Where Did You Learn That Expression?

[niceguy1956]

Yes Luana, we know WHAT it means, but how, where or why did the idiom originate?

[GrumpysWife]

" open up a can of worms"

 

This expression alludes to a container of bait used for fishing, which when opened reveals an inextricable tangle of worms. Experts disagree on the origin of the phrase, but it is generally believed to be a Canadian or American metaphor coined sometime in the 1950s. Bait stores routinely sold cans of worms and other popular live baits to fishermen, who often discovered how easy it was to open a can of worms and how difficult it was to close one. Once the worms discovered an opportunity to escape, it became nearly impossible to keep them contained.

[Lilac Isosceles]

A Dead Ringer is somebody who looks just like another. In medieval Britain the medical profession was not quite as refined as it is now, and often anybody found not to show signs of life was regarded as dead, when they might have been simply unconscious. (This was also before comas were fully understood.) It was not uncommon for bodies to be exhumed later and corpses found with their fingers worn to the bone, an obvious indication somebody had returned to consciousness and tried to claw their way out of a coffin. So horrific was this image that the English gentry began mistrusting medical opinions and buried their loved ones with string attached to their wrists, connected to a bell above the grave. Anybody who returned to consciousness and found themselves prematurely buried could attract attention by ringing the bell and it has been recorded this actually worked. Many 'bodies' were exhumed after bells were rung and some people carried on with their normal lives. But when spotted in the street startled acquaintances would cry to each other, 'That looks just like Jack Jones - I thought he was dead' to which they would receive the reply, 'Yes, he must be a dead ringer.' And that, believe it or not, is true.

[GrumpysWife]

My Dad used to say, "Don't take any wooden nickels."

 

In the United States, wooden nickels are wood token coins, which are usually issued by a merchant or bank as a promotion, sometimes redeemable for a specific item such as a drink. Wooden nickels were most commonly issued in the US in the 1930s, after the Great Depression.

[Lilac Isosceles]

If you ask somebody to Put A Sock In It, you are asking them to quieten down. In the early days of sound recording and radio broadcasting, the ability to control instrument volumes was severely limited, but orchestras and bands were in high demand. Usually the horn sections would drown out the wind instruments and strings in the enclosed studios. In an attempt to even the sound out, horn players muffled their instruments by literally stuffing a sock into the mouth of their instruments, bringing them down to the same sound level as the rest of the band.

[campanula]

So, if I ask somebody to be quiet, he must put a sock into his mouth, or should I put it into his throat by my own hands?

Thanks, Triangle! 

 

[Lilac Isosceles]

To be Given the Sack is to lose your job, or be discharged from duty. This expression dates back to the day when craftsmen, tradesmen and labourers would travel from place to place, sometimes working on a project for only a few days and at other times for many years, Long before toolboxes, these workers would carry the tools of their trade around in a large sack, which would be given to their employer for safe keeping and then returned when their services were no longer needed. To be given the sack was to be given the means to carry their tools to another place of work, unlike being Fired when the tradesman had been caught stealing or breaking the rules, and his tools would be burned to ensure he would be unable to work elsewhere.

[Toy Poodles]

tit for tat - retribution or retaliation, an exchange insults or attacks -

'tit for tat' evolved from 'tip for tap', a middle English expression for blow for blow, which also meant a trade of verbal insults. Tit is an old English word for tug or jerk. Tip and tap are both very old words for hit. (eg 'tip and run' still describes a bat and ball game when the player hits the ball and runs, as in cricket). Tit for tat was certainly in use in the mid-late 16th century. Tip for Tap was before this. As with lots of these old expressions, their use has been strengthened by similar sounding foreign equivalents, especially from N.Europe, in this case 'dit vor dat' in Dutch, and 'tant pour tant' in French.

[campanula]

Here is a new one   (Thanks, Leslie!)

 

http://jwtalk.net/forums/topic/9394-doing-business-with-brothers-and-sisters/?p=150580

 

"We have never expected anyone to work for free--but we do feel they should be in the ball park of worldly contractors." 

 

The most interesting explanation I've found is this - 

 

" the theory of the figurative use of ballpark originating in 1960 has to do with an actual satellite recovery area in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii called the "ballpark." 

 

http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/28310/origin-of-ballpark-estimate-to-mean-a-very-rough-estimate

 

 

 

 

 

 

[surfergirl]

All over Adelaide were these signs

STOP CREEPING!

