Crocodile tears

 

Why sham tears or false displays of sorrow are called “crocodile tears”?

The story begins in ancient Egypt along the River Nile. One day, out in the wilderness, a group of Egyptian heard what they thought was a person crying.  Attracted by the cries, the group went to investigate.  They failed to return. The crying began again.  A few other Egyptians, more cautious than their former brethren, went to the spot where they heard the crying.

There they were attacked by a monstrous creature.  The Egyptians noticed that the reptile moaned and sighed like a human in deep distress. Moreover, the strange creature was the only animal they have ever encountered that could cover it’s eyes with a thin transparent membrane; when it did so, it created the illusion of blindness.  The Egyptians, on their guard killed the creature. The monster was later named the “crocodile.”

With the advance of civilization, crocodiles were discovered to inhabit other lands. Always the experience of the Egyptians was repeated.  Eventually humans learned that the crocodile’s moans and tears were affected in order to trap victims. 

Consequently, great precautions were taken to guard against “crocodile tears”.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue sea

 

When someone is in a situation from which he cannot save himself we say that he's "between the devil and the deep blue sea."

It was one Colonel Munro who coined this phrase while serving for Sweden against Austria in the Thirty Years' war.

At one point in the advance Colonel Munro, because the Swedes had not given their cannon sufficient elevation, found his troops moving toward the Austrians in the direct line of fire of their own battery divisions to the rear.

He quickly dispatched a messenger to the commanding Swedish battery officer with the note: "Raise your cannons, we are between the devil and the deep blue sea." The cannons were raised and the battle was won.

Ever since, between the devil and the deep blue sea has been a handy phrase used to by people when caught on the horns of a dilemma.

Reference:

Korach, Myron, Common phrases and where they come from, The Lyons Press, Connecticut, 2002.

Cut and dried

When something is simple or easy to explain, we say it's "cut and dried." For this expression, we are once again indebted to the lumber trade.

Wood, among lumbermen, is not lumber until it has gone through two processes.  First it is "cut" after cutting it is "dried." Only then is it lumber, ready for sale and use. 

Doubting Thomas

 

A person who is very hard to convince is referred to as a "doubting Thomas." Among the disciples of Jesus Christ was one man who refused to believe in Christ resurrection, that disciple was Thomas.  Because of his doubts, he was called "the doubting or very Thomas." 

Since then, a person who doubts and hesitates unnecessarily on maters about which others have no doubts is said to be a "doubting Thomas" or "very Thomas." 

See how it pans out

 

This phrase originated from gold mining.  Miners still separate the coveted gold dust and nuggets from the sand in which they are found with a pan of water.  When the pan is shaken, the heavier gold dust collects at its bottom.  The lighter sand sifts through and floats  off.  

From this practice the world has learned to discriminate in the same way the gold miner does-by "seeing how it pans out." 

List of English Proverbs - I

 

A range of English Proverbs with explanation, listed in alphabetical order by phrase. This page contains English Proverbs that start with letter I. 

1. It is easy to find a stick to beat a dog.
Explanation: It is easy to find reasons to criticize someone who is vulnerable.  

2.  It is never too late to mend.
Explanation: One can always try to improve.   

3. It is not work that kills, but worry. 
Explanation: Direct effort is less stressful than constant concern.  

4.  It's ill waiting for dead men's shoes. 
Explanation: Often used for a situation in which one is hoping for a position currently occupied by another.  

5. It takes all sort to make a world. 
Explanation:  Often used in recognition that a particular group may encompass a wide range of character and background.

6. It takes two to make a bargain.
Explanation: Often used to imply that both parties must be prepared to give some ground.   

7. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.
Explanation: What one wishes for is often far from reality.  

Closing Eyes When Making A Wish

 

The custom of closing one’s eyes when making a wish goes back to ancient sun worship. People asking for favor turned towards the sun which as the giver of warmth and light, they imagined to have occult power. 

Being unable to look into the sun because of its glare, they instinctively closed their eyes simply t prevent blindness.

Later generations forgot the original circumstances and the physiological reason. Without knowing why people assumed that the gesture had magic potency. They were thus convinced that unless they closed their eyes when making a wish, it would not come true.

Cross my heart

 

‘Cross my heart’, in fact, was an oath.  It combined a sacred symbol with a physiological misconception.  No one, at least no practicing Christian, would make the sign of the cross and tell a lie.

For thousands of years, the heart and not the brain was erroneously regarded as the seat of all knowledge and thought.  That is why the memorizing of a text or a poem is still referred to as learning it ‘by heart’.

All thought is formulated in words, even if these are only silently spoken.  Therefore, anything said comes ‘from the heart’ not emotionally but cerebrally, so to speak. To make the sign of the cross above the very source of one’s thoughts gave sanctity to one’s words and affirmed their truth.  

Jack of all trades

 

This common phrase is a shortened version of "jack of all trades and master of none."  It refers to those who claim to be proficient at countless tasks-but cannot perform a single one of them well.

The phrase was first used in England at the start of the Industrial Revolution.  A large number of efficiency experts set up shop in London, advertising themselves as knowledgeable about every type of manufacturing process, trade and business.  

