15 Facts about Common Expressions and Saying You Never Knew

The English language is full of common metaphoric expressions among which some have their origins in America or England. Many of these were based on common incidents or practice whose descriptions ultimately paved the way for synonymous expressions. Here are the 15 origins of common expressions.

1Piss Poor

In early days, urine was widely used all over the world to tan the hides of animal skins as a preparation process for tanning so that the hair could be removed easily. Several families would ask all family members to pee in a pot which was then taken to tanneries and sold. This began to mean “piss poor”.

However, there is also the notion that this wasn’t the case regarding the expression Piss poor which actually came to be associated with the word poor and dates back to 1905 when people could ill afford the common pot required to be kept in bedrooms for the purpose of urination. Piss Poor also came to be associated with a poor job and similar to the saying “shit for brains”

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2Bite the Bullet

It means to accept a painful situation and has its possible origins during surgical procedures on wounds of soldiers at a time when anesthesia was scarce. A soldier was then given a bullet to bite upon to prevent him biting his tongue and dealing with the pain.

The phrase, in fact, was first recorded in a book by Rudyard Kipling titled “The light that failed” written in 1891. However the phrase “Chew a bullet” dates back to 1796 at a time when soldiers were required to bite off cartridges before inserting them into the barrel of a rifle.

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3Raining Cats and Dogs

There is mixed opinion about the saying. One of which states that in earlier times, houses were made with thatched roofs where dogs and cats liked to hide.  But when it rained, they would jump out hence the expression.

Another belief is that, cities suffered from sanitation issues including an increased number of stray cats and dogs. Heavy rains would result in the deaths of many cats and dogs that would be seen lying in gutters, thus it came to be known as cats and dogs.

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4Bringing Home the Bacon

One theory states that the term originated in 1100 in the town of Great Dunmow in Essex, England. Legend has it that the local church would gift a side of bacon to a man who was honest enough to reveal that he had not fought with his wife for a year and 1 day. That man would also be considered a role model by society.

It also implies making a sudden amount of money at a time in the 20^th century when people could ill afford meat and ate most potatoes and vegetables. Bringing home a slice of bacon was a luxury when someone made extra money.

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5“Saved By the Bell” and “The Graveyard Shift”

This has some eerie origins. In old England especially when in times of sickness and plagues, there was a shortage of graves so old ones were dug up and the bones taken to a bonehouse. When the coffins were open, they would find a number of scratch marks in the inside suggesting that the person wasn’t really dead.

Thereafter, people were buried with a string attached to their wrist which was strung through a small aperture in the coffin and attached to a bell on the surface. A person would be needed to sit out the whole night by the grave which led to the term “Graveyard Shift” Thus the person if alive was saved by the bell.

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