another woman's face she was told "mind your own bee's wax."
Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a
smile." Also, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt and
therefore the expression "losing face."

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Ladies wore corsets which would lace up in the front. A tightly tied
lace was worn by a proper and dignified lady as in "straight laced".

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Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax
levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the "ace of
spades." To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead.
Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be
stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full deck."

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Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what was
considered important to the people. Since there were no telephones, TV's
or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs
and bars who were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's
conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at
different times . "you go sip here" and "you go sip there." The two
words "go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local
opinion and thus, we have the term "gossip."

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At local taverns, pubs and bars, people drank from pint and quart sized
containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and
keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who
was drinking in "pints" and who was drinking in "quarts." Hence the term
"minding your "'P's and Q's."

buckeyemomma · #2 (**permalink**) 01-12-2002, 02:23 AM

cool!! Thank you!

teamfargo · #3 (**permalink**) 01-12-2002, 02:20 PM

Oh, I love these things...I've always wanted a book on different expressions and where they came from!

telos2000 · #4 (**permalink**) 01-12-2002, 02:39 PM

In the old days a house had a thatch roof. In the winter, the cats and dogs would sleep there because the heat would ooze out of the cracks. When it would rain hard, they would slip off, thus "it's raining cats and dogs."

teamfargo · #5 (**permalink**) 01-12-2002, 03:18 PM

Way back when, people used to go to town and buy a piglet for a meal. I guess they must have been hard to catch or something, because they used to bag them up ahead of time in a "poke" (pig in a poke.) Some farmers would substitute a cat instead - thus cheating the customer. If the customer checked, they may "let the cat out of the bag".