So that's how that cliche came to be!

[eefanincan]

I came across these and thought they would fit perfectly in our new history section. Feel free to add any that you find!

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Did you ever wonder where some of the old clichés came from?
Here are some facts about Europe in the 1500s:

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children-last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."
And that's the truth...

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake."

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence, the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house, which posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could really mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying "dirt poor."

The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a "thresh hold."

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man "could bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning and death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust."

[faceless]

[Skylace]

SPEND A PENNY

This refers to the use of coin operated locks on public toilets. It was used mostly in the UK and mostly by women (men's urinals were free of charge).

Such locks were first introduced, at a public toilet outside the Royal Exchange, London, in the 1850s. The term itself is later though. The first recorded citation of it is in H. Lewis's Strange Story, 1945:

"'Us girls,' she said, 'are going to spend a penny!'"
_________

I don't know about men's being free of charge because when we were there at Liverpool Street Station everyone had to spend a penny, male or female! (Well actually spend 20p )

[eefanincan]

[Skylace]

That's honestly the only place I saw one but I was quite surprised!

[eefanincan]

Good to know.... I thought I was going to have to be on a fluid restriction for my trip!

[Skylace]

Nope! But just in case, take a bottle

[SpursFan1902]

It's the same at Waterloo Station. I think only the big stations where the tube and trains meet. I usally don't mind spending the 20p 'cause that means that the loo is watched and clean, but they do need to make the turnstyle a little bigger...maybe since I am getting smaller, it won't make any difference.

[SpursFan1902]

Another one is "Mind your P's and Q's" In Medieval times and before, ale was served in Pints and Quarts, much the same as Pints and Halfs today. Barkeeps would tell punters to mind their pints and quarts, meaning not to drink to much...

Also "Cash on the Barrel" Not sure what time period this is from, but most market busines was done over an empty barrel so that money could be laid out, examined and counted.

[eefanincan]

I always wondered about the P's & Q's saying....... thanks for the info!

I believe (but not sure) that the Cash on the Barrel saying began sometime in the 19th century, but I've got nothing to back that up.

[SpursFan1902]