No stupid questions

Interesting

2008-02-03T14:18:00.000-08:00

The husband asked this question the other day.....

If speed limits are posted across the United States and are maxed out at maybe 75 mph, why don't automobile manufactures make cars so the maximum speed they can reach is 75 mph? The exception to the rule would of course be emergency vehicles. If cars could only go 75, speeding and speed related accidents would go wwaaaaaay down.

Gig/Jig is up??

2007-08-31T11:48:00.001-07:00

What do these phrases mean? Are they one and the same?

Info below found here.
When someone says the "gig" is up, they mean that an engagement has played its course.

When someone says the "jig" is up, it indicates that a scoundrel has been found out, and the forces of law and order are on their way.

Where with all?

2007-08-31T11:43:00.002-07:00

What does this phrase mean?

Meaning: This is when a person has confidence or resources to complete something. For example, "She has the where-with-all to survive the incident".

Slick as owl shit

2007-08-31T11:43:00.001-07:00

Where does the phrase slick as owl shit come from?

And how!!!

2007-08-31T11:40:00.000-07:00

Where does the exclamation "and how!" come from?

"and how! Indicating 'intensive emphasis of what someone else has just said,' 'and how!' is a long-popular catchphrase first recorded in 1924. The Americanism possibly derives from the German 'und wie!' or the Italian 'e come!', meaning the same thing, and once very common among Americans of German and Italian extraction, respectively." From "Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997).

Na, und wie! I decided to consult my handy beside copy of the OED and found this:
"d. and how!: excl[amation] used to indicate that the effect of something is difficult to describe = and no mistake, very much so! orig. U.S. [citation] 1865 B. TAYLOR Let. 16 June in M. H. Taylor Life & Lett. Bayard Taylor (1884) II. xviii. 434, I finished an article for the 'Atlantic' that day. As if I were not 'a tool of the elements!' 'And how?' as the Germans say (Americanicé--'You'd better believe it!')...." SS Info above from here.

Egg on your face?

2007-08-31T11:38:00.001-07:00

Where does the phrase "Egg on your face" come from?

EGG ON ONE'S FACE -- "Random House Dictionary of American Slang, Vol. 1, A-G" by J.E. Lighter (Random House, New York, 1994): "have egg on (one's) face -- to look foolish or be embarrassed. Now colloq. 1951-53 'Front Page Detective (syndic. TV series): I can see egg all over my face..."

Another source says the phrase is "newer" than the 50s. From "The Dictionary of Cliches" by James Rogers (Ballatine Books, New York, 1985): "to have egg on your face - To be embarrassed or chagrined at something one has done or the way one did it; to do something ineptly. The expression originated in the United States some 25 years ago, probably from the fact that someone eating an egg sloppily is likely to wind up with some of it on his face and therefore not looking his best. By 1972 the saying had been picked up in England, as Lord Chalfont reflected in 'The Times' of London: 'There is something reassuringly changeless about the capacity of the highest military authorities for getting egg on their face."

Bated Breath?

2007-08-31T11:35:00.000-07:00

Where does the phrase Bated Breath come from?

Found the info below here.

The phrase means anxiously or with great anticipation.

I don't remember and can't find my source on this but I think that "Bated" is a shortened version of "abated", which means "to slow down". In the case of "bated breath" this would mean to slow down your breathing or hold your breath.

Curiously, people hold their breath when in anticipation. Perhaps so as not to be distracted by breathing.

"Bated" is no longer commonly used, causing people to believe the expression to be "with baited breath". This common misspelling leads to confusion and strange imagery.

Maybe some other contributors can verify all of this.

If someone has bated breath they are holding their breath with suspense or fear. This use of bated is about the only example left in the English language; abate is much more common. Both words come from the Old French "abatre", to "beat down" or "fell".

Smart as a whip?

2007-08-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

What is the origin of the phrase Smart as a Whip?

SMART AS A WHIP - "Bright, clever, alert. A whip 'smarts' and operates with snap. In the days of horse-drawn vehicles one was often able to urge on the horse merely by flicking or cracking a whip near the animal, and if that failed, you could be sure of results by seeing that the flick or crack touched him lightly. The transfer must have arisen from that widespread exercise. An expression in use early in the 19th century was 'smart as a steel trap,' which does indeed operate smartly too, but by 1860 the 'Mountaineer' in Salt Lake City was printing: 'Mr. A___ was a prompt and successful businessman, 'smart as a whip,' as the Yankees say." From "Dictionary of Cliches" by James Rogers (Wings Books, Originally New York: Facts on File Publications, 1985).

Eat crow?

2007-08-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

Where did the phrase Eat crow come from?

