15 Idiom Origins

Mar 24, 2016 6:09 AM

Ugleh

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90898

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4164

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133

Sorry about all the spelling mistakes in most of these, Photoshop lag (I swear)

I forgot the mention that the reason why back-handed = left is because a back-hand swing in tennis would make you hit the ball on your left side, if you where a right handed tennis player (which the majority is)

Hey guys, thanks for reading my first TMYK album. Let me know if you want more... not more idioms because I don't know anymore, but maybe more TMYK stuff.

I whas amused.

10 years ago | Likes 15 Dislikes 1

Also "Never look a gift horse in the mouth". You've been given a horse. Don't insult the giver by checking its age... it's a free horse!

10 years ago | Likes 27 Dislikes 0

Where is used to ask for a location. Were is the past tense of to be. Seriously...

10 years ago | Likes 15 Dislikes 0

At least I know some of these are indeed correct

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

I enjoyed

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Soften fooled eh

10 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 1

Pretty sure a cat and a pig in a bag would sound pretty different than each other.

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Funny seeing you around this neck of the woods - neck was a measurement of land like acre

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

I'm just here for the Duckhunt thumbnail.

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Former English teacher here. Many of these are 100% wrong, but get repeated often enough to seem true after superficial research.

10 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

I dont believe in this shit, believe me.

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

TIL if u vape u fake

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

"Keep your eyes peeled". Anyone know where that phrase originated!

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

The spelling was "close, but no cigar"

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Blaming Photoshop for your shitty spelling is a new low.

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

'Where', fucking 'where'. My brain hurts reading these...

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

#3 the origin is disputed I think. It's also been linked to the idea of sailors being flogged with a cat o' nine tails

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Oh come on! You had 3 chances with "where" how are these words fucked up so often??

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Pretty interesting, didn't know most of these.

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

"blowing smoke", is actually a reference to "blