And finally, why do we say….. ?

Curiosity killed the cat – a warning not to be nosey – appears in an Irish newspaper in 1868, although some sources cite 16th works by William Shakespeare and Ben Johnson.

One bad apple – doesn’t take many to ruin something – is certainly in use in the 18th century, but is also found as ‘a rotten apple quickly infects its neighbour’ as early as 1340.

Come rain or shine – to succeed no matter what - is certainly in use in 1905, but there are variations on the theme dating back to the 17th century.

A penny for your thoughts – what are you thinking – is from the 16th century, popularized by John Heywood in 1547 in The Proverbs and Epigrams of John Heywood, but first appearing in 1522 and Sir Thomas More’s Four Last Things.

Add insult to injury – something adding to the punishment, an unnecessarily – derives from the fables of Phaerus in the first century.

Don’t give up your day job – you’re not very good at this – originated in the theatre, where would-be actors tried their hand during evening performances.

Birds of a feather flock together – those with similar likes tend to gather – comes from William Turner’s 1545 satire The Rescuing of Romish Fox.

Comparing apples to oranges – making unfair comparisons – began in 1670 with John Ray’s proverb collection, although the term then was ‘apples and oysters’.

Cold feet – exhibiting a significant change of opinion – appears in English for the first time in 1878 with the translation of the German novel Seedtime and Harvest when a character’s luck at the poker table takes a significant downturn and he leaves the game.

Kill two birds with one stone – get two jobs done with one action – does appear in 1656 in the works of Thomas Hobbes, but almost certainly came from the Greek tale of Daedalus and Icarus.

And why do we say ……?

Bite the bullet is used to speak of how it is better to accept the painful or stressful situation rather than complaining or crying out. It is a modern version of the original ‘bite the cartridge’ dating from the Indian Rebellion of 1857 when British soldiers were subjected to medical procedures without anesthetic.

Cry over spilled milk – a warning not to linger over something which can’t be changed – possibly dates from 1659 and James Howell’s Paramoigraphy, where he speaks of ‘No weeping for the shed milk’.

Break the ice – to begin a conversation in an otherwise difficult situation – undoubtedly comes from the ship ploughing through ice fields. The first record of the metaphorical sense comes from 1678, when Samuel Butler used it in his poem Hudibras when he writes ‘The Oratour, at last broke the silence and the ice’.

A bite at the cherry – a second chance, especially after a missed opportunity – comes from the UK in the early 20th century, likely a reference to those who picked the cherries and the number which were eaten when the opportunity arose.

Cutting corners – not fully completing a task – dates from the horse-drawn vehicles of the early 19th century, and when a sharp turn involved negotiating a kerb the driver would clip it with the rear wheel of his vehicle.

Actions speak louder than words – or get on with it instead of just talking about it – came into general use following John Pym’s writings about the English Civil War in 1628; although the phrase was around earlier and even appears in the New Testament – John 3:18.

At the drop of a hat – to begin something – dates from the 19th century when dropping a hat signaled the start of many a sporting contest: a fight, or race, for example.

Hit the sack – to take to one’s bed – comes from the time when beds were often sacks stuffed with hay, ‘hit the hay’ would also be from the same time, around the late 18th century.

Go back to the drawing board – a comment on a failed design which needs to be rethought – it can be dated to a cartoon by Peter Arno in New Yorker Magazine published on 1st March 1941. A engineer walks away from a crashed aeroplane and utters the now very familiar line.

Call it a day – let’s stop work – first recorded in 1919 as the end of the day’s work (in 1938 we see ‘call it a night’ for the first time); but we also see it in 1838 when ‘call it half a day’ spoke of leaving work early.

Why do we say……?

Part and parcel: the phrase, suggesting an integral part of something greater, was a legal term from the 15th century. As the use of both parts has changed over the centuries, the phrase seems to make little sense today. Part did mean ‘portion’ but parcel referred to ‘something integral with a whole’ – the idiom came into general use about 1800.

Beat around the bush: meaning to avoid or evade a particular topic, should be seen as an expression describing an act lacking the direct approach. It originates in the beaters who flushed out the birds in order to flush them out of their roosts and/or nests. The phrase first appears in the 1570s.

Under the weather: meaning to feel ill, originated at sea when sailors feeling unwell would go below decks to escape the elements – quite literally putting themselves under the weather. The phrase began to come into general use from around 1800.

A piece of cake: meaning ‘easily accomplished’ first appears around 1870. It is thought to have been derived from the awarding of cake in cakewalks (dances) in the US. In the UK, it is generally held to have been introduced from 1936 as RAF slang.

Break a leg: is to wish someone good luck, particularly in the theatre where wishing someone good luck is held to be bad luck. In the early days of the theatre the members of the troupe not performing had to remain behind the leg line – not until they crossed the line, thus breaking the leg, would they get paid. The phrase has been in use for a very long time and it is possible the idea first came about with the Ancient Greeks.

Costs an arm and a leg: or ‘expensive’, is not seen until the middle of the 20th century (although there are various unsubstantiated ideas the phrase dates from the 19th or 18th centuries). It is said to have begun as a comment about the high cost of medical care where limbs may still be amputated.

Once in a blue moon: describing a rarity, an actual ‘blue moon’ is the second full moon in a calendar month (the lunar month of 28 days being shorted than nearly all calendar months). Any blueness has nothing to do with the timing, the phenomenon is purely down to the observer. First seen in the middle of the 19th century, to have two full moons in a calendar month is not exactly that rare, indeed it has to happen on average every 33 months.

A blessing in disguise: or something which may prove rather better or more beneficial than is first apparent. It is first seen in 1746 in a work by James Hervey.

By the skin of your teeth: either barely avoiding or narrowly succeeding; it comes from the King James Version of the Bible, in Job 19:20, which reads: “My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.”

Barking up the wrong tree: pursuing a mistaken course of action, is first seen in the USA in the early 19th century. It began in reference to hunting dogs when pursuing such as raccoons, which may have left a trail to suggest they were up the tree but had escaped.

East Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘west’ and now look at ‘east’.

Middle East was coined in 1899, but then would have referred to British India, not the further west region it does today.

Northeasterly winds were first described in 1743, almost two centuries after the direction is first seen.

Southeasterlies have been known since 1797, the compass point recorded around two centuries earlier.

East End of London is known as such since 1846, the Eastenders were known as such shortly afterwards; while the program EastEnders appeared for the first time on 19th February 1985 and has managed to become increasingly depressing ever since.

East Indies, the region around India and southeast Asia, have been known as such since the 1590s.

The East India Company were founded on 31st December 1600.

Three names given because they were considered to be related to the east, the most obvious being ‘orient’. Not seen before 1738, it comes from the Old French orient meaning ‘east’.

Ostmark is a region of Germany once known as the German Democratic Republic – first coined in 1948.

A hot dusty wind blowing across the southern region of Italy originates from the region around Libya and is known as the sirocco, this from Arabic sharqi or ‘eastern wind’.