Which one of the following has NOT been suggested as a derivation of this expression?
1. Thatched roofs were a warm and cozy place for outdoor pets. A violent storm would send the dogs and cats tumbling from the roof.
2. Several centuries ago before cities developed effective sewer systems, waste, including animal carcasses, were routinely thrown into the street where they collected in a central gutter in the street. Only a very vigorous rainstorm was able to dislodge the animal carcasses, including cats and dogs, and send the floating along their way.
3. The origin is not certain, but thought to be derived from the ancient mythologic belief that a cat influenced the weather while a dog was the symbol of the wind.
4. The expression is based on the well recorded phenomenon of animals falling from the sky due to a waterspout or tornado. These violent updrafts suck up animals or other debris and send them upward into storm cells where they freeze, ultimately falling back to earth. It is not known why cats and dogs, as opposed to other animals, were used in this idiom; frogs appear to the most commonly noted animal. However, in 1997 a Korean fisherman was knocked unconscious by a falling squid, and a falling cow sunk a Japanese fishing boat in 1990.
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Red Herring
1. A herring, turned red by smoking, gives off a strong odor, which was used to train dogs to follow a scent. In England, those opposed to fox hunting would drag a red herring across the ground to create a false scent.
2. In 1765 the herring population crashed in the North Seas, leading to a severe shortage of this favorite English food. The dark meat of chicken was then smoked, heavily seasoned and then sold as "Red Herring," a herring substitute that fooled no one.
3. Among Scottish fishermen, a red marker was commonly put at the site of productive herring fishing. False markers were often placed to deceive competing fishing boats.
4. According to a Norse tale, the largest herring in the school of herring was reddish in color. If the red herring was caught, as the tale was told, the rest of the school would follow into the nets with no effort by the fishermen. Therefore, someone who chased the "red herring" was thought to be on a wild goose chase.
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Caught Red Handed
1. A derogatory term from the American West, referring to the widely held belief that American Indians were inveterate pick pockets.
2. The expression appeared in print as early as 1800; the analogy is to a murderer caught so soon after the crime that his hands are still covered with blood.
3. The phrase was originally a banking term, referring to blatantly incorrect accounting practices that attempted to conceal that a company was "in the red."
4. In the diamond mines of South Africa, the "redd" was the large container where raw diamonds were collected prior to further refining. Slave laborers would attempt to filch small quantities of diamonds by putting their hand in the redd. If caught, they would be dealt with most severely.
5. Betel nuts, popular in India, produce a red stain on everything they touch. Those attempting to steal betel nuts from roadside markets could be easily detected by examining the hands.
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Handwriting on the Wall
1. From the fifth
chapter of the Book of Daniel, which described the scandalous
activities at the great feast held by the King of Babylon. "In the same hour came forth finger's of
a man's hand and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the
wall." Daniel interprets the
message and tells the King that God has numbered the days of his kingdom.
2. From the Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holme's story, "The
Speckled Band," in which the incriminating clue was discovered handwritten
on the parlor wall behind the tapestry.
3. In Pompeii, a
prediction of ruin was discovered handetched into the
shrine wall facing Mt. Etna.
4. Renaissance
artists routinely declined to sign any of the frescoes painted on church walls
or ceilings, believing that handwriting on the wall detracted from the glory of
God and would soon incur his wrath.
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The Life of Riley
1. From the early TV
show the Life of Riley, in which the main character played by William Bendix spent most of the show napping in a hammock.
2. Based on a song of
the 1880s, in which vaudevillain Pat Rooney would
sing of an O'Reilly who had struck it rich and then describe what he did with
his riches, such as, "on the railroad you would pay no fare," or
"He'd sleep in the president's chair."
3. From the French
word, "ralais," meaning sloth. While a sloth has also come to symbolize
laziness and torpitude, this idiom celebrates the
sloth's easy life of essentially doing nothing and then resting afterwards.
4. "Riley's
Quick Elixir" was a popular home remedy in the American West of the early
1900s. The manufacturer, Reggie Riley,
promoted his product by saying that its users, like him, could live past 100
years old.
