Thursday, July 12, 2018

Strange but true.

1. In the 1400s a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have 'the rule of thumb/thumb rule'.

2. Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled 'Gentlemen only.....Ladies Forbidden'.....and thus the word Golf entered into the English language. That the game is now very popular with the women, a welcome change, notwithstanding!

3. In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase.......'Good Night, sleep tight'.

4. It was the accepted practice in Babylon, 4000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the 'honeymoon'.

5. In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts.....So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them, 'Mind your pints and quarts' and settle down. It's where we get the phrase 'Mind your Ps and Qs".

6. Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. 'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by the practice.

7. In 1696, William III of England introduced a property tax that required those living in houses with more than six windows to pay a levy. In order to avoid the tax, house owners would brick up all windows except six(The Window Tax lasted until 1851 and older houses with bricked up windows are still a common sight in the UK). As the bricked up windows prevented some rooms from receiving any sunlight, the tax was referred to as 'daylight robbery'.

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One interesting word in English.

Oxymoron.

It is defined as a phrase in which two words of opposite meanings are brought together........Here are some funny oxymorons:-

     (a) Clearly Misunderstood.
     (b) Exact Estimate.
     (c) Small Crowd.
     (d) Act Naturally.
     (e) Found Missing.
     (f) Fully Empty.
     (g) Pretty Ugly.
     (h) Seriously Funny.
     (j)  Only Choice.
     (k) Original Copies.

And some people say the Mother of all Oxymorons is:-

     (l) "Happily Married".


Tailpiece.

There's a break in the continuous rains this morning. Had almost forgotten what a sunny morning looked like!

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