Download - Engilsh- Proverbs and Origin
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Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Bride
This phrase, surprisingly, was used to sell Listerine mouthwash! To promote
their product, the manufacturers of Listerine employed the personal
experience of girls at the time, who desperately wanted to settle down but
seemed always to be left on the shelf. irst used in the "#$%s, it portrays a
situation and a possible explanation for the lac& of success these girls had.
'ere is the transcript of the ad(
)oor *dna was getting on for thirty and most of her girlfriends were either
already married, or about to tie the ¬. 'ow she wished that, instead of
being their bridesmaid, she could be the bride! 'owever, any romance of hers
invariably ended +uic&ly. There was a reason. nbe&nownst to her, she
suffered from bad breath and no one would tell her, not ever her closest
friends. The advertisement sold millions of bottles of mouthwash and also
gave the *nglish language a new saying!
9Bar& up the wrong tree
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-riginating bac& when hunting was still a maor sport, this phrase came from
when animals were used to trac&, catch or retrieve prey. This applies, not
least, to dogs. /ogs were used in the chasing of raccoons, which was chiefly
underta&en at night and were trained to indicate the tree in which the animal
had ta&en refuge by bar&ing at it. -f course, even dogs can err and, at times,
bar&ed up the wrong tree.
8Be on a good footing
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A pleasant relationship with other people, not least those in a superior
position, is portrayed as being 0on a good footing% with them. There are two
thoughts as to where this saying came from. 1ome say the phrase goes bac&
to a practice of early apprenticeships. 2t was the custom, on the first day at
wor&, for apprentices to invite all their wor&mates for drin&s. The newapprentice 0footed the bill%. 2f proved a generous host, he made friends for
&eeps. The hospitality would never be forgotten. 3ecalling how much it had
cost, it was said the novice gained 0a good footing%. A second derivation lin&s
the phrase with an early and bi4arre interpretation of human anatomy, the
importance given to the length of one of a person%s digits. At one time, the
dimension of the middle toes determined a person%s 0standing% in the
community. Thus, the measurement of their foot decided their status in the
eyes of others. Those whom nature and genes had endowed with large feet
were luc&y to be 0on a good footing%. /raw your own conclusions on this one!
7Beat around the bush
1omeone who doesn%t get to the point is said to 0beat around the bush%. Theorigin of this phrase is, undoubtedly, from hunting, and more specifically from
the hunting of boars. A ferocious animal, it often hid in the undergrowth and
beaters were employed and ordered to go straight in to chase it out. But very
much aware, and afraid, of the animals% sharp tus&s, they much preferred to
merely 0beat around the bush% a practice strongly disapproved of by their
masters.
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6Best foot forward
5hen you are trying to ma&e a good impression it is said that you should put
your 0best foot forward%. There are many options as to where this phrase came
from, one being that it was believed that 0the left% was the realm of the devil, ofevil and misfortune. After all the Latin word sinister means left, and in *nglish
sinister has &ept its ominous meaning. 'ence, it was advisable to &eep the left
foot behind and step forward with the best, the right, foot first.
But this phrase seems to have come from the fashion world, rather than the
occult. The saying can be traced to male vanity, particularly apparent in the
late eighteenth century, the period of the dandy. 'is desire to attract people%s
attention and admiration too& strange and elaborate forms. At the time, people
imagined that their two legs differed in shape and that 0normally% one wasmore becoming than the other. To draw attention to it they &ept the worse one
in the bac&ground, literally putting 0their best foot forward%, and with it, of
course, their leg.
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)eople who waver in their opinions and +uic&ly change from being
enthusiastic to showing disinterest are said to 0blow hot and cold%. The saying
can be traced to one of Aesop%s ables. 2t was a cold winter%s day, and the
free4ing traveler was blowing on his stiff fingers. 9ystified, a satyr wanted to
&now what he was doing. The man explained to him that, with his breath, he
was warming his chilled fingers. Ta&ing pity on him, the satyr invited the man
to his home for a hot meal. This time, he watched him blowing on the food,
which intrigued him all the more. 2n+uiring why he did so, his guest explained
that he was blowing on the stew to cool it down. There and then the satyr told
the traveler to leave at once. 'e was not prepared to entertain, or even mix
with, someone who could 0blow hot and cold from the same mouth%.
3Brea& a leg
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To wish an actor prior to his going on stage to 0brea& a leg% is a well:&nown
practice. A pretty strange wish, actually it is meant magically to bring him luc&
and ma&e sure that his performance will be a success. rom the superstitious
age it was thought that ealous forces, always present, are only too anxious to
spoil any venture. A good luc& wish would alert and provo&e them to do their
evil wor&, whilst a curse will ma&e them turn their attention elsewhere. The
underlying principle is the belief that if you wish evil, then good will come. 2%m
sure it%s called reverse psychology these days.
2Bury the hatchet
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To bury the hatchet means to create peace. 5ith hostilities at an end, the
hatchet was no longer needed, and therefore could be disposed of. Now a
merely figurative expression, the phrase is based on an actual practice of
North American 2ndians. 5hen negotiating peace, they buried all their
weapons; their tomahaw&s, scalping &nives and clubs. Apart from showing
their good faith, simultaneously it made it impossible for them to go on
fighting.
1By hoo& or by croo&
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The achievement of a goal with determination, by fair means or foul, is
described as getting things done 0by hoo& or by croo&%. The origin of this
phrase is lin&ed with an early British practice, at a time when forests were still
the exclusive property of royalty. or any unauthori4ed commoner, then, to
gather firewood in them was a crime, poor people being the only exception.
Though they were not permitted to cut or saw off branches, they were free to
remove withered timber from the ground or even a tree, doing so by means of
either a hoo& or a croo&.