Going a day without hearing an old saying, idiom or slang term is pretty hard, because the English language is full of them and we Americans love them.
But we don’t typically know (or even consider) where the countless phrases and words came from that make up our vast collection of the stuff. Here’s another look at where a handful of common examples might have originated. The first four have multiple possibilities.
• Tie the knot
Everyone knows the phrase means to get married. It has likely been around since the 13 th century or earlier, and there are several possibilities of its origin.
1. Before the invention of metal-sprung bedframes, nets of knotted rope supported beds. So making a marriage bed meant having to tie the knot.
2. A Celtic marriage ritual of “handfasting” involved the hands of the bride and groom being tied together for a marriage “contract” of one year plus one day, so the newlyweds had to stay together that long before the marriage was deemed “legal.”
3. In Roman times, a bride’s girdle was tied in knots on the wedding day and the groom had to untie the knots prior to consummating the marriage.
• Kick the bucket.
Obviously, this well-known phrase means to die. Where it came from is a bit unclear, but there are three pretty viable possibilities.
1. As a way of committing suicide, a person might stand on a pail or bucket with their head in a slip noose and kick the bucket to hang from the tree or other object.
2. The word “bucket” was sometimes (oddly) used to describe a beam from which a pig was hung by its feet prior to being slaughtered. As the pig thrashed around, it would inevitably kick the bucket.
3. A Catholic ritual after a person’s death involved having the body laid out with a “holy-water” bucket placed at its feet. When a family member or friend came to pray, they would sprinkle the body with water from the bucket.
• Rhubarb.
While rhubarb is a vegetable sometimes used by grandma to make pie, it’s also a term known to mean a fight or scuffle. A couple of possibilities stand out with regard to the origin of that slang version.
1. A “rhubarb” is baseball slang for a fight or argument among players and/or umpires. The term was popularized by renowned broadcaster Red Barber, who apparently got it after sportswriter Garry Schumacher coined the term in 1938. Schumacher said he liked the term because “it suggested an untidy mess, a disheveled tangle of loose ends like the fibers of stewed rhubarb.” Schumacher claimed to have used the word in the press box of a Dodgers-Reds game and Barber overheard and subsequently used it on the radio.
2. Another possibility is that years ago rhubarb was often used as a laxative and mothers would force their children to eat it – even more than once a day. Children in a Brooklyn neighborhood were said to frequently be sent outside with rhubarb sandwiches, which became objects thrown back and forth in fights.
• Leg up.
What’s widely understood about this phrase is that when you have a leg up on someone, you have an advantage. How it began is debatable, but here are some choices.
1. In foot racing, getting a leg up at the start of the race literally gives an edge.
2. In equestrian jargon, the phrase refers to receiving help in mounting a horse. The helper would create a foothold by cupping the hands to heft the rider upward, throwing a leg up and over the steed.
• Lose (or lost) your marbles.
Certainly recognizable as meaning going crazy or losing your mind, the saying probably began in the U.S. in the late 1800s.
Marbles were popular and important toys back then, but the word was also used to refer to peoples’ belongings, which also carry a great deal of importance. There’s a strong possibility it was also eventually associated with a person’s mind, wits or common sense – which are undoubtedly important, too.
• With flying colors.
There are several variations of this phase (including “come through with flying colors,” “pass with flying colors” and others), but any way it’s said we all know it means to meet or exceed expectations, or to perform in more than just an adequate manner.
Its origin can be traced to the days when large sailing ships were commonplace. If a fleet of warships returned to port victorious, they would do so with flags flying high and prominently. Conversely, defeated ships (if not sunk) would limp back with colors down.
Also true was that when sailing ships passed each other ships at sea, they would fly their colors (flags) if they wanted to be identified.
• On the double.
As we all know, doing something this way means doing it fast, or faster.
It’s an old military expression, still used by many a drill sergeant to get his soldiers to quicken their pace.
But long ago, drums were utilized on ships to summon sailors to their battle stations.
If the drumbeat was doubled, all hands understood that conveyed an increased urgency.
What can you say? This stuff is simply fascinating and there’s never a shortage of it.
Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. His columns are posted online at www.houstonherald.com. Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.