Word For Word : The History Of Famous Quotes & Sayings - Part 2

By Sean Lynch

We've learned where the "Piss Pot" came from, we've discovered why we "throw the baby out with the bath water" - but that is simply the tip of the iceberg.

Talk, talk, talk - it's all we ever do, but where do the words and phrases we say every day come from? Why do those familiar sayings exist?

Well, your worries are over - because we have all the answers you'll ever need. Are they 100% historically accurate? Perhaps not - but we can guarantee it will make you the life of the party at your next friends and family dinner. 

Small talk be damned, you're about to find out the secrets of the universe!

Phrase : "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old".

The Story :

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day.

Sometimes had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

Phrase : "Bring Home The Bacon"

The Story :

While obtaining pork these days is as easy as stumbling into the supermarket wearing tracky dacks - spare a thought to those of yesteryear. It was such a rare occourance, on the odd occasions families could obtain pork it made them feel quite special.

When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off - like a meaty flag. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "Bring home the bacon."

They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "Chew the Fat".

Mis-Communication : "Tomatoes considered poisonous".

The Story :

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

The Phrase : "The Upper Crust"

The Story :

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top - or the upper crust.

Tradition : "Holding a Wake"

The Story :

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes, as could be expected, knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.

Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

Phrase : "Dead Ringer"

The Story :

England, being as old and small as it is, ran into a spot of strife when the local folks started running out of places to bury their dead. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave.

When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive...

So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.

Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.