Articles and Stories

January 17, 2013

Every language uses terms on a regular basis that do not make sense or that are so old that we do not remember where or how they originated; all we know is what they mean and when to use them. Did you know where these expressions came from?

SAVED BY THE BELL

When our ancestors realized that they were burying some people alive, they tied a string onto the "dead" person’s hand and then buried them. The string was then tied to a branch and a little bell was added. If the buried person revived enough to ring the bell, their survivors would rush out and dig them up. That is how they were "saved by the bell".

SON OF A GUN

After sailors had crossed the Atlantic to the West Indies, they would conquer native women and take them on board their ship and have their way with them between the cannons. Some of the women would give birth to boys, who were then called ‘sons between the guns’.

GIVING SOMEONE THE COLD SHOULDER

When guests would over stay their welcome as house guests, the hosts would not feed them good, warm meals but instead serve them the worst part of the animal, the shoulder, and would not even warm the meal, hence they were given the ‘cold shoulder’.

TO HAVE BLUE BLOOD

During the 8th to early 13th century, when the Arabs prevailed in Spain, the ruling Arab class differed from the indigenous northern Spanish noble class by their darker complexion. Since the noble Spanish Lords mainly stayed in the shade instead of working outdoors you could occasionally see their blue veins through their light skin, which led to the belief that their blood was blue.

TURNING THE TABLES

Long ago, tables only had one side that was smooth and finished, the other side was not polished but rather rough. When the family was alone, they would eat on the rough side to keep the good side nice for company. When company came, the whole top lifted off and was turned to its good side.

SAVING FACE OR LOSING FACE

The noble ladies and gentlemen of the late 1700s wore quite a bit of makeup to impress each other. Since they rarely bathed, the makeup would get thicker and thicker. If the noble ladies sat too close to a fireplace, the makeup would start to melt and run down their faces. If that happened, a servant would move a screen in front of the fireplace to block the heat, so they wouldn’t "lose face."