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- Rugile
- Cat Got Your Tongue. Meaning: Said to someone who remains silent when they are expected to speak. Origin: There are two stories on how this saying came into being.
- The Walls Have Ears. Meaning: Be careful what you say as people may be eavesdropping. Origin: The face Louvre Palace in France was believed to have a network of listening tubes so that it would be possible to hear everything that was said in different rooms.
- Bury The Hatchet. Meaning: End a quarrel or conflict and become friendly. Origin: During negotiations between Puritans and Native Americans men would bury all of their weapons, making them inaccessible.
- Cold Feet. Meaning: Loss of nerve or confidence. Origin: This idiom originates from a military term, warriors who had frozen feet were not able to rush into battle.
There are several theories as to the origin of the phrase same old, same old. One theory is that it comes from pidgin English spoken in either post-World War II Japan or Korea during the Korean War. The phrase is alleged to have been same-o, same-o, indicating that something should remain unchanged. Whether same-o, same -o was created by the ...
Apr 16, 2021 · Below is a list of old sayings and where they came from. However, sometimes it is impossible to say for certain how an old saying originated. Sometimes we can only give the most likely explanation. ACHILLES HEEL. In Greek mythology, Thetis dipped her son Achilles in the mythical River Styx.
- Overview
- “Turn a blind eye”
- “Feeling under the weather”
- “Beat around the bush”
- “Read the riot act”
- “Spill the beans”
- “The proof is in the pudding”
- “I’ve got it in the bag”
An idiom is a phrase that is common to a certain population. It is typically figurative and usually is not understandable based solely on the words within the phrase. A prior understanding of its usage is usually necessary. Idioms are crucial to the progression of language. They function in a manner that, in many cases, literal meanings cannot. We ...
Meaning: To refuse to acknowledge a known truth
Example: I’ll turn a blind eye once, but next time you’ll be in trouble.
Meaning: To feel ill
Example: My son was sick yesterday, and now I’m feeling a bit under the weather.
Meaning: To circle the point; to avoid the point
Example: Stop beating around the bush and tell me what really happened.
Meaning: To reprimand someone for behaving badly, with the intention of improving that person’s behavior
Example: Taylor was being too loud in class, so I read her the riot act.
Meaning: To leak a secret
Example: Stop being so coy. Just spill the beans!
Meaning: Depending on who you ask, you’ll actually find an array of definitions for this odd idiom. Here are some of the most commonly used definitions:
1. There is evidence to back up a previously made claim, specifically evidence intrinsic to the object in question. (Example: Of course this project will be successful, the proof is in the pudding.)
2. The process of achieving something isn’t important as long as the end product is good. (Example: I may have had to walk 1,000 miles to find this treasure, but the proof is in the pudding.)
3. The success of something can only be measured by putting it to its intended use. (Example: You’ll have to try it out before you buy it, since the proof is in the pudding.)
Meaning: Secured success
Example: I’m not even worried about the interview. I’ve got it in the bag.
- Arika Okrent
- By the Same Token. Bus token? Game token? What kind of token is involved here? Token is a very old word, referring to something that’s a symbol or sign of something else.
- Get on a Soapbox. The soapbox that people mount when they get on a soapbox is actually a soap box, or rather, one of the big crates that used to hold shipments of soap in the late 1800s.
- Tomfoolery. The notion of Tom fool goes a long way. It was the term for a foolish person as long ago as the Middle Ages (Thomas fatuus in Latin). Much in the way the names in the expression Tom, Dick, and Harry are used to mean “some generic guys,” Tom fool was the generic fool, with the added implication that he was a particularly absurd one.
- Go Bananas. The expression go bananas is slang, and the origin is a bit harder to pin down. It became popular in the 1950s, around the same time as go ape, so there may have been some association between apes, bananas, and crazy behavior.
But every phrase, saying or proverb starts somewhere, and thanks to the Phrase Finder, we’ve uncovered the (often disputed) authors, meanings and stories behind some of the most commonplace ...
Phrase Finder. 2,500 English idioms, phrases and proverbs that we use every day, with their meanings and origins explained.
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