Where do we get our phrases!

[Truckinbutch]

Puttin a new dress on an old whore . Rather self explanatory about trying to change the face of a given with a different approach .

[thecroweater]

Puttin a new dress on an old whore . Rather self explanatory about trying to change the face of a given with a different approach .

we call that mutton dressed as lamb down this ways

[kiwi Bruce]

The Hat trick
Ice Hockey, Field hockey...a lot of sports have "A Hat Trick" when one player scores three goals in one game...but do you know where the saying came from ? My Grand Dad and his brother and sister were in Vaudeville where this saying originated. The magician took off his Top Hat and with a drum roll shouted 1 - 2 - 3 and pulled a rabbit out of his hat....The hat trick...1 - 2 - 3 !

[HDNB]

Puttin a new dress on an old whore . Rather self explanatory about trying to change the face of a given with a different approach .

we call that mutton dressed as lamb down this ways

lipstick on a pig out here on the tundra

[thecroweater]

Nice storey but...
A hat trick was originally (and still is) a cricket term, it started with a game played in 1858 in Sheffield where a bowler took three consecutive wickets and in recognition of this feat a hat was passed around for collection and presented to him. The practice was continued there after for some time and the feat became known as a hat trick making its way in time to other sports and eventually hockey some time in the 1940s.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._H._Stephenson" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[Bushman]

To Butter Someone Up: To impress someone with flattery. This was a customary religious act in ancient India. The devout would throw butter balls at the statues of their gods to seek favor and forgiveness.

[Bushman]

Footloose and Fancy-Fee: the word comes from the name of the bottom of a sail -the foot- which must be attached to the boom. If it is not properly attached it may become "footloose" causing the vessel not to sail properly. Footloose and Fancy-Free have come to mean someone acting without commitment.

[HDNB]

To Butter Someone Up: To impress someone with flattery. This was a customary religious act in ancient India. The devout would throw butter balls at the statues of their gods to seek favor and forgiveness.

d'ya suppose that may work with wives?

[Bushman]

Hasn't with my wife we have been married so long she sees right through me!

[Truckinbutch]

Throwin jewelry at her might have a more harmonious outcome .

[Shine0n]

It would if I could get her to wear it!
3/4 k emerald with platinum band sits in the box with the rest of it.
For that money I could've come to WV to party and stay at a grand hotel. lol

I'll be there in spirit

[ShineonCrazyDiamond]

It would if I could get her to wear it!
3/4 k emerald with platinum band sits in the box with the rest of it.

Yep. I hear ya there. That's why...

Throwin jewelry at her might have a more harmonious outcome .

Mine would rather me just throw my wallet at her and simply say " 3 hours...go".

[Bushman]

Fits the Bill: A Bill of Lading was used to acknowledge receipt of goods and the promise to deliver them to their destination in good or like condition. Upon delivery the goods were checked against the Bill of Lading to see if it was in order. If so they "fit the bill".

[kiwi Bruce]

A "shot" of whiskey in a "shot glass"

I think everyone here in the US, on this site anyway, will know this...but probably very few outside of the US will know where this came from. After the Civil War, when the Wild West was really underway (around the 1870's on) a pint of beer, an ounce and a half of whiskey and a brass cartridge 44 pistol round all cost a nickel (5 cents) A cowboy, low on funds, could exchange a bullet for a glass of whiskey...a shot of whiskey.

[thecroweater]

Dyed in the wool originally meant the wool was that colour before spinning and won't readily change.

[Bushman]

Happy Hour: Happy hour these days is Going to a bar and getting discounted drinks, but the term itself comes from American Naval slang in the 1920s following the First World War. A “Happy Hour” was an allotted period of time on a ship where sailors engaged in various forms of entertainment to relieve the monotonies of the seafaring life. Most of the time, this meant wrestling or boxing matches, but it still could include other athletic activities intending to boost morale.

[heynonny]

TASER not a word but:

"Taser is actually not a word, but an acronym for a fictional weapon: Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle. Cover added the “A” to Tom Swift's name."

Mr Cover added the 'A', it was one of his fav books as a youth. (he invented the taser)

anyway, , , ,

[kiwi Bruce]

Optimum

Yes... it comes from booze...more specifically WINE In Rome in the year 121 BC the Roman provinces in Italy, produced the best wine ever harvested and in huge quantities. This vintage was named after the new consul Lucius Opimius and lasted over a hundred and fifty years. It became known as better than the best...Optimum.

