common sayings. WTF do they mean?

[gtp1976]

I know them. You know them. I use them. When I hear them, I know what they are saying, but only because I have heard them so many times. But do you ever stop and think, "who was the first person to say this and where in the blue hell did it come from?"

An example. Three sheets to the wind. This person is intoxicated, but 3 sheets to the wind? WTF does that mean?

The shit will hit the fan. Basically a variation of all hell will break loose (which actually makes sense) but the shit will hit the fan? WTF?

These are two that immediately came to mind, but I'm sure there are dozens of examples.

[annabanana]

1. Three sheets to the wind..

If you are sailing (which a lot of people used to do) and you have three sheets (sails) to the wind..you absolutely CANNOT steer that thing.

(I am having lunch, so I will not speculate on the other one right now)

[Richardo]

2. The original was 'three sheets IN the wind'

A sheet is not the sail, but the line holding the sail. If three sheets were (loose) in the wind, the boat is unsteerable and lurches all over the place.

[annabanana]

13. thanks! (I knew it was SOMEthing like that)

I knew a sailor would provide the corrections necessary!

[Worst Username Ever]

3. "The whole nine yards"

Meaning, to go all-out. In WW2, fighter pilots had belt ammunition that was 27 feet long, or nine yards. If you gave a target everything you had, and used all you ammo, you were said to have given it "the whole nine yards."

[gtp1976]

5. I actually knew that one

but so far this is cool. :-) Throw out some more of these folks. Interesting reading.

[TlalocW]

12. I heard that one actually was about concrete

How concrete mixers used to hold nine cubic yards.

TlalocW

[annabanana]

16. I thought it was "soft goods" from the 1800's

Fabric came in 9 yard bolts.. If you needed nearly nine, you'd take "the whole nine yards"

[LynzM]

31. That's the one I've heard...

Interesting, how many theories there are!

[dean_dem]

4. Well, try to picture in your mind shit hitting the fan...

It makes sense to me.

[trof]

24. It was the punchline to an old joke.

About third grade level.
Something about a monkey with a plug up his butt, I think.
When the monkey's internal pressure reached critical mass, or whatever, he happened to be standing in front of a fan when the plug blew.
All I really remember is the punchline:
"There you stand, all spick and span.
Where wuz you when the shit hit the fan?"

[jdots]

6. I have a book somewhere that explains these sayings

don't make me search for it you meany ! the 3 sheets thing is about sailers or doing laundry when you're drunk.The shit hitting the fan might be about some celebrity punching out a stalker.

[laheina]

10. tee-hee!

"The shit hitting the fan might be about some celebrity punching out a stalker."

funny as hell!

[rock]

7. Try a really hard one

"Kick the bucket."

[gtp1976]

8. good one

at least "pushing up daisies" makes sense. :-)

[Richardo]

9. or "Buy the Farm"

[TlalocW]

17. That comes from World War I

According to one book on sayings - a lot of the GIs would talk about how they'd like to get the war over with and go home and buy a farm and start a family. If one of them was killed, he bought the farm because he was at peace.

TlalocW

[trof]

22. An ironic saying. His "farm" was about 3'X6'X6'deep.

His grave was his farm.

[annabanana]

18. my guess... insurance policies during the depression

thwarting eviction..(not very funny though)

[txaslftist]

19. Old, old one...

Families of Roman soldiers used to be awarded a plot of land if they died, or at least that's how it was explained to me.

[TlalocW]

20. I never heard that, but Romans bring up another saying

Not worth his salt.

Part of a Roman soldiers salary was salt. If the soldier wasn't pulling his weight, he wasn't worth his salt.

In fact, salary is from salarium, which comes from the Latin for salt.

TlalocW

[AllegroRondo]

11. i believe that has to do with milking cows

and if the cow 'kicked the bucket' you lost everything you worked for.

[meow2u3]

15. "Kick the bucket" originated from dairy farming

When people milked cows regularly, they put a bucket under her utters to collect the milk and kept it there. When the cow keeled over and died, she kicked the bucket.

[TlalocW]

14. I always liked "Dressed to the nines"

It's a corruption of an olde English saying of, "Dressed to thine eyes," meaning that a woman has gussied herself up including make-up on the eyes.

TlalocW

[Historic NY]

21. Lock, stock & barrel..................

meaning you want all the parts of a musket. It wouldn't work unless all the parts were there.

[trof]

23. Mind your ps and qs.

There is a story about it having to do with pints and quarts in a pub.
Totally made up.
It refers to the now defunct job of hand setting printing type.
I took a typesetting course in journalism school many years ago.
You learn to read upside-down and backwards because that's how the individual pieces of type are arranged in their fonts, the little boxes they are stored in.
(See where THAT word comes from?)
All of the type pieces are cast backwards so they will print correctly.
So...a "p" looks exactly like a "q", and vice versa.
The most common mistake in typesetting was to confuse the two.

[Worst Username Ever]

29. That is really cool.

[MrModerate]

25. "He knows Shit from Shinola"

This one made the rounds here recently.

Shinola was a brand of shoe polish (no longer made). Shit is a brand of . . . well . . . shit.

Knowing the difference is important in everyday life.

[calico1]

26. "Close but no cigar."

Comes from some early U.S. slot machines that gave cigars as prizes.

[terrya]

27. "One in the hand is worth two in the bush" - wtf??

I've never understood what that means. :shrug:

[MrModerate]

28. Generally "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"

Translation: better to have a firm grasp on a desirable thing than the chance to get more (that might elude you).

But you knew that.

[gtp1976]

30. got any more? n/t

[Merope215]

32. My two favorites...

"Went off like a well-hit 3-wood in a shower stall" (something my dad always says about people flipping out...I'd really like to know where that comes from!)

and

"Come-to-Jesus meeting" (a Southern phrase, as in, "I found Jimmy smoking weed again yesterday. It's time for us to have a little come-to-Jesus meeting")

[DU GrovelBot]

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