Skip to page content |

Tiscali Quicklinks. Please visit our Accessibility Page for a list of the Access Keys you can use to find your way around the site, skip directly to the main navigation, to the page content, or to more links within lifestyle.

Advertisement starts

Advertisement ends

Content Starts Here

Do you know what you're saying?

Do you know what you're saying?

We all use phrases such as 'a bakers dozen', 'as mad as a hatter' and 'the bee's knees' in every day speech but what do they really mean?

What are the real meanings behind the following phrases? Try our quiz and find out.

 

Do you know the origin of these famous phrases?

Q1) Chip on his shoulder

Is taken from the nineteenth century US practise of spoiling for a fight by carrying a chip of wood on one's shoulder, daring others to knock it off

The phrase was given to those whose shoulder was knocked when jousting

Joseph Malin opened the first fish and chip shop in Cleveland Street, London in 1860. To mark the occasion, there was a chip fight and the phrase was coined from this


Q2) Hear Hear

Town criers walking through the streets of London would shout 'hear hear' to get the attention of the public

Originated in the British parliament in the 18th century as a contraction of 'hear him, hear him'

Queen Elizabeth I was famous for ranting at her advisors demanding that they 'hear hear' her


Q3) Bakers Dozen

In the Middle Ages in England there were severe penalties for anyone who gave short weight. Bakers were often uneducated and unable to count. To guard against miscounting twelve as eleven they habitually gave thirteen loaves when selling a dozen

There were always 12 bakers in a kitchen and the thirteenth was a woman making 13

The term was given to a family who lived in Barnstaple, Devon in the 17th century. The twelve members of the Baker family who were well known in the area were commonly known as the Bakers dozen


Q4) Eaten out of house and home

In the famous nursery rhyme, Old Mother Hubbard was eaten out of house and home

The three bears were eaten out of house and home when Goldilocks came in and ate their porridge

Is taken from Shakespeare's Henry V Part2. 'He hath eaten me out of house and home'


Q5) Salt of the earth

Refers to Salt Lake City in Utah, USA

Ye are the salt of the earth..." (Matthew, 5:13)

Salt 'is' of the earth because it arrives on our planet from outer space in meteors


Q6) In one fell swoop

Swoop is the word given by those who study whale behaviour for the way in which a blue whale engulfs plankton in one sitting

Fell derives from Latin meaning 'cruel'. Shakespeare coined the phrase 'one fell swoop' in MacBeth

The term 'felling' was shortened to fell and swoop was the shorten word for the sound a cyth makes when it cuts


Q7) Frog in your throat

Medieval physicians believed that putting a frog in the mouth of a patient could cure their cough

The acid frog from South America has a sound like someone clearing their throat

In the aboriginal 'dream time' an animal is chosen as a spiritual guide to each child. For them, it is the frog that governs the throat area.


Q8) As mad as a hatter

Hatters used to use mercury in the making of hats. This affected their nervous systems and, because of the tremors they experienced, they were labelled as mad

'Hatting' came from Danbury, USA and was the hat capital of the world. And it was a known fact that the founder, Zadoc Benedict, was insane hence the phrase as mad as a hatter

In medieval times, those who were ill with the flu or a cold were often made to wear hats as it was thought their germs would stay in the body and not escape and contaminate others


Q9) An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth

Bedouins relied on the exchange of goods with passing tribes. Goods of a similar value were refered to by the tribes as exchanging eyes and teeth

When Egyptian royalty were buried a servant had to offer one of their own eyes and a tooth so that the person being buried would be able to see and eat in the after-life

Used in The Bible, Matthew 5:38. 'Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth'


Q10) The bee's knees

When the queen bee of a nest emerges all bees from the same nest lean towards her and appear to be on their knees

When bees fight they use their knees, the bees who emerge victorious from the fight become the leaders

Bees carry pollen back to the hive in sacs on their legs. The allusion is to the concentrated goodness to be found around the bee's knee


 
 
Dictionary search
Search for:


Partner Compatibility
Are you a match made in heaven?

 
 
Top Products
 
 
NEW Brain Teaser
Try our second Mensa brain teaser - can you beat our champion?

Advertisement starts

Advertisement ends

More Links Within This Section

-->
lifestyle

Page Footer

print now Print now send to a friend Send to a friend related articles Related articles related products Related products

Check shares

Check shares
Look up latest prices
more...

Best Loans

Best Loans
Search for the best rate.
more...

Dating

Dating
Find the love of your life
more...

TV guide

TV Guide
What's on the box?
more...
| Advertise | Press | Work at Tiscali | Site Map | Service Status | Help | Contact Us
© Tiscali 2008
IT | NET | SERVICES
. . . .