IT’S IDIOMATIC

 

IT’S IDIOMATIC

 

One man’s interpretation of a few common idiomatic expressions:

 

1-Bite the bullet – Doctors in olden days had no anesthesia, so they told an injured soldier to bite a bullet, when they were operated on.

Tastes like metal! Ich!

2-Cat got your tongue? – English navy; cat-o-nine-tails. Severe pain from flogging caused victim to stay silent.

In what way can one get a cat’s tongue?

3-Break the ice – ships in the past could get stuck in the ice.

If one breaks the ice, one gets very wet and cold and could drown!

4-Butter someone up – In old India, the devout threw butter balls at statues of gods to seek favor or forgiveness.

Anyone would protest if they were smeared with butter.

 

 

 

5-Mad as a hatter – 17^th& 18^thcentury – Mercury used to make felt hats (Mad Hatters Disease”)

I never met a hatter. If I did, how would I know he’s mad?

6-Turn a blind eye – Horatio Nelson was blind in one eye. Held telescope up to his bad eye and stated he could not see the signal.

Personally, I’d use my good eye to peer through a telescope.

7-Bury the hatchet – Puritans and Indians negotiated peace by burying arms in an inaccessible place.

Why would one do that? The hatchet would just get rusty.

8-Caught red-handed – Could not convict anyone for killing another person’s animal unless the animal’s blood was still on one’s hands.

Why would anyone want anything to do with a person with blood on his hands?

 

 

 

9-Give a cold shoulder – Old English custom. Give a guest a cold piece of shoulder meat of an animal as a polite way to tell the guest to leave.

If one’s shoulders are cold, give him a scarf.

10-Go the whole nine yards – WW II fighter pilots received nine yards of ammo. If they ran out of ammo, it showed they did their best.

You need ten yards for a first down.

11-Rub the wrong way – In colonial America servants had to rub oak floors in a certain way; if they rubbed the wrong way, it left streaks.

Is there a wrong way to rub something or someone?

12-Let one’s hair down – Medieval aristocratic women appeared in public with their hair pulled up. At home they let their hair down and relaxed.

What if you are bald?