"Silk and satins put out the kitchen fire"
I thought "What the heck does that mean?" Usually I can come up with my own warped and usually wrong idea, but that one had me stumped so I looked it up and here's what the lesson is:
Its one of Benjamin Franklin's many Proverbs that relates to overspend, spend all your money on Silks and satins, scarlet and velvet and you wont have any money for the essentials like food and heating.
So that started me thinking of some of the other proverbs that spew out of my mouth and where they originated from such as:
"Get one's Goat"
A 20th century Americanism said to have originated in the practice of stabling a goat as a soothing mascot with a highly strung Thoroughbred racehorse. The horse could be made fractious and prevented from winning if it's goat was taken away unscrupulously.
"Chip on one's shoulder"
From a custom originating in the USA, but also known in Canada, in which a person who was looking for a fight carried a chip of wood on his shoulder and invited people to knock it off: anyone who did so agreeing to a fight.
I think it's interesting the sayings that have been passed down through our parents and their parents and new ones we pick up from others. And I have more I ponder, believe me. :)
What are some of the ones you say and do you know where they originated from?
Peggy
5 comments:
haha! there are a lot of things people say that seem to have no meaning. I had never heard the 'silk and satin' one...i thought it meant that a little lovin' could stop a fight between spouses!! oops...good thing i never tried to use that saying! :)
That one still makes no sense to me Jen! ha!
I always say "Good Gravy!" and I have my own ideas on how that one started. :)
I say these things, have my own interpretations, and never wonder what I'm really saying or how it began. LOL
Now, maybe I don't want to know because I'll feel stupid! No, don't say it, gg. :0)
I have things I say,no idea what they mean or where they come from. Just fun to say them I guess!
And like Pepper, don't think I want to know, and for the same reason. : )
LOL! good one gg :)
I'm sure there are some that I use, but just can't think of them at the moment.
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