But soon became evident that their knowledge was limited and of no practical value. Suspicious industrialists started calling these, self-appointed experts "jack of all trades and masters of none." These experts, are still with us and so is the phrase. 

Making Ends Meet

 

This phrase is often associated with an inability to stay afloat financially. Who would have thought that a phrase that now applies to the continual economic struggles of common folks would evolved from the ordeal connected with obtaining the funds necessary to dress as well-heeled lady properly?

To be dressed properly during the 18th and 19th centuries often required assistance in pulling together the two ends of the lady's corset and then bucking it when both ends met. Her dress would not hand properly unless a helper, had hooked together numerous latchets and hooks and eyes, all of which required tedious and cautious pulling to "make the ends meet."

Even a lady's shoes and galoshes of yesteryears were equipped with leather thongs, the ends of which had to be brought together before they could be buckled. from all this strenuous effort of pulling corsets, dresses and shoes together came the phrase "making ends meet."

At first the expression referred simply to the physical ordeal accompanying a lady getting dressed up. As the cost of her ensemble increased and the difficulty in putting it together diminished, "making end meet" came to refer to the financial ordeal connected with gathering the funds necessary to dress a lady properly.

Nest egg

 

Your savings are commonly called your "nest egg."

Soon after the chicken was domesticated farmers observed that hens had to be coaxed into prolific egg laying.  They hit upon the idea of keeping an artificial egg in every hen's nest.  This fake egg, called a "nest egg", helped the farmer make more money, which he could save as opposed to spend.  

Farmers then began to call such planned savings their "nest egg."

Open Sesame

 

In "The Tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," from Arabian Nights, the doctors to the robbers den could be opened only by giving the command "open sesame."

This tale was so intensely gripping to our forefathers that the magical phrase "open sesame" has become a humorous way to announce our presence at a doorway.

With a grain of salt

 

When we don't believe a word of what somebody tells us, "take it with a grain of salt."

There was a time, however, when an ancient ruler thought it wise to put a real grain of salt into every drink offered him as an antidote to any poison that might have been put into it by a spy planted into his domestic service by his foes.  This ruler was named Pompey, the Roman general and politician who was defeated by Caesar and murdered in Egypt.  Pompey was so meticulous about his ritual that he carried with him his own supply of salt.  

It is from Pompey's use of salt as an antidote that we obtained our figurative expression.

To eat humble pie

 

No one likes “to eat humble pie”. The phrase goes back to the early days of a very class-conscious society, though it actually does not mean what it appears to say. There was no humility in that pie.  Usually the uneducated are said  to drop their letter ‘h’s’ when pronouncing words.  But the case of the humble pie is a telling example in which the letter  ‘h’ was added out of ignorance.

‘Umbles’ was once a common description of offal the heart, the liver, and the stomach of an animal.  As umbles were not credited with much culinary merit, they were reserved to feed servants and the poor and made into a pie for them.  Very appropriately and logically, this was known as umbles’ pie.

When umbles became an obsolete term and people no longer knew what it meant , they began to speak of ’eating humble pie’, which has now become an expression relating to  humility.  

When in Rome do as the Romans do

 

One of the first great men in history to recognize the social value of majority rule was St. Augustine.

When St. Augustine dispatched St. Ambrose from Milan to Rome, Ambrose was confused about the proper day on which to fast, for in Rome, it was then the custom to fast on Saturday.  

He asked St. Augustine which fast day to observe.  The learned Augustine remarked, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”  Because these words of St Augustine were both wise and practical, they have become one of the world’s noblest maxims.     

Rule of thumb

 

When we use established past practices as a guideline for making a decision, we often refer to "rule of thumb." 

In 1732 Francis Buller, an English judge, proclaimed that a "man could not beat his wife with a stick larger than the diameter of his thumb." Regardless of Buller's intention, his "rule of thumb" was taken seriously by many, resulting in a large public outcry accompanied by satirical cartoons.  The remark was never forgotten, as it was attributed to him in biographies written after his death.

While Buller is credited with the phrase's origin, in reality it was probably used much earlier: The "thumb" was a unit of measurement in the late seventeenth century.

Fahrenheit

 

Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit (1686-1736) was a German, born in Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland), who spent most of his life in Holland and England.  He invented a thermometer (using mercury instead of alcohol) with a new scale, named after him.  The Fahrenheit scale has the freezing-point of water marked at 32 degrees and the boiling point at 212. 

Fahrenheit's scale was the one most used in Britain and other English-speaking countries and the USA for many years, but by and large, this has now been superseded by the centigrade scale.  The word Fahrenheit however is firmly established as part of the English language.  

Spill the beans

 

“To reveal a secret” is the most popular meaning of “spill the beans.” The phrase comes from the ancient Greeks, among whom beans were very important not only for food but also in the conduct of their local elections.

When a Greek voted, his ballot was cast by putting a bean in the helmet of the candidate of his choice whose helmet lay alongside those of the whole slate of candidates.  The candidate whose helmet had the greatest number of beans in it at the close of the election was declared the winner.The count was public and when the winner was announced, his helmet, with the beans in it, was returned to him. Then he would “spill the beans” out of the helmet and in the middle of the applause of the voters, put it on his head.  

