Cliches and there origins.
Acid Test: This phrase derives from nitric acid was used to determine the purity of gold when it was used as currency in the days before coinage.
The Full Monty: This phrase derives from Field Marshall Montgomery’s insistence of a full English breakfast every morning.
Boxing Day: The day after Christmas derives from a 17th Century custom of servants recieving gratitudes from their masters collected in boxes.
Caught red handed: Derives from a murderer being caught with blood still oÂn their hands.
Let the cat out the bag: A country folk deception where they would substitute a cat for a suckling pig in a bag for sale at market; if the bag was opened the pig was revealed.
Throw the baby out with the bath water: When hot running water was not available the practice for bathing was in front of the fire first the man then the wife, then children and last the baby. By this time the water was so dirty that an immersed infant could not be seen. Hence the phrase.
Pay through the nose: Comes from a ninth century house tax imposed oÂn the Irish by the Danes, anyone who avoided paying their oÂnce of gold had their nose slit.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch: From a custom in 19th century bars in America who gave free snacks in the expectation of customers buying a drink.
Bite the Bullet: Comes from days before anaesetic, wounded soldiers were given a bullet to bite while being operated oÂn, so not to scream.
Battle of the Bulge: A phrase used to describe fighting putting oÂn wieght derives from 1944 when the German forces broke through Allied lines into Belgium, forming a bulge in defending Lines. This was known as The Battle of the Bulge.
