Friday afternoon class

I've been thinking of this post for a while.

I decided to do a little research on the net to find the orgin of some common phrases and share them amonst the lodge.

For Example

"Dead as a Doornail"
Where the hell does this come from?

Well is actually from William Shakespeare
Shakespeare used it in King Henry VI.

CADE:

Brave thee! ay, by the best blood that ever was
broached, and beard thee too. Look on me well: I
have eat no meat these five days; yet, come thou and
thy five men, and if I do not leave you all as dead
as a doornail, I pray God I may never eat grass more.

Door-nails are the large-headed studs that were used in earlier times for strength and more recently as decoration. The practise was to hammer the nail through and then bend over the protruding end to secure it. This process, similar to riveting, was called clenching. This may be the source of the 'deadness', as such a nail would be unusable afterwards.

So here we go



Professor Goose Teaches the Origins of Common Phrases
(That way some of you morons learn something other than the ins and outs of Serenity...Bringing a little culture and education to the lodge)



"Put a sock in it"
Early gramophones had no volume controls. To play them more quietly you would need to put a sock into the trumpet

"Read the riot act "
In English law the control of unruly citizens was the responsibility of local magistrates. If more than twelve people didn't disperse after the Riot Act was read to them the magistrate could order their arrest. No longer applies in law as the 1715 Riot Act was superseded by the 1986 Public Order Act

"Straight from the horse's mouth"
In horse racing circles tips on which horse is a likely winner circulate amongst punters. The most trusted authorities are considered to be those in closest touch with the recent form of the horse, i.e. stable lads, trainers etc. The notional 'from the horse's mouth' is supposed to indicate one step better than even that inner circle.

"Cut the mustard"
Around the turn of the 20th century mustard became popular and the best stuff became synonymous with quality. 'Up to mustard' or just 'mustard' meant good quality in the same way as 'up to snuff'. Cutting the mustard is just a variant of the same notion.


"A man after my own heart"
From the Bible
1 Samuel 13:14: But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

Acts 13:22: And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.


"To cast the first stone"
From the Bible. John 8:7. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

"The best laid schemes of mice and men"
From Robert Burns' poem 'To a Mouse', 1786. It tells of how he, while ploughing a field, upturned a mouse's nest. The resulting poem is an apology to the mouse and goes on to say that 'the best laid schemes o'mice an'men, Gang aft a-gley'.


Hopefully everyone learned a little something on a Friday Afternoon.

Class dismissed.