To suffer a humiliating experience: “The organizers had to eat crow when the fair they had sworn would attract thousands drew scarcely a hundred people.” The phrase probably refers to the fact that crow meat tastes terrible.

Heavens to Murgatroid!!!

2007-08-31T11:20:00.000-07:00

Exactly what and where is murgatroid? I actually thought this was an old saying but it is from a cartoon character called Snagglepuss.

"The character of Snagglepuss originally appeared in 1959 as a minor character on episodes of Quick Draw McGraw, Augie Doggie, and Snooper & Blabber (this episode introduced Snagglepuss's nemesis the master hunter Major Minor). The character proved to have such appeal that he was given his own segment on The Yogi Bear Show when it premiered in 1961. Snagglepuss's favorite sayings were 'Exit stage left' and 'Heavens to Murgatroid.'

"heavens to Murgatroyd" means the same thing as "heavens to Betsy"-that is, very little. It's just an exclamation of surprise like "Goodness gracious!"

Raze to the ground?

2007-08-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

Why does the word razed mean torn down?

A little info found here.

Hungry mungry

2007-08-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

Why do our stomachs grumble when we are hungry as well as after we eat?

Gettin' pretty

2007-08-31T09:02:00.000-07:00

Why do we open our mouths when applying mascara or eyeliner?

Opening your mouth steadies your eyes and helps you keep them open while making up.

Here kitty kitty?

2007-08-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

Why do cats always answer to kitty-kitty and hogs to pig-pig-pig?

Hot cold hot cold

2007-08-31T08:56:00.000-07:00

Why does scaldingly hot water feel cold for a brief second and vice versa?

Where did your accent go?

2007-08-31T08:53:00.000-07:00

Why do people who speak with an accent lose the accent when singing?

Men and Women's shirt buttons?

2007-08-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

Why do women's blouses button on the left and men's on the right?

I found two possible answers here.

1. According to the book 'Evolution of Fashion', both men's and women's buttons were on the same side until 1625. Buttons on jackets, rather than shirts, started to appear on opposite sides about 1635. The reasons for the switch are obscure. One theory is that men wanted their right hand free to have immediate access to a weapon, such as a sword, and preferred to open and close their jackets with their left hand. Women, generally holding children on their left arm, preferred to button and unbutton their clothes with their right hand. It was also easier for maids to dress women in clothes that buttoned in the back. Try reading 'The Little Button Book' by Diana Epstein for facts and trivia about buttons.

2. The generally accepted theory for this is that it is an inheritance from sword-carrying days. The sword was fastened to the left and a man buttoned his coat left over right to ensure the right-hand portion would not flap, or get caught up with the sword hilt, as the weapon was withdrawn from its sheath. A woman buttons her coat (or blouse etc) the reverse way and it has been suggested that this is because women usually carry babies on the left arm.

Lemon in our tea?

2007-08-31T08:45:00.000-07:00

When did we start adding lemon to our tea?

LEMON was introduced to British tea drinkers by Queen Victoria after a visit to the Prussian King.

Long Johns?

2007-08-31T08:42:00.000-07:00

Why are long johns called long johns? Were they invented by a man named John? I found the information below here.

The earliest references to the garments strongly suggest the name came to wide public attention because it was applied to the long underwear issued to American soldiers during World War Two. Until this piece appeared, the first known reference to them was in a publication of 1943, but I’ve succeeded in taking that back a couple of years, to a letter home by a new recruit published in the Sheboygan Press, Wisconsin, on 16 October 1941: “We have had but three days of rain in the nine weeks we have been here. Last Friday it turned a little cool so we were issued our winter clothes. We all hope we don’t get our ‘long Johns’ for a while because it is too warm yet.”

Another local newspaper reference, this time from the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune of 3 June 1944, suggests an origin: “Many a rookie has been ridiculed and laughed at the first time he swallowed his pride and donned his LONG JOHNS. They are the winter underwear issued by the Army, and have the disturbing effect of making a G.I. look like a scarecrow trapeze artist. It might be added that they itch but good! After a soldier finally gets into his LONG JOHNS, he invariably swells his chest, flexes his biceps and struts around the barracks like a John L. Sullivan, after whom these practical if not sightly garments have been named.”

There are no stupid questions

2007-08-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

This blog is a never ending list of questions I have pondered over the years. They consist of word and phrase origins as well as some random, silly questions. Simply, this is a written record of my brain farts. As I can, I will find the answers to the questions and will post them. Remember, there are no stupid questions.

The question that started this all years and years ago: What would chairs look like if our legs bent the other way? I remember asking my mother this question when I was a child and she just laughed. :)