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Jerkwater Town ( rural town of no
significance)
1. A colonial Indian term, Jerkwater referred to a town that had no ready water
supply of its own, and thus, by necessity, these towns had limited growth
potential. The term "jerk" is
derived from the Hindu word jharkerk, referring to
the leather bag the locals used to transport water from one location to the
next.
2. Silas Jerkwater
was in charge of the US Postal Service when it established the Pony
Express. Jerkwater was widely criticized
for planning the route north of the Platte river, thus
bypassing some of the growing cities to the south. With the absence of a ready mail supply,
these towns lost their prominence and became derisively known as
"jerkwater towns."
3. Jerkwater is an
Army Corps of Engineers term describing the fluctuating water level of the
small tributaries of the Mississippi. As
the Mississippi was dredged throughout the early part of the 1900s to enhance
its value as a shipping lane, towns along the tributaries were increasingly
subject to devastating floods, and thus slowly were abandoned.
4. During the days of
steam railroads, the locomotives had to stop periodically to replenish their
water supplies. Often these stops
coincided with prominent railway stations. Alternatively, the train could resupply by passing through the town at
full speed and lowering a scoop in a trough positioned between the rails, and
"jerking" up the water. Those
towns that were not significant enough to warrant a railway station became
known as "jerkwater" towns.
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Living High on the Hog (two are correct)
1. Prior to the great London fire of 1620, Hog's Head Hill was considered a fashionable place to live. Living high on the Hog referred to the most prestigious buildings at the top of the hill with the finest views.
2. In Colonial Hong Kong, the "hog" referred to a squat bellied hookah favored by military personnel that permitted multiple people to simulataneously smoke opium.
3. In motorcycle jargon "hog" refers to a large, powerful motorcycle. Living high on the hog refers to the supposedly carefree life of the biker chick who rode high on the seat behind their boyfriend.
4. Living high on the hog is a hobo term; the "hog" referred to the locomotive.
5. The "high" parts of the hog, i.e. the ham, loin and shoulder, are considered more delectable than the "low" parts, i.e. the knuckles and pig's feet. Therefore, those living high on the hog were thought to dine in luxury.
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Pie in the Sky
1. The phrase refers to Einstein's attempt to calculate the exact value of pi (i.e. the relationship between a circle's radius and its area) based in part on the formula used to calculate the distance between the earth and sun. His ambitious attempt was ultimately a failure, but his formula became known as the "Pie in the Sky."
2. Based on an original union song from WWI that satirized churchmen who promised salvation without addressing the immediate need for a living wage.
In part the lyrics are:
"…Work and pray, live on hay
You'll get pie in the sky when you die (That's a lie!)"
3. At county fairs, the bell at the top of the pole was called the "pie." Only a few farmhands were strong enough to ring the "pie in the sky."
4. This is a 1920s Air Force term referring to the Python fighter plane, also called the "Py." Successfully piloting the Py was required for graduation from the academy. Therefore, the longterm goal of plebes first arriving at the training academy was to get the "Py in the sky."
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As Queer as Dick's Hatband
1. This expression is derived from Oscar Wilde's play "The Importance of Being Earnest," referring to the extravagant hats of Richard, whose hatbands were decorated with buttons. At the time of the play, the reference to Wilde's homosexuality was not noticed. After his trial in 1904, this phrase was removed from the play.
2. In this phrase, "Dick" refers to Richard Cromwell, who succeeded his father Oliver Cromwell as the Lord Protector of England. The "hatband" refers to the crown. The "queer" refers to the fact that Richard was not a king, and therefore it was improper for him to be wearing a crown. In fact, Richard only "reigned" for a short period of time, from 1658-1659.
3. At the Henley racing regatta in England, oarsmen typically wear straw boaters with colored hatbands signifying their team to the officials. In a famous prank turned scandal in 1906, Richard Bertrand, an Oxford student, surreptitiously changed the hatbands on the hats of the Cambridge team to the colors of the Boers, with whom England was at war. The King and Queen, who attended the race, were outraged and the Cambridge team was disqualified. Richard Bertrand was briefly charged as a traitor.
