Old sayings

[Christmas Tree 4725]

Old sayings and where they come from  

 

Noticed quite a few of these popping up lately on social media and find them quite interesting.

 

EG Stinking Rich

Apparently in the 18tb century, rich people were terrified of being buried alive so had tombs built above ground. As their bodies rotted, the smell would drift out the tombs.

 

Daylight Robbery

In the 1600’s, window tax was introduced by William III which caused outrage in England and Wales leading to the saying.

 

Piss poor

During the 19th century, poor people would sell their urine as it was used to tan leather. Families who did this were known as piss poor. Some families were so poor that they “didn’t have a pot to piss in”.

 

Hungovet
In Victorian England, the lowest form of accommodation was access to a rope you could hang over after a night of drinking, hence hungover.

 

Given the cold shoulder

in the 1800’s, if someone was no longer welcome at a dinner party, the host would often serve that person cold meat from pork or beef shoulder.

 

 

[strawb 4249]

[Gemmill 44866]

Have you hipped the cryptobros to this stuff on the discord? 

[Alex 35079]

I’m always dubious about these. My sister bought me a book about the origins of sayings years ago.  And I subsequently found out a lot of them were probably bollocks. Like ‘dead ringer’ and bells in coffins. The phrase wasn’t in common usage until much later than its supposed origin. It probably referred to ‘ringers’ in horse races, with ‘dead’ in the sense of true or spot on. Back from the days when a horse would be entered in a race under a different name to fool the bookies. 
I suspect daylight robbery is the same. It mentions a 17th century tax but the first usage according to the OED is not until the 1800s. You can never be sure but the phrase not being found until a lot later is about as sure as you can be. I guess it was literally about a robbery being committed in broad daylight. Lots of phrases do have interesting origins though. And loads still in common usage came from Shakespeare’s work 

[Alex 35079]

Piss poor - 

The earliest known use of the adjective piss-poor is in the 1940s.

OED's earliest evidence for piss-poor is from 1945, in the writing of M. Kantor.

 

[RobinRobin 11264]

1 hour ago, Alex said:

I’m always dubious about these. My sister bought me a book about the origins of sayings years ago.  And I subsequently found out a lot of them were probably bollocks. Like ‘dead ringer’ and bells in coffins. The phrase wasn’t in common usage until much later than its supposed origin. It probably referred to ‘ringers’ in horse races, with ‘dead’ in the sense of true or spot on. Back from the days when a horse would be entered in a race under a different name to fool the bookies. 
I suspect daylight robbery is the same. It mentions a 17th century tax but the first usage according to the OED is not until the 1800s. You can never be sure but the phrase not being found until a lot later is about as sure as you can be. I guess it was literally about a robbery being committed in broad daylight. Lots of phrases do have interesting origins though. And loads still in common usage came from Shakespeare’s work 

Just when we thought CT was getting the hang of old sayings 🙂 

[Christmas Tree 4725]

2 hours ago, Alex said:

I’m always dubious about these. My sister bought me a book about the origins of sayings years ago.  And I subsequently found out a lot of them were probably bollocks. Like ‘dead ringer’ and bells in coffins. The phrase wasn’t in common usage until much later than its supposed origin. It probably referred to ‘ringers’ in horse races, with ‘dead’ in the sense of true or spot on. Back from the days when a horse would be entered in a race under a different name to fool the bookies. 
I suspect daylight robbery is the same. It mentions a 17th century tax but the first usage according to the OED is not until the 1800s. You can never be sure but the phrase not being found until a lot later is about as sure as you can be. I guess it was literally about a robbery being committed in broad daylight. Lots of phrases do have interesting origins though. And loads still in common usage came from Shakespeare’s work 

 

 

You'll be telling me Santas not real next  

[Christmas Tree 4725]

Was also excited to post this, which I discovered while researching gay mugs, but now feel an impending bubble about to burst  

 

 

[Gemmill 44866]

Nobody is going to dispute your knowledge of cockends. 

[Monkeys Fist 42428]

14 minutes ago, Christmas Tree said:

Was also excited to post this, which I discovered while researching gay mugs, but now feel an impending bubble about to burst  

 

 

From the further history of the Cockends…

“The marriage 1578 of John Cockend to Anne Bellhat created hyphenated branch of the family who made their fortune in the manufacture of military helmets, and the polishing of said products.”

Johnny Ballzac, genealogist and crypto-bro. 

[Renton 21621]

6 hours ago, Alex said:

I’m always dubious about these.

 

I was reading CTs list and the first thing I thought was "what a load of bollocks". 

Now, wonder where that phrase came from? 

[Renton 21621]

6 hours ago, Alex said:

Piss poor - 

The earliest known use of the adjective piss-poor is in the 1940s.

OED's earliest evidence for piss-poor is from 1945, in the writing of M. Kantor.

 

 

If you could sell your piss, why wouldn't you, no matter how rich you were? Even Musk would be down the Tanners.