The Secret Origins To 13 Popular Sayings

13 Common Sayings And Their Secret Origins

Ever hear a common phrase and wonder where it originated? Well, that’s what we’re here for. Here are 13 common phrases we hear all the time but may not know where they started. Take a look and learn a little bit for the day.

More _____ Than You Can Shake A Stick At – When farmers wanted to control sheep, they’d use a stick to corral them. But if there were too many, it would be more than you could shake a stick at.

Kick The Bucket – Cows were put on pulleys when they were slaughtered and the butcher would place a bucket by the cow’s feet. Sometimes the cow would kick the bucket before it died. Boom.

Jaywalking – Sometimes disoriented jaybirds would wander into the streets and disrupt traffic. Thus, jaywalking.

Cold Shoulder – In Medieval times, giving a guest a cold piece of meat – like a shoulder – was a nice gesture signaling the end of the meeting. But it turned around to be negative these days.

Caught Redhanded – In order to get convicted of stealing meat, you had to get caught with blood on your hands. Thus, getting caught red-handed.

Bite The Bullet – Back in the day, for emergency surgeries in battle, people were encouraged to bite the bullet to deal with the pain.

Break The Ice – It doesn’t have anything to do with Ice Cube, unfortunately. But small ships would be sent out to break sheets of ice and make way for bigger ships. So in order for a job to start, you’d need to break the ice.

Butter You Up – In ancient times, people would throw butter at statues of deities to show appreciation.

Cat Got Your Tongue – Liars would get their tongues cut out and fed to cats. So, yeah, cats have their tongues.

Pleased As Punch – A 17th century puppy show called Punch and Judy focused on a guy named Punch who killed people and was happy. Sort of morbid, no?

Rule Of Thumb – Old laws stated that a man could hit his wife with a stick as long as it wasn’t as wide as his thumb. Cold world.

Saved By The Bell – So people used to get buried alive all the time for whatever reason, so it was common for people to want a casket with a string attached to their thumbs so they could ring a bell in case they were buried alive and needed help.