Vol.III, No.18
www.renewssource.com
Septemberr 15, 2017
Where Did We Get That? By Pat Farrell
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID San Antonio, Texas Paid Permit #1590
Many of the phrases we use today come from older legends or perhaps from historical events which we have long since forgotten but the associated phrases remain with us. For example, a “white elephant” is considered to be an item that is perhaps decorative but not very useful and may have been expensive to purchase but is just as costly to maintain. Burdened with such an item and, after getting very tired of it, we may re-gift it, bring it to a white elephant exchange party or perhaps just donate it to a church white elephant sale so we can be rid of it. The story behind white elephants originated in the East where they were considered to be sacred animals in such places as Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Laos and, since they were sacred, could not be used for any kind of work. Monarchs in these countries would often
gift a white elephant to a palace courtier who had fallen out of their favor, thereby rewarding them, while at the same time creating a great burden for them. In the West, the term “white elephant” is attributed to P.T. Barnum who had gone to great lengths to acquire his "Sacred White Elephant of Burma" from the ruler of Siam and to have it shipped to this country, only to learn that the elephant was actually grey in color. Have you ever been out with a group of folks who decided they wanted to go “paint the town red?” Well, you can either thank the Marquis of Waterford, a notorious hooligan and reprobate, or the actions of men in the early American West for that phrase. The Marquis and his friends in 1837, after a night of drinking in the English town of Melton Mowbray, set out on a destructive spree, becoming vandals by pulling knockers off doors, breaking windows, knocking over flowerpots and apple carts, and yes, actually painting several statues, the doors on homes, and other structures throughout the town, using red paint. The phrase has also been attributed the some of the men, during times in the early West, who often acted as if the whole town was one big “red light district.” But, one’s guess as to the source is as good as any others! When speaking we frequently use the term “by and large” when we mean: generally speaking, for the most part, on the whole or everything considered, but the origin of the term seems to have little to do with any of those definitions. The phrase is actually derived from nautical language in use when ships had sails and were propelled by the wind. “Large” refers to the wind that is blowing from behind the ship propelling it forward while “by”
refers to the wind that is blowing toward the front of the ship. To travel “by” or forward when facing the wind required the use of aerodynamic triangular sails and a skillful control of the ship’s rudder to allow the ship to move forward, but by way of a sidewise angle. So “by and large” originally meant that a sailing ship could travel to its destination regardless of the wind conditions. Today in our business, we can really understand the term “red tape” as it could refer to all the hold-ups that result from meeting the many rules and regulations (some that many feel just generate unnecessary bureaucratic paperwork) that must be adhered to before we can finally get a home sale to closing. Appropriately enough the term which originated during the 1600s comes from the fact that all official or legal documents at the time were bound by a red tape, making them quite difficult to access. When someone cautions us that it will “cost an arm and a leg” we understand that whatever it refers to is very expensive and the purchase of same could cost to the extent that it would hurt us. The expression actually dates back to a time before photography, which then required that when one desired a portrait it had to be hand painted and the cost was determined, not by the number of people or faces in the portrait, but rather by the number of limbs visible. So, if one wanted a less expensive portrait it would “cost an arm and a leg,” which is why most pictures from that time period feature the body from head to just below the waist and at least one arm behind the back of each subject. When one says they “heard it through the grapevine” it is generally understood that the information was
passed on to them from someone who had heard it from someone else, and so on. But actually, the phrase originated during the time when the telegraph was just coming into use and people then thought that the miles and miles of wire being strung from one pole to another for the telegraph system to reach across the country, resembled the wires used to control the grapevines. Therefore, when messages were transmitted across the telegraph wires, and someone received the message, “they heard it through the grapevine.” Have you ever been told to “mind your own beeswax?” If so, I’ll bet you thought it just meant that you should mind your own business, and maybe whoever said it meant just that. But actually, the origin of the expression dates back to a time before cosmetics were available and a woman would use beeswax to smooth her facial complexion, so if another woman were to stare too long at another’s made up face they might be told to “mind their own beeswax.” It is also interesting that the use of beeswax then may also have led, at least in part, to two other expressions, for if a woman, thus made-up, were to smile the beeswax, if not properly applied, might crack, thus causing her to “crack a smile.” And the phrase “lose face” could reasonably apply to what could happen if a woman sat too close to a fire, as the wax might melt, and she would then “lose face,” although that phrase seems to be more related to an English derivation of a Chinese term that means “to suffer public embarrassment.” When you were a child did you ever get “read the riot act” by your parents? If so you knew you were in trouble for something you had done or done improperly and which might then lead to some form of