 |
By *asilForty77 OP Man
over a year ago
a hundred and sixty of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road |
To start the ball rolling is believed to originate in the genteel 19th century English pastime of croquet, a fairly simple game the aim of which is to hit a ball with a wooden mallet through a series of hoops. One weakness of the game is that the person starting first can win, if they are a good enough player, without the other person having a go. So starting first is a distinct advantage. The person winning the toss of a coin starts first and starts the ball rolling. |
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot. Once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive, you were considered ‘piss poor.’
But worse than that were the really poor folks who couldn’t even afford to buy a pot. They ‘didn’t have a pot to piss in’ and were considered the lowest of the low.
|
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
|
By *asilForty77 OP Man
over a year ago
a hundred and sixty of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road |
Cat got your tongue? Origin: The English Navy used to use a whip called “Cat-o'-nine-tails” for flogging. The pain was so severe that it caused the victim to stay quiet for a long time. Another possible source could be from ancient Egypt, where liars' and blasphemers' tongues were cut out and fed to the cats |
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
|
By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
|
Cock o the roost. Refers to the cockerel at the top of the pecking order in a family or social group of chickens. The pecking order is the same but for the hen birds. |
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
|
By *asilForty77 OP Man
over a year ago
a hundred and sixty of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road |
"Daylight Robbery"? In 1696, William III of England introduced a property tax which required those living in houses with more than six windows to pay a levy. ... As the bricked-up windows prevented some rooms from receiving any sunlight, the tax was referred to as daylight robbery. |
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
"They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot. Once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive, you were considered ‘piss poor.’
But worse than that were the really poor folks who couldn’t even afford to buy a pot. They ‘didn’t have a pot to piss in’ and were considered the lowest of the low."
Nope.
.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/one-for-the-roads-scholar/ |
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
|
By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
|
"The cat's pyjamas is thought to be slang for the vulva.
I thought I'd keep it Fab real.  "
Actually from 1920s America and meant something or someone was superlatively good or top notch.  |
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
|
By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
|
My son done this at school. It was so interesting. My favourite one was saying bless you when you sneeze which was from people getting the plague and sneezing was the first symptom so they were more than likely going to die
When someone sneezes now my kids say bless you and make a face like oh no your on your last legs x |
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
""Daylight Robbery"? In 1696, William III of England introduced a property tax which required those living in houses with more than six windows to pay a levy. ... As the bricked-up windows prevented some rooms from receiving any sunlight, the tax was referred to as daylight robbery. "
.
Nope. It’s quite simply that robbery is best committed at night, in the dark, when there are fewer people and it’s easier to escape. Committing robbery in daylight is particularly brazen.
.
If you’ve ever read these things in a Facebook post or group email, they’re probably made up. |
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
|
By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
|
"POSH - Port Out Starboard Home
Nope. Most acronym etymologies are false. Acronyms are rare before the 1930s, and there’s no record of this ever being used in any shipping material."
You're a right Roy Cropper tonight.
Anyway, the full nine yards, ammunition belts in world war two fighters were 27 feet long, hence if you gave all you had you have given the full nine yards. |
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
|
By *ackspopCouple
over a year ago
Wymondham |
"POSH - Port Out Starboard Home
Nope. Most acronym etymologies are false. Acronyms are rare before the 1930s, and there’s no record of this ever being used in any shipping material."
You mean to say that Dick Van Dyke's dad in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was lying!
Childhood = ruined  |
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
|
By *eep.Man
over a year ago
Just a background character |
"My son done this at school. It was so interesting. My favourite one was saying bless you when you sneeze which was from people getting the plague and sneezing was the first symptom so they were more than likely going to die
When someone sneezes now my kids say bless you and make a face like oh no your on your last legs x"
Yeah I remember that.
A tissue, a tissue, we all fall down! |
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
|
By *ackspopCouple
over a year ago
Wymondham |
"My son done this at school. It was so interesting. My favourite one was saying bless you when you sneeze which was from people getting the plague and sneezing was the first symptom so they were more than likely going to die
When someone sneezes now my kids say bless you and make a face like oh no your on your last legs x
Yeah I remember that.
A tissue, a tissue, we all fall down!"
I thought it was due to the assumption held in the middle ages etc that people who had sneezed had lost a part of their spiritual essence and/or soul when they sneezed so the saying of "Bless you" was a way of restoring the balance or making good the loss.
"Ring-a-ring-a-roses" does refer to the plague: it's a reference to the lesions made by the buboes when they appear. Red in colour and circular in shape. |
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
|
By *asilForty77 OP Man
over a year ago
a hundred and sixty of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road |
all I could find was marry in haste This proverbial saying was first expressed in print by William Congreve in his comedy of manners The Old Batchelour, 1693: |
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
|
By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
|
Freezing the balls off a brass monkey.
Back in the day when our Royal Navy vessels were made of wood and had cannons a brass monkey was a metal square upon which the cannon balls were stacked. It often became so cold that as the ice between the balls expanded it made them topple from the monkey, hence the saying. |
Reply privately, Reply in forum +quote
or View forums list | |
» Add a new message to this topic
