Diane Stevenson
The source of some English idioms

Have you heard the saying, "Don't throw out the baby with the dishwater!"  Or did you wonder why English speakers sometimes say, "It's raining cats and dogs!"

 

Follow this link to read a short interesting article about the source of these sayings.  

 

http://www.thisblewmymind.com/origin-piss-poor-popular-sayings/#UsrM1tRTgiDcGmM1.01?fbpop

Sep 30, 2014 3:57 PM
Comments · 3
1

Oh well.  If they were completely false, at least the explanations were interesting! 

October 1, 2014

Hi Diane,

 

Sorry, but this is what's called "folk etymology".  Pretty much all of these explanations were made up after the fact and, after reading through it a couple of times, I even suspect that it was written as a deliberate joke.

 

I usually go to <em>phrases.org.uk </em>to check where a phrase comes from, as the site owner is pretty careful about finding proper evidence for the origins of idioms and other expressions. You'll see most of your article debunked here:

 

<em>http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/life%20in%20the%201500s.html</em>;

 

If you've got the time, you can read more debunking on Snopes, plus a few that the article missed out:

 

<em>http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/1500.asp</em>;

 

A little research helps! ;)

 

PS. Same goes for the "Long time no see" myth.

September 30, 2014

"Long time no see" was directly translated from the Chinese, 好久不见 (hǎo jiǔ bú jiàn).
=-p  

September 30, 2014