4. Richard Willoughby, an Abraham Lincoln impersonator, gained brief notoriety in 1860 by repeatedly running through the streets of Boston dressed in nothing more than a stove top hat with a bright red hatband.
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Murphy's Law (if anything can go wrong, it will)
1. An army term, derived from the fictitious character of Murphy who appeared in a series of army training films. Murphy was portrayed as an all thumbs mechanic who routinely put a propeller on backwards or forgot to tighten a bolt.
2. Cornelius Murphy was a running back for the Army team of 1924 who inexplicably returned a punt in the wrong direction, thus turning an easy victory into a shocking loss.
3. An early model of an intercontinental ballistic missile was called the MIRV, and nicknamed a "Murphy." The constant breakdowns of this prototype was a source of exasperation for Army officials. In one episode, the MIRV flew in a large circle, crashing and narrowly missing its original launch site.
4. A "Murphy" is a newspaper term referring to an embarrassing typo, named after the legendary copy editor of the New York Times, Chuck Murphy. "Murphy's Law "referred to the impossibility of correcting all typos prior to press time.
5. Murphy was a hapless Irish inventor, whose inventions inevitably ended in failure. An early version of the Murphy bed was found to be lethal, as rhythmic rocking of the bed caused it to snap back into the wall with its occupants in tow.
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Mox Nix (an expression of indifference)
1. An army expression, from the German "Machts nichts" meaning it makes no difference.
2. A poker term, describing feigned indifference to a hand in order to disguise a winning hand.
3. A mob term referring to a soldier who had lost his nerve, or had lost his moxie.
4. From the Latin phrase, translated to mean "there is no worry." When informed of the consequences of crossing the Rubicon with his army intact, Caesar shrugged and said "mox nix."
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Not to know from Adam (wholly unable to recognize a person)
1. In the 1870s the "Adams" were a society of militant Irish patriots, who were sworn to the utmost secrecy such that most members did not know the identify of other members.
2. In the military, "Adam" is a commonly used password. Thus persons barred access to military bases are often told, "I don't know you from Adam."
3. At Oscar Wilde's obscenity trial, he was faced with dozens of so called "rent boys," referring to young male prostitutes, all claiming to have known him. He facetiously claimed that as far as he was concerned all were named Adam and he could not tell one from another.
4. Presumably derived from the fact that one could identify Adam and Eve by their lack of a navel. Many artists, including Michelangelo, were criticized since they painted Adam and Eve with navels.
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To Hold Water (to be sound)
1. An early sailing term, from which the term the "hold" of a ship is derived. A ship was said to be sound and seaworthy if the hull could hold water.
2. An army term, referring to the depth that could be safely reached by a submarine. A sub that could hold good water was considered particularly sound.
3. In this phrase, water refers to liquor. Anybody who could hold their water could consume great quantities of liquor without appearing drunk.
4. High quality tea from Ceylon was highly valued for its intense flavor. Thus a small amount of tea could be used for large quantities of water; the tea cold "hold water."
5. This phrase dates back to the early seventeenth century when it referred to a clay pot that did not leak.
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Paddle your own canoe (to be independent)
1. When Lewis and Clark were recruiting men for their Discovery Corps, one of the requirements was independence and the ability to paddle one's own canoe.
2. From an 1854 song by Dr. Edward Philpots:
Voyager upon life's sea:
To yourself be true,
And whatever your lot may be
Paddle your own canoe.
3. An Mandan Indian phrase, referring to young Indian men who did not yet have a wife and family, thus they paddled solo along the Mississippi.
4. From the Polynesian custom, in which a young man was not allowed to leave home and build his own hut unless he could successfully launch a canoe through the surf.
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At the Drop of a Hat
1. According to Mark Twain, Mississippi river raftsmen challenged each other to a fight by dropping their hat on the deck of the raft.
2. For magicians, the drop of the hat was the hidden compartment that housed rabbits. "At the drop of a hat" referred to the quick movement required to smoothly dislodge the rabbit.
3. The original Greek marathon foot races were typically started when the magistrate lowered his ceremonial plumed hat to the ground.
