Where do we get our phrases!

[Yonder]

In earlier days, sailors filled the voids between hull planks with tar and unraveled threads of line (rope) called pitch. This was called paying a seam. The lowest seam on a sailing vessel was at the keel, called the ‘devil.’ To fill that seam you “careened” the ship by tilting it over against the beach at low tide.
Then there would be “the devil to pay.” Pity being caught between “the devil and the deep blue sea.”
When a ship sailed with the wind from aft, they could fly all sails. It was called sailing large. If the wind was in front of the ship, you sailed by the wind. If you talked about covering every situation, you could say it was “by and large.”
To keep the lower decks ventilated, there was a funnel that channeled wind thru an opening in the deck, a “scuttle.” A cask of fresh water, even today called a “butt,” was usually secured nearby. If you wanted to know the latest news you stood under that vent and listened to the talk at the “scuttle butt.”

[The Baker]

Railway stations in Australia used to have a lock on toilet cubicle doors which was operated by putting a penny in the slot.

Geoff

[Yonder]

Our hobby came up with the old, popular phrase about dumb city folk that didn’t know heads from tails.

[Dougmatt]

Our hobby came up with the old, popular phrase about dumb city folk that didn’t know heads from tails.

Hmmm….. maybe We should flip a coin on that one……

[Bushman]

Our hobby came up with the old, popular phrase about dumb city folk that didn’t know heads from tails.

Hmmm….. maybe We should flip a coin on that one……

I tried googling it as well and the “or” instead of the “from” always came up.

[contrahead]

Speaking of coins: ever hear the expression “two bits”? Why is 2-bits worth 25 cents?

(I spent 2 years in the Jr. High school (what they call Middle School now) of a town named Van Buren (after the eighth president). The cheerleaders for that Jr High had a chant that went: “Two bits, four bits, six bits a dollar. All for Van Buren stand up and holler”!)

The Spanish Peso, also known as “the piece of eight” was the world's first international currency and remained so for about 3 centuries.. It was a SILVER coin that from 1497 had a mass of 25.563 g or 0.822 oz. The Spanish dollar was widely used in Europe, common in the Far East and almost the only coin in the Americas. The Spanish dollar (Real de a ocho or piece of eight) was just about the only coin used in colonial America, because the English would not permit colonials to mint their own money, while regular trade and barter of raw goods exchanged for manufactured goods didn't require much monetary exchange, initially. Spain did give several of its own vice-royalties in New Spain (Central and South America) permission to mint coinage independently.

The American silver dollar when it debuted (at 0.7735 oz t = 24.0566 g) was closely based on the Spanish piece of eight. So was the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan. The peso was called the piece of eight because it was worth 8 smaller silver coins called “Spanish reals” (reals meaning royal +plural). But also way back then, someone could take a knife & mallet, and chop a silver peso into pieces - to make change. Two bits = two x 1/8th parts of a peso / dollar (one quarter).

A doubloon on the other hand was a much smaller GOLD coin, worth 4 pesos, or 32 reales.