So on google. The S.A gov. made this rule meaning not to go even a little over the speed limit.

To many loose lives as aresult. Or even when feeling sleepy. Or a little drink. Can cause another. To be injured in some way.

[campanula]

Does this sign mean do not go over minimum or maximum? Can't get it    .

  Here where I live we do not have minimum  speed limit, as far as I know. 

[niceguy1956]

Does this sign mean do not go over minimum or maximum? Can't get it    .

  Here where I live we do not have minimum  speed limit, as far as I know. 

Does what sign Svetlana  - we can't see any sign or link to a picture? Just thinking about your question, you couldn't be restricted from going over a MINIMUM speed limit, otherwise you would have to drive at exactly that speed constantly. So surely you are forbidden from going over a maximum speed limit, and forbidden to drive under a minimum speed limit. We do occasionally have minimum speed limits here in the UK though and those road signs are in a different colour to the maximum speed limit signs.

[Miss Bea]

Oh, a sister of my own heart. I, too love, well, language. I used to write letters, and loved doing it. Along came the computer, then the iPad. I still enjoy, words. I may not know what the process is called, but I have fun writing. Still. I have a list of sayings I have kept. And when I find them, it will be fun.

[campanula]

Does what sign Svetlana  - we can't see any sign or link to a picture? Just thinking about your question, you couldn't be restricted from going over a MINIMUM speed limit, otherwise you would have to drive at exactly that speed constantly. So surely you are forbidden from going over a maximum speed limit, and forbidden to drive under a minimum speed limit. We do occasionally have minimum speed limits here in the UK though and those road signs are in a different colour to the maximum speed limit signs.

My dear brother Graham!

I meant this post #35 of Gabe  about "stop creeping" signs - http://jwtalk.net/forums/topic/8445-where-did-you-learn-that-expression/?p=154442 . Do you see it there?

If you don't,  something is wrong with my computer, then, because I see it clearly just above my post #36....  

[niceguy1956]

My dear brother Graham!

I meant this post #35 of Gabe  about "stop creeping" signs - http://jwtalk.net/forums/topic/8445-where-did-you-learn-that-expression/?p=154442 . Do you see it there?

If you don't,  something is wrong with my computer, then, because I see it clearly just above my post #36....  

I can only see her post and the text, but cannot see any picture of a sign. Don't worry Svetlana, if you can see a sign, it is more likely my computer has a setting preventing me from seeing it, or maybe I need to update flash player or something - but I still think my reasoning is correct tho. Agape sis

[surfergirl]

was i suppose to post a sign here? Pardon my mistake will add one tomorrow.

[campanula]

What a funny dialog!     Gabe, HELP us!  

Graham, there are NO pictures in that post about signs!

But if you definitely need it here it is. 

[campanula]

Does this  STOP CREEPING sign mean that  the driver should  not be too slow, Gabe?

Here is another one that puzzles me. Is that what you meant, Graham? 

 

 

 

[GrumpysWife]

That sign means that there is a slow driver ahead, possibly because of road work.

[campanula]

LOL It is a bumper sticker, Vernalee! 

I need one with a "Slow thinker" sign. LOL. 

[niceguy1956]

LOL It is a bumper sticker, Vernalee! 

I need one with a "Slow thinker" sign. LOL. 

I don't believe for a minute that you're a slow thinker Svetlana! You were quick enough to spot the Truth, weren't you?

[Áine]

" open up a can of worms"

Taking the effort to bring up something that is not nessary or good.

you can actually buy cans of worms here ! They are sweets ... but the thought is yuk !

Sent from my GT-I8190 using Tapatalk 2

[campanula]

I don't believe for a minute that you're a slow thinker Svetlana! You were quick enough to spot the Truth, weren't you?

Thanks Graham for your believe in  me.  LOL   But it took 13 years for me to spot the Truth.

I was very "pessimistically realistic" and didn't believe that there could be anything like truth in this world.

Slooooow thinker indeed.

[surfergirl]

Ya Svetlana thanks for posting that sign. I am too forgetful LoLs. 

These signs are everywhere around S>A. They mean not to go say if its 110k per hr, then don;t do 111ks or 115,

There are some that insist on doing that, But the chances are you may hit a Kangaroo in the Outback at dusk.or evening, etc,:

[Qapla]

One sign I sometimes wonder about