4. A variant of the shell game, the "Drop of the Hat" is a centuries old English con game in which a valuable item is hidden under one of three hats. The three hats are shuffled quickly in front of the spectator. If the spectator cannot identify the correct hat, the valuable item belongs to the con man.
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Dog Days of Summer
1. Early minor league baseball often featured a pregame show consisting of dogs serving as baserunners. The players would lure the dogs to the bases using various treats supplied by the fans.
2. Dog days refer to those hot days in July and August when dogs appear to be lazier than usual.
3. Sirius, the "Dog Star," is the brightest star in the heavens, which in ancient Roman times was visible in early July. The uncomfortably hot days in July were attributed to the combined heat of Sirius and the sun.
4. The Dog Days of summer refer to the several weekends a year during the summer when the popular New York City Mayor, Fiorella La Guardia would serve free hot dogs at neighborhood festivals.
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Can of Corn
1. The expression is derived from a billboard that for years was situated behind the right field wall in Ebbet's baseball field. The billboard advertised "King Kong Corn, Catch Yourself a Can Today."
2. In old fashioned grocery stores, shopkeepers often reached cans on the top shelf with a broom handle, dislodging them and then catching the can in their outstretched apron. From this, the term "can of corn" evolved to mean an easy fly ball.
3. This expression originated by those sitting in the right field bleacher behind the baseball outfielder Ty Cobb. As a fly ball approached, the fans would shout "Its Corn for the Cobb." The phrase later evolved to a can of corn when Ty Cobb endorsed a line of canned corn sold by his brother Paul called Cobbs Cans of Corn.
4. The expression is derived from an early St. Louis Brown's outfield named Canton Korn, who would delight fans with his acrobatic catches in the outfield.
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Happy as a clam:
1. This expression is derived from the Nisquali Indians of the Pacific Northwest who first harvested the large geoduck clams. The Nisquali believed that the neck of the clam was an aphrodisiac, based on the extravagant mating habits of the clam. Geoduck clams were commonly served as part of the wedding night feast for Nisquali men.
2. The complete expression, "happy as a clam at high tide," referred to the fact that clams were safe from harvest in deep water.
3. The complete expression, "happy as a clam on vacation," was based on the observation that clams appear to live a life of relentless leisure and spare time.
4. The edges of the Cherrystone clam are typically upturned such that it appears that the clam is constantly grinning.
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... or your name is mud!!!
1. John Wilkes Booth broke his leg as he escaped from the Ford theatre after assassinating President Lincoln. The physician who set his leg was subsequently imprisoned for life for aiding and abetting a crime. His name was Dr. Mudd.
2. In ancient Rome traveling tribunals would visit small towns to mediate disputes and mete out punishment. At the end of the hearing, the tribunal chief would write the name of the perpetrator in the sand or mud for all to see. The expression, "Hic nomen in terrescum est," (his name is in the mud) has now evolved to "his name IS mud."
3. The African missionary/doctor David Livingston was running dangerously low on food and ammunition when he sent his assistant, Arthur Mudd out to meet the American explorer Henry Stanley for resupplies. The assistant foolishly got lost, leading to a delay in the meeting for three agonizing weeks. After Stanley uttered the historic words, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume," David Livingstone turned to his assistant and said with a sneer, "And his name is Mudd."
4. This expression dates from the famous 1928 football game between the Army and the Navy. Joe Turner, a Navy receiver, bobbled the ball in the end zone as he slipped through the mud. The Navy radio broadcaster was unable to identify the clumsy player since the numbers on his jersey were smeared with mud. Distraught that the game was lost, the broadcaster yelled, "I don't care who that player is, from now on his name is MUD."
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Let the Chips Fall Where They May
1. A betting term referring to the placement of the chips in a roulette game. Once the wheel was spun, the chips could not be moved.
2. A golfing term from the Scottish links courses, which meant good luck. The expression referred to the challenges of playing the short game in the gusty winds of the seaside courses.
3. This idiom was first recorded in the 1880s and referred to the woodsman who needed to concentrate on doing a good job rather than focusing on the individual wood chips.
