It's Funny What We Say Sometimes

How cool is the Internet?

The other day in the newsroom we were wondering about some of the common phrases we routinely use without really thinking about it.

I mean, we really say some dumb things, don't we?

Ever lose something, like, say, your keys? You bemoan the inconvenience and vent your frustration a bit by telling a friend or relative about it.

Invariably, they ask?

"Well, where'd you leave them?"

I always want to say, "Of course! Why didn't I think of that? In the glove box, that's where I left them, thanks!"

How about, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." I understand what it means, but really, how could you possibly cross the bridge before you came to it?

Same with "have your cake and eat it too." I know what it means, but when you think about it, it's just senseless.

So then the conversation degenerated, or, should I say, intellectually escalated into the origins of some of the silly things we say.

I must say, the most impressive display was by our technical guy, who shared the origin of the phrase, "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey."

Now, don't be alarmed. It really has nothing to do with anatomy.

The saying harkens back to the days when cannon balls were stacked in a pyramid on a stand made of brass. The stand was called a "brass monkey."

When it got really cold, I mean, really cold, the brass stand would contract faster than the pyramid of steel cannonballs.

If it got cold enough, the cannon balls around the edge would fall off and the whole pyramid would topple.

Hence the saying.

I wonder, though, would the brass stand really contract that much?

But isn't it fun, anyway? I mean, I almost wrote about the steel tariffs. Maybe next week.

The more we talked about these things, the more interesting it became. To me, anyway.

This is where the Internet comes in handy. We were clueless about the origins of most of the old sayings we were talking about, but just type the phrase in Google and away you go.

Why does "kick the bucket" mean to die? It comes from suicide by hanging. A common thing to stand on was a bucket. The soon-to-be-expired victim would literally "kick the bucket." Or, a wooden frame that slaughtered animals were hung from is known as a bucket. The death spasms of the animals caused them to "kick the bucket."

A "square meal" is known as one that is substantial or adequately nutritional because in the Navy, and other ships in years gone by, sailors received their meals on a square plate with a raised edge.

"Stool pigeon" means police informant because hunters used to use decoy pigeons fixed to posts (stools) to lure their quarry. The term was later adopted to describe people who helped the police by luring criminals into police traps. Later yet, it came to mean anyone who helped the police by informing on others.

"Above board" means without trickery or deceit. It originated in the gaming community. If card players keep their hands above the table (board) they can be seen to be playing fairly.

I always thought "saved by the bell" was a boxing thing, which it is, because if the bell rings when a boxer is being counted out, he gets a reprieve. But it also goes back to Victorian times, when people who were fearful of being buried alive arranged for a string to be run from the inside of their coffin to a bell. If they awoke inside the coffin, they could ring the bell and be saved.

I thought "the die has been cast," meaning an irrevocable choice has been made, was like a tool and die thing. Like casting a die to make a tool. But no. Die is the singular of dice. Julius Caesar is supposed to have spoken this phrase when crossing the Rubicon.

"Not worth a tinker's dam" means worthless because dams are the small amounts of solder used by a tinker to repair pewter ware.

Everybody knows what it means to "pass the buck," but did you know it originated from the card game poker? A buck was a marker that indicated whose turn it was to deal. Passing the buck moved the deal onto the next player. Silver dollars were later used as markers and some believe this may have been the origin of the use of "buck" as a slang term for a dollar.

The term "well-heeled" means wealthy today, but it originates from cock fighting. The bird was considered well-heeled if it had large and dangerous spurs.

And finally, "white elephant."

It means something that's a lot more trouble than it's worth. I've used the phrase before in this very column. Like when talking about a school that's been closed or an empty Wal-Mart store.

But where in the world does it come from?

The answer was just a couple keystrokes away:

White (albino) elephants were regarded as holy in ancient times in Thailand and other Asian countries. To keep a white elephant was a very expensive task, since you had to provide the elephant with special food and provide access for people who wanted to come and worship it. If a Thai king became, for some reason, dissatisfied with a sub-king, he would give him a white elephant. The gift would, in most cases, ruin the recipient.

Thanks so much to "The Phrase Finder" at http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/meanings/index.html.

Are all these things accurate?

Who knows? But it certainly is a hoot looking them up.