Interesting Origins of Everyday Sayings

[Minhosa]

What's your favourite backstory to an everyday term used nowadays?

 

Run Amok = Comes from the Malaysian word amoq, which describes the behavior of tribesmen who, under the heavy influence of opium, became wild, rampaging mobs that attacked anybody in their path .

 

Saved by the bell = Being buried alive was once a common occurrence. People who feared succumbing to such a fate were buried in special coffins that connected to a bell above ground. At night, guards listened for any bells in case they had to dig up a living person and save them “by the bell.”

[pinkeye]

I have a book called Red Herrings and White Elephants.

If this is something that is interesting to you then you should get it, it explains pretty much everything and debunks some of the common misconceptions about the origins of our language.

 

Did you know that calling someone a berk, is the same as calling someone a cunt?

Berk is a shortening of term Berkshire Hunt, rhymes with.....

 

 

[kingkerouac]

7 minutes ago, pinkeye said:

I have a book called Red Herrings and White Elephants.

If this is something that is interesting to you then you should get it, it explains pretty much everything and debunks some of the common misconceptions about the origins of our language.

 

Did you know that calling someone a berk, is the same as calling someone a cunt?

Berk is a shortening of term Berkshire Hunt, rhymes with.....

 

 

Yes.

I used to work with a guy who was an expert on Cockney rhyming slang.

Most interesting aspect of it are it's origins in criminality and it's design to thwart the forces of law and order.

My favourite is Tilburys.

[Miercoles]

3 hours ago, Minhosa said:

Saved by the bell = Being buried alive was once a common occurrence. People who feared succumbing to such a fate were buried in special coffins that connected to a bell above ground. At night, guards listened for any bells in case they had to dig up a living person and save them “by the bell.”

 

Nah mate, it's just slang from boxing that became mainstream. There's also no evidence that those coffin-bells were ever actually used. It's just a bit of historical macabre that became popular in stories later on. The same thing happened with the Iron Maiden which was also never actually used.

[kingkerouac]

1 hour ago, Miercoles said:

 

Nah mate, it's just slang from boxing that became mainstream. There's also no evidence that those coffin-bells were ever actually used. It's just a bit of historical macabre that became popular in stories later on. The same thing happened with the Iron Maiden which was also never actually used.

Next you'll be saying that there was never actually a Deaf Leopard.

[midds]

13/8 that Rich changes the thread title to 'Idioms' overnight. 

[OpenC]

[relámpago blanco]

My Nana (Grandma) always used to say "never in the creation of crow shit".  She would use it to illustrate surprise.  Has anyone else heard of that?

[kingkerouac]

Anyone else familiar with the saying 'My heart bleeds purple piss for you'?

I used to go out with a girl back in the 80s, who would use this as a sarcastic retort to someone undeserving of sympathy.

[Super Duper Branko Strupar]

Look at the length of the ellipsis in this man, @Rich

[Doc]

Found out origin of "Blowing smoke up your arse" today, fucking hell.

As shit as it is I'm glad I'm alive now and not then!

[newsted]

17 minutes ago, Doc said:

Found out origin of "Blowing smoke up your arse" today, fucking hell.

As shit as it is I'm glad I'm alive now and not then!

 Yeah, that was a thing. Erm, Doc.

[Doc]

I would imagine that and a nice tot of mercury would sort you right out.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Growing up in Newcastle my nana always used to call liquorice ´spanish´.  

[kingkerouac]

1 hour ago, Paulie Walnuts said:

Growing up in Newcastle my nana always used to call liquorice ´spanish´.  

Same here, but in Cumbria.

[Thomson Mouse]

Nursery rhyme about old king cole was actually about a king not after the Romans sort of departed 

[Lazarus]

Does anyone still use Sneakers for their trainers?

 

Sneakers was the word everyone used when I grew up in the 80's but it seems to have been slowly phased out.

[Paulie Walnuts]

thoug

25 minutes ago, Lazarus said:

Does anyone still use Sneakers for their trainers?

 

Sneakers was the word everyone used when I grew up in the 80's but it seems to have been slowly phased out.

thought it was an American word - never heard that over here tbh.

[newsted]

59 minutes ago, Paulie Walnuts said:

thought it was an American word - never heard that over here tbh.

Yup, was always trainers, not even sure what a sneaker is. Unless it's someone really creepy.

[Lazarus]

Maybe it was a wallsend thing - or even just a word me dad used??

[Kaizero]

I enjoy the fact that "sneakers" comes from the fact that you could sneak up on other people with shoes that had rubber soles compared to other shoes.

[loki679]

Cos you're a massive sex pest. 

[Haz]

Suede boots were always Brothel creepers.

[kingkerouac]

On 11/12/2021 at 19:10, Lazarus said:

Does anyone still use Sneakers for their trainers?

 

Sneakers was the word everyone used when I grew up in the 80's but it seems to have been slowly phased out.

Always trainers.

[kingkerouac]

18 hours ago, Haz said:

Suede boots were always Brothel creepers.

Brothel Creepers were the usually suede, flat-soled, 1.5 inch sole shoe, never a boot.

Originally worn by Teddy Boys in the 50s, revived by punk rockers in the 70s.

Also known as Beetle Crushers.

Suede boots were Chelsea Boots or Beatle Boots.