4. This expression, similar in meaning to "don't cry over spilt milk" referred to a broken dish or pot - such shattered pieces could not be reassembled and thus could be left where they fell.
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Pull the Wool Over Your Eyes
1. A shepherd's trick to make his flock of sheep docile so that they could be led anywhere - the wool was allowed to grow over the eyes of the sheep so that when sheered they would stand quietly.
2. A common scam of dry goods merchants to shortchange their customers on the wool yardage they requested, the cutter would distract the customer by asking her to pick up a pin he had purposely dropped on the floor.
3. This term refers to the practice of British judges of wearing ceremonial wigs made of wool. If a clever lawyer was able to convince a judge to acquit a guilty client, it was said that he "pulled the wool over the judge's eyes."*
4. In mob parlance, "pulling the wool over your eyes," referred to the recommendation that hit men wear woolen caps pulled over their eyes to conceal their identity.
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Gone to Pot
1. The expression refers to aged farm animals that were worth more as stew meat in the pot than working animals.
2. Refers to a gambling addict whose money evaporates into poker pots.
3. Traced back to the 1880's when use of laudanum was fashionable. The pot referred to the small containers of the drug.
4. Derived from the expression, "the pot calling the kettle black," referring to those who indulge in petty recriminations.
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Not a Chinaman's Chance
1. Refers to the early elections in San Francisco, where Chinese immigrants were routinely discriminated against at the polls.
2. Referring to the immense popularity of lotteries in 1920 China, where the pot was rarely rewarded due to corruption.
3. The Gold Rush brought many Chinese immigrants to California. They rarely struck it rich, since their mining claim sites were stolen, particularly if there was any sign of gold.
4. Referring to the virtual impossibility of a Chinese man marrying a Korean women, due to longstanding distrust between the two cultures.
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Mind Your P's and Q's
1. Expression used in English history, exhorting schoolchildren to remember the names of prime ministers and queens.
2. An English expression used by schoolmarms to keep the students in line, i.e mind your place in the queue.
3. In Latin, the letter Qu was considered equivalent to the Greek letter P. For example, Quo (in Latin) means where, similar to the Greek word for where, pou. In Victorian England students often studied Greek and Latin simultaneously, thus they had to mind their P's and Q's to avoid intermingling the two languages.
4. American Colonial schoolgirls were often told to mind their P's and Q's as they were fashioning their cross stitch samplers. Since the P and the Q typically started different lines, meticulous care was required to avoid a lopsided piece.
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Steal Your Thunder
1. Zeus' rival Ios stole the thunderbolt from Zeus's quiver, leaving him only his lightening bolts, thus diminishing the impact of this legendary weapon.
2. In 1709, a play by John Dennis bombed in London, with the exception of the notoriety achieved by his thundermaking machine. When Dennis saw that his novel special effect had been appropriated by a new production of MacBeth he exclaimed "They stole my thunder."
3. Derived from a hunting expression first recorded in 1657. The "thunder" was a colloquialism describing the noisy blunderbuss firearms used for quail hunting. One's thunder was considered stolen if a hunting partner shot the quail that the other had painstakingly flushed.
4. In English cricket the thunder is the third ball thrown by the bowler. "Steal the thunder" referred to a timely hit by the batter.
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O.K.
1. Oliver Knight was an early importer of coffee in colonial American. He sold his coffee with the slogan, "Our coffee is O.K." After the Boston Tea Party, he was pleased to find that his slogan had become a patriotic expression.
2. Andrew Jackson, widely thought to be illiterate, was said to indicate his approval on state papers by righting O.K. standing for "Orl Kerrect."
3. This expression is derived from the French words "aux Cayes," a port in Haiti renowned for its excellent rum by visiting sailors. In the hands of sailors, the phrase evolved to "O.K," indicating approval.
4. Based on the army phrase O.K., standing for "Only K Rations." A unite that was O.K. was thought to be adequately, but not plentifully supplied, and in no imminent danger of food shortage.
