Origins.

**alex** · #1 3rd Jan 2008, 03:59

Know of the origins of any daily-used words or phrases? Add them here. Here's some to get started.

In the 1400's a law was set forth that a man was not allowed to beat his wife with a stick thicker than his thumb. Hence we have 'the rule of thumb '.

Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled
'Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden'...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language

In Shakespeare 's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase......... 'goodnight, sleep tight.'

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for amonth after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them 'Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.' It's where we get the phrase 'mind your P's and Q's'

Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. 'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by this practice.

~~cheesewheels99~~ · #2 4th Jan 2008, 18:19

i think its raing in cats and dogs was made up because it acctually raind cats or dogs or frogs or somethin

**Cew27** · #3 4th Jan 2008, 18:33

i dont think it rained cats and dogs

but it did rain a small breed of frogs in japan

~~cheesewheels99~~ · #4 4th Jan 2008, 18:33

i think it did but idk

**Jimmy Hat** · #5 7th Jan 2008, 16:42

The word 'berk' comes from the rhyming slang for the bad c-word (not sure if I'm allowed to use it here!) 'Berkshire hunt'. Apparently.

~~cheesewheels99~~ · #6 8th Jan 2008, 14:13

u mean crap?

**Cew27** · #7 8th Jan 2008, 14:21

see you en tea

**Jimmy Hat** · #8 8th Jan 2008, 15:21

Ehh... Come again???

Oh yeah just worked it out!! lol!!

**Mike0001** · #9 15th Jan 2008, 05:04

cats and dogs has 2 possibles. In Norse weather lore, the cat is related to rain and the dog to wind. There is also a Greek catadupa which means cataract or waterfall.

**Mike0001** · #10 15th Jan 2008, 05:17

bulldoze is apparently from the American South, a bull dose, the whip being a bull.