The Bizarre History of 10 Common Sayings

[Sunny Lea]

From Cracked

A lot of the English language seems to have been developed as some kind of elaborate practical joke. It's full of little sayings and idioms that on their face make no sense at all, and if traced back to their origins are downright horrifying.

Right or wrong, these 10 sayings have some of the strangest (and most unsettling) histories:

[CannonFodder]

I very much enjoy Luis Prada's writing. He's not subtle, but he's funny.

[Johnny Slick]

I'm going to go ahead and say that the "bust your chops" one is not correct.

[violetbon]

I always thought "basket case" came from a reference to basket weaving, either in an asylum of some sort, or when bored. So if one is a "basket case", one would be either insane or bored to the point of nuttiness. I have no cite for that, it's just what I always thought, rightly or wrongly.

ETA: I know that basket weaving is not an accurate portrayal of mental illness. Just referring to the pop culture stereotype.

[Ramblin' Dave]

I've heard the "rule of thumb" one debunked several times. When I first discovered snopes, I thought there would be a page about it - it turned out the be the only UL I knew at the time that didn't have one. Sadly, it's a favorite bludgeon for "men's rights" activists to use against feminists.

[mags]

Huh. If I had ever thought on "basket case" I would have assumed it had something to do with the guillotine. A person whose head was in the basket. Somewhat like a chicken with its head cut off.

[Sunny Lea]

Originally Posted by Ramblin' Dave

I've heard the "rule of thumb" one debunked several times. When I first discovered snopes, I thought there would be a page about it - it turned out the be the only UL I knew at the time that didn't have one. Sadly, it's a favorite bludgeon for "men's rights" activists to use against feminists.

That's funny, I could have sworn there was one, but I couldn't find it. I did find some threads, though, so maybe that is what I remember. I clearly remember getting into a (minor) argument with one of my women's studies professor on the topic!

[Andrew of Ware]

Not sure about the explanation of 'To get hold of the wrong end of the stick' as referring to to the sticks in Roman latrines. At Housesteads Fort on Hadrian's Wall in the north of England a latrine block still exists, complete with gutters and bowls. The sticks used to wipe your bottom had a sponge on the end and after use were washed in the gutter (which had flowing water from a tank seen at the far end of the photo) and then placed, sponge down, in the bowls which also contained water. Thus the stick would be picked up from the bowls (and so it would be hard to get hold of ther wrong end of the stick) and not passed as the article suggests.



'Brewer's' favours the getting hold of the muddy end of a walking stick as the likely origin.

[Nonny Mouse]

Originally Posted by Ramblin' Dave

I've heard the "rule of thumb" one debunked several times. When I first discovered snopes, I thought there would be a page about it - it turned out the be the only UL I knew at the time that didn't have one. Sadly, it's a favorite bludgeon for "men's rights" activists to use against feminists.

I hear that men's rights activists are only allowed to bludgeon feminists with a trope less than the diameter of their penises.

Nonny

[erwins]

I've been reading a book debunking various word myths (Word Myths, by David Wilton), and the myth about "nitty gritty" is covered there. The phrase originated in the 1950s. It's just a bit of rhyme -- nitty was probably added just to rhyme with gritty, as was done with similar sounding phrases like "namby pamby."

ETA: There's a really thorough debunking of the "rule of thumb" myth by Wilton here: http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/more/489/

erwins

[A Turtle Named Mack]

Originally Posted by Ramblin' Dave

I've heard the "rule of thumb" one debunked several times. When I first discovered snopes, I thought there would be a page about it - it turned out the be the only UL I knew at the time that didn't have one. Sadly, it's a favorite bludgeon for "men's rights" activists to use against feminists.

I have only heard the reference used in the opposite way - to 'prove' how ingrained in law and culture the superior position of men was.