[cuginosgrizzo]

Optimum

Yes... it comes from booze...more specifically WINE In Rome in the year 121 BC the Roman provinces in Italy, produced the best wine ever harvested and in huge quantities. This vintage was named after the new consul Lucius Opimius and lasted over a hundred and fifty years. It became known as better than the best...Optimum.

that doesn't sound true. The wine you are referring to was called Falernum Opimianus (from Lucius Opimium) while Optimus/Optimum (best, the best) derives from ops/optis (riches).

[kiwi Bruce]

that doesn't sound true. The wine you are referring to was called Falernum Opimianus (from Lucius Opimium) while Optimus/Optimum (best, the best) derives from ops/optis (riches).

I'm picking this years grapes for the wine I'm making, second year...late years is amazing. The wine book I use for the recipe has that quote...sounds pretty true to me...but who the hell am I! Just a dumb ass stiller who's gullible enough to believe most of what he reads.

[Kareltje]

Optimus/optima/optimum is just simple Latin for the best or the greatest in resp. masculin, feminin or neutral tense of the noun it was referring to.
My Latin is quite rusty, but I think vinum (wine) is a neutral word, so the adjective for the best wine would be optimum.

Edit: in my language the optimum is the best combination of costs and benefits or price and quality.

[kiwi Bruce]

in my language the optimum is the best combination of costs and benefits or price and quality.

+1 to that!

[The Baker]

from Wikipedia:
The word (GROG) originally referred to a drink made with water and rum, which British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon introduced into the naval squadron he commanded in the West Indies on 21 August 1740. Vernon wore a coat of grogram cloth and was nicknamed Old Grogram or Old Grog.
and
Following England's conquest of Jamaica in 1655, a half pint or "2 gills" of rum gradually replaced beer and brandy as the drink of choice. Given to the sailor straight, this caused additional problems, as some sailors saved the rum rations for several days to drink all at once. Due to the subsequent illness and disciplinary problems, the rum was mixed with water. This both diluted its effects and accelerated its spoilage, preventing hoarding of the allowance. Vernon's 1740 order that the daily rum issue of a half pint of rum be mixed with one quart of water and issued in two servings, before noon and after the end of the working day, became part of the official regulations of the Royal Navy in 1756 and lasted for more than two centuries. This gives a ratio of 4:1 (water:rum).


Geoff

[Bushman]

Above Board
Pirates would often hide much of their crew below the deck. Ships that displayed crew openly on the deck were thought to be honest merchant ships known as "above board".

[contrahead]

These are not phrases but historical trivia in general. For previous generations of sailors certain tattoos often had meanings. I have no use for tattoos myself but I thought this was interesting.

(From: http://mymodernmet.com/traditional-sail ... s-decoded/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow)

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That reminded me of Hobo signs and symbols for some reason.

This following website has a broad collection of Hobo symbols and trivia.

All Things Hobo—Signs and Symbols

[Bushman]

You got me wondering about the word HOBO and if it was an acronym, it is not. Here is the definition I found.

A hobo is a migrant worker or homeless vagabond, especially one who is impoverished. The term originated in the Western—probably Northwestern—United States around 1890.[1] Unlike a "tramp", who works only when forced to, and a "bum", who does not work at all, a "hobo" is a traveling worker.

[Kareltje]

Above Board
Pirates would often hide much of their crew below the deck. Ships that displayed crew openly on the deck were thought to be honest merchant ships known as "above board".

But as a passing ship, how could you know if a ship was a pirate ship or a honest merchant?

[jon1163]

Reply to save in my thread

[cob]

Knock on wood

knock on wood has a nearly global usage. most places it is used to ward off evil spirits or

gain favor from good spirits. in some places the wood must not have legs attached (table, chair, etc)

a common variation is if no wood is available an acceptable substitute is one's own head.

of most interest to me was something I have done all my life. when loading a muzzle loader

you tap on the stock (knock on wood) to settle the powder charge so you get good ignition

gaining favor from the flint gods so dinner doesn't get away.

[cuginosgrizzo]

Knock on wood

In my country (and in all the mediterranean) to ban unlucky events we touch iron, not wood (actually any metal will do, we are not so choosy). The origin of this seems to be connected with the iron horseshoe, which is considered a good-luck charm, and it is related to sone tales about saints and the devil.

We also have many other apotropaic gestures (as you know we talk with our hands as well as our words) like touching one's scrotum (for men, left breasts for women), which are symbols of virility and fertility and thus considered good luck charms.