Where old sayings came from.

I all ways wondered where some of the sayings I heard growing up came from.
If the internet is not lying to me. I now know.

HISTORICAL  TRIVIA......

Did  you know the saying "God willing and the Creeks don't

rise" was in  reference  to the Creek Indians and not a body

of water?  It was written by  Benjamin  Hawkins in the late

18th century.  He was a politician and Indian   diplomat.

While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President

of  the  U.S. to return to Washington .  In his response, he

was said to  write, "God  willing and the Creeks don't

rise."  Because he capitalized  the word  "Creeks" it is

deduced that he was referring to the Creek Indian  tribe and

not a  body of water.

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In George  Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's

image was either sculpted or  painted.  Some paintings of

George Washington showed him  standing behind  a desk with

one arm behind his back while others showed both  legs and

both  arms.  Prices charged by painters were not based on

how many  people were  to be painted, but by how many limbs

were to be painted.  Arms and  legs  are 'limbs,' therefore

painting them would cost the buyer more.   Hence  the

expression, 'Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg.'

(Artists   know hands and arms are more difficult to paint)

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As incredible as it  sounds, men and women took baths only

twice a year  (May and October) Women  kept their hair

covered, while men shaved their heads  (because of lice and

bugs) and wore wigs.  Wealthy men could afford good  wigs

made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean

them they would  carve out a loaf of  bread, put the wig in

the shell, and bake it for 30  minutes.  The heat  would

make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term 'big  wig.. '

Today we often  use the term 'here comes the Big Wig'

because someone  appears to be or is  powerful and wealthy.

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In the late 1700's,  many houses consisted of a large room

with only one  chair. Commonly, a long  wide board folded

down from the wall, and was used  for dining. The 'head of

the household' always sat in the chair while  everyone else

ate sitting on the  floor.  Occasionally a guest, who was

usually a  man, would be invited to  sit in this chair

during a meal. To sit in the  chair meant you were important

and in charge.  They called the one sitting in  the chair

the 'chair man.'  Today in business, we use the expression

or title  'Chairman' or 'Chairman of  the Board.'

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Personal hygiene left  much room for improvement. As a

result, many women  and men had developed acne  scars by

adulthood. The women would spread bee's  wax over their

facial skin to  smooth out their complexions.  When they

were  speaking to each other, if  a woman began to stare at

another woman's face  she was told, 'mind your own  bee's

wax.'  Should the woman smile, the wax  would crack, hence

the term  'crack a smile'.  In addition, when they sat too

close to the fire, the  wax would melt . . . Therefore, the

expression  'losing face.'

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*Ladies wore corsets,  which would lace up in the front. A

proper and  dignified woman, as in  'straight laced' wore a

tightly tied lace.

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Common entertainment  included playing cards. However, there

was a tax  levied when purchasing  playing cards but only

applicable to the 'Ace of  Spades..'  To avoid  paying the

tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead.  Yet,  since

most  games require 52 cards, these people were thought to

be stupid  or dumb because  they weren't 'playing with a

full deck.'

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Early politicians  required feedback from the public to

determine what the  people considered  important. Since

there were no telephones, TV's or  radios, the politicians

sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars.

They were told  to 'go sip some Ale and listen to people's

conversations and  political  concerns. Many assistants were

dispatched at different times.   'You go  sip here' and 'You

go sip there.' The two words 'go sip' were  eventually

combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we

have the  term  'gossip.'

At local taverns,  pubs, and bars, people drank from pint

and quart-sized  containers. A bar  maid's job was to keep

an eye on the customers and keep  the drinks  coming.  She

had to pay close attention and remember who was  drinking in

'pints' and who was drinking in 'quarts,' hence the phrase

'minding  your 'P's  and Q's'.

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One more: bet you  didn't know this!

In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many

freighters carried  iron cannons. Those  cannons fired round

iron cannon balls.  It was  necessary to keep a good  supply

near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from  rolling

about the  deck?  The best storage method devised was a

square-based  pyramid with  one ball on top, resting on four

resting on nine, which  rested on  sixteen.  Thus, a supply

of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a  small  area right

next to the cannon.  There was only one problem...how to

prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under

the others. The   solution was a metal plate called a

'Monkey' with 16 round indentations.    However, if this

plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust

to   it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make

'Brass Monkeys.' Few  landlubbers realize that brass

contracts much more and much faster than iron   when

chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far,

the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs

would come  right  off the monkey; Thus, it was quite

literally, 'Cold enough to freeze the  balls  off a brass

monkey.' (All this time, you thought that was an  improper

expression, didn't you.)