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Come on Like Gangbusters
1. The phrase is derived from the opening of a 1930s radio show that featured a loud fanfare of trumpets and gun shots.
2. Refers to the original name of the FBI squad "The Untouchables," which was designed as a quick strike force to eliminate gangs and organized crime within 12 months. The unit was renamed when t became apparent that elimination of organized labor was a long laborious process.
3. The original name was "gangbluster'" referring to the vitriolic taunts exchanged between rival Catholic and Protestant gangs I 1925 Ireland.
4. Refers to the name of an army expedition force, "Operation Gangbuster," that was formed to rout out Pancho Villa in 1902.
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By the Skin of Your Teeth
1. From the Bible, Job 19:20, "My bone cleaneth to my skin and my flesh and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth."
2. From the Shakespeare play Othello, in which Iago says to Desdemona, "I shall but love you for all eternity beyond when the weary hand of time both rob you of spirit and leave me only with a hint, the skin of your fair and glistening teeth."
3. From an American Indian betting game involving rolling a collection of teeth collected from game animals. At stake was the animal's skin. Some Indians attempted to eke out a living this way, but it was said to be a marginal life, "living by the skin and the teeth."
4. From a Celtic punishment in which an acidic solution was poured over the teeth of liars and mendicants, leaving the teeth blackened so that all could see. Those who escaped this punishment were said to be saved by the skin of their teeth.
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Jump on the Bandwagon
1. The bandwagon was the first circus wagon to come into town and encouraged townsfolk to follow along to help set up the big top.
2. Refers to a celebratory parade of Mormons going to the river to be baptized. Last minute converts were encouraged to jump on the wagon to join in the baptism.
3. The phrase was originally recorded as "Don't Jump on the Bandwagon," referring to a tragic July 4th accident in Utica, New York, when dozens of children clambered aboard a July 4th bandwagon. The unstable wagon toppled over, crushing 6 children to death.
4. The expression is derived from the bandwagons that paraded through small towns in 1914 to encourage the purchase of war bonds.
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Beyond the Pale
1. The "pale" is a sailor's term referring to the first hint of sunrise on the horizon. "Beyond the pale" referred to the unknown and mysterious waters as the early English traders sailed east in the pirate infested waters between Cape of Good Hope and India.
2. The phrase is derived from the Latin word "palus," meaning stake, thus "pale" came to mean boundary. In 1645 Archbishop Bramhall wrote, "For we recognize that there is no salvation without the pale of the church."
3. The term refers to the mystery of life after death, based on the chalky pallor of the recently dead.
4. The "pale" was the first pole cast in the Scottish came of camber tossing, typically thrown by the contest's strongest man. Any contestant who could cast beyond the pale was thought to possess extraordinary powers.
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Right from the Horse's Mouth
1. Based on an English caricature of William Horace, an influential, and some say intimate, confidante of Queen Victoria. The caricature depicted Horace, whose natural grotesque features were drawn to resemble a horse, whispering into the Queen's ear.
2. Based on an early 1920s radio show, "a Horse of Course," in which a farmer's talking horse dispensed advice and served at the farmer's conscience. Later this concept would be adapted to the 1960s TV show, Mr. Ed.
3. From a Thornton Wilder novella, "The Horse Speaks," in which a horse is the only witness to a murder. The murder is solved when the horse identifies the murderer by letting out a high pitched whinny.
4. Based on the fact that a horse's age can be determined most accurately by examining the teeth.
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To Pay Through the Nose
1. This saying originated during the Norse conquest of Ireland back in the 9th century when it was said that the Irish peasants had to pay a stiff tribute or suffer a slit nose.
2. The head of the Gambino crime family, Sammy "the Nose" Gambino, made millions of dollars by extorting New York businesses for garbage removal. "Paying through the Nose" referred to the payoffs made to Gambino's bagmen.
3. In the United States, the term "vig" refers to the profits enjoyed by bookmakers and loan sharks. In France, the term "le nez" or the nose is used instead.
4. From the Shakespeare play, the Merchant of Venice, in which the inhumane Shylock lends money to Antonio with a pound of flesh as collateral. Portia, trying to spare her husband's Antionio's life, insists on a literal interpretation of the terms stating, "So what would you have my sire, A nose, an ear, or chin pray thee?"