This act symbolized his acceptance of the office in which he had been elected.  Because the helmet contained the outcome of the election,” spill the beans” became synonymous with disclosing a secret which is the way we use the phrase today.

To cross one's fingers

 

Keeping one’s fingers crossed is believed to help in making a wish come true.To start with, what is now often merely a figure of speech was a solemn action expecting a twofold result. It would ward off evil forces and attract good luck. This would make certain the fulfillment of a wish. The two crossed fingers symbolized St Andrew’s cross.  A sacred sign, it protected not only the present but as it were, things to come, by keeping away the devil always so eager and ready to destroy hope.

There was magic in the gesture as well which, at the meeting point at the two crossed fingers, ’nailed’  good luck. Thus securely tightly, it could not escaped and thereby ensured that whatever was wanted would happen. 

Baker's dozen

 

When you  buy a dozen rolls and get thirteen, you have a "baker's dozen." Baking was among the first industries subjected to government control and regulation. Soon after the baking profession was established, the king of England found it necessary to regulate it. The public bakers put on the market unhealthy products of short weight and count. 

To fix this evil, exorbitant fines were imposed upon wayward bakers.  The bakers, in response and to ensure avoiding clashes with law, gave thirteen to the dozen, from this practice we derived the happy "baker's dozen," an early example of government involvement in business.

Raining cats and dogs

 

Whenever there's a heavy rain pour, the common phrase we all use is "it is raining cats and dogs". Little did we know that we're talking a page out of ancient northern mythology.

In the myths of the Teutons, an ancient people of either Germanic or Celtic origin who occupied Jutland around 100 B.C. the wind was envisioned as a huge dog that served as chief attendant to Odin, the Norse god of wisdom and war who was responsible for the cosmos. The Teutons believed that when it rained very hard, Odin's dog (in the form of the wind) was chasing a cat (which took the form of the rain). When it poured then Odin was dropping " cats and dogs" from the sky.

Though science has proved that it is wrong, but when we're drenched with rain we still revert to the ancient Teutons and mutter , "It is raining cats and dogs."

The die is cast

 

Whenever we say, "The die is cast," we attach finality and resolution to the job at hand; there is no turning back. Julius Caesar was a man of his word; he never took back anything he said. His soldiers knew this well.  

They may have experienced some apprehension about his plans before he took them across the Rubicon, but once they set foot on the opposite bank and made his historic utterance. "The dice have been thrown," they knew there would be no turning back.

To this day the import of Caesar's words is clear in our use of  "the die is cast" to attach finality to a situation.  

Barking up the wrong tree

 

When you've planned to accomplish something by using a particular method and your plan is thwarted because you should have gone about it some other way, you've been "barking up the wrong tree."

Hunters have always used dogs to track the whereabouts of their prey.  After chasing the game, the dog often thought it had traced the prospective dinner's flight to a particular tree.  The dog would then bark up that tree.  Its master would hurry over, but sometimes he would find no animal there.  The dog had been, quite literally, "barking up the wrong tree."

This happened with such frequency that the old hunter coined a phrase for it. 

Black Friday

 

Originally "black Friday" took its name from the black vestments worn by clergy of Good Friday services and applied to only one Friday of each year, namely the Friday preceding Easter Sunday.  Yet owning to coincidences in both the United States and England, the phrase has taken on another meaning, far removed from anything religious. 

In financial circles "black Friday" is a specific reference to certain days of financial panics and a general name for those too-frequent days on which investors suffer heavy losses.

The first "black Friday" was on December 6, 1745, in England, after news reached there that Charles Edward Stuart, the young Pretender (to the British throne) had arrived in Derby.  These tidings caused panic and gigantic losses resulted.  The second "black Friday" occurred on May 11, 1866, when the Banking-House of  Overend, Gurney and Company, closed its doors, causing widespread ruin in England's financial centers.

On Friday, September 26, 1869, the United States suffered its first "black Friday" when Jay Gould and his associates tried to corner the entire gold market.  Panic ensued until the secretary of the treasury eased the market by releasing four million dollars in gold.  The last American "black Friday" occurred on September 19, 1873, the beginning of the financial panic of the same year.  

Apple of my eye

 

It was believed as long ago as the ninth century that the pupil of the eye was a vital spot in the human anatomy.  Primitive medical curiosity about it caused the early healers to study the pupil as closely as they could.  They concluded that it was apple shaped and so it became popularly known as "the apple of the eye."

Because the pupil was considered as vital as life itself, it became customary for a gallant hero to call the object of his affection "the apple of my eye."

Adam's apple

 

The prominent lump in the human throat took its name "Adam's apple," from an old superstitious belief.

Everyone is familiar with the story of Adam and Eve.  But what many people might be acquainted with is how the Bible story was actually embellished.  

It was said that when Adam swallowed the forbidden fruit, one large piece of the apple remained in his throat and formed a lump there.  

The lump in every man's throat was named for the very first man, and so the "Adam's apple" was born.