We use common sayings everyday without knowing their true meanings. Some of them are not at all like their true origins. I have found a few that have some strange or even humorous backgrounds. I was unable to authenticate the validity of a couple of these, but they still make interesting stories.

 

 Piss Poor - In the old days, urine was used to tan animal skins.  Families used to all pee in one pot and then once a day it was taken and sold to the local tannery. if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor". The people who couldn't even afford to buy a pot  were the ones who "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were considered lowest of the low.

   
Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water - Baths were taken in a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it.

It's raining cats and dogs - Houses had thatched roofs with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animal lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof.

Dirt poor - This referred to the floor of the house. Almost all floors were dirt. Only the wealthy could afford something other than dirt.

 

Bring Home The Bacon - If a person could obtain pork it would made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth and stature.

 

Rule Of Thumb - This has been said to come from the English law allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick as long as it was no thicker than his thumb. In 1782 Judge Sir Francis Buller is reported as having made this legal ruling.

Mind You P’s And Q’s - Ale was served at local taverns out of a tankard . You were charged by the angle of your elbow. If it was half way up you drank a pint, if your arm was straight out you drank a quart. Since the quart cost a lot more than the pint, you were told to "Mind your Ps & Qs"

 

Getting A Square Meal - Your dinner plate was a square piece of wood with a "bowl" carved out to hold your serving of the stew that was cooking over the fire. The kettle was never actually emptied and cleaned out. New ingredients were simply added to it.

 

Tie The Knot - This is also from the old marriage custom of actually tying the couple's hands together as part of the ceremony. According to legend, they were not allowed to untie it until they had consummated the marriage.

 

Getting You Goat - This apparently refers to an old English belief that keeping a goat in the barn would have a calming effect on the cows which would allow them to produce more milk. When one wanted to antagonize someone, you would run off with their goat which would make their cows less productive.

 

Frog In Your Throat - Medieval physicians believed that the secretions of a frog could cure a cough if they were coated on the throat of the patient. The frog was placed in the mouth of the unfortunate person and remained there until the physician decided that the treatment was complete.