Bet you didn't know all of these.

1. Shot of Whiskey

In the old west a .45 cartridge for a six-gun cost 12 cents and so did a glass of whiskey.

If a cowhand was low on cash, he would often give the bartender a cartridge in exchange for a drink. This became known as a "shot" of whiskey.

2. The Whole Nine Yards

American fighter planes in WW II had machine guns that were fed by a belt of cartridges.

The average plane held belts that were 27 feet (9 yards) long. If the pilot used up all his ammo, he was said to have given it the whole nine yards.

3. Buying the Farm

This is synonymous with dying. During WW I, soldiers were given life insurance policies worth $5,000.

This was about the price of an average farm so if you died you "bought the farm" for your survivors.

4. Iron-Clad Contract

This came about from the iron-clad ships of the Civil War.

It meant something so strong it could not be broken.

5. Passing the Buck/The Buck Stops Here

Most men in the early west carried a jackknife made by the Buck Knife company. When playing poker it was common to place one of these Buck knives in front of the dealer so that everyone knew who he was. When it was time for a new dealer, the deck of cards and the knife were given to the new dealer. If this person didn't want to deal, he would "pass the buck" to the next player. If that player accepted then "the buck stopped there".

6. Riff Raff 

The Mississippi River was the main way of traveling from the north to the south. Riverboats carried passengers and freight but they were expensive so most people used rafts. Everything had the right of way over rafts which were considered cheap. The steering oar on the rafts was called a "riff" and this transposed into riff-raft - riff-raff, meaning low class.

7. Cobweb

The Old English word for "spider" was "cob" which is how the word "cobweb" came into usage.

8. Ships' State Rooms

Traveling by steamboat was considered the height of comfort. Passenger cabins on the boats were not numbered. Instead, they were named after states. To this day cabins on ships are called staterooms.

9. Barge In

Heavy freight was moved along the Mississippi in large barges pushed by steamboats. These were hard to control and would sometimes swing into piers or other boats. People would say they "barged in".

10. Curfew

The word "curfew" comes from the French phrase "couvre-feu", which means "cover the fire". It was used to describe the time of blowing out all lamps and candles before sleeping for the night. It was later adopted into Middle English as "curfeu", which later became the modern "curfew". In the early American colonies' homes had no real fireplaces so a fire was built in the center of the room. In order to make sure a fire did not get out of control during the night it was required that, by an agreed upon time, all fires would be covered with a clay pot called a "curfew".

Tailpiece.

Got up at a quarter to 7, the chores and was ready by a trifle after 10. 

A quiet Sunday.

Pushpaakaran, the farmhand, had come by after 5 to trim the coconut tree in our courtyard. About 10 leaves had to be chopped off; now there's plenty of light around the tree. Watched "India's best dancer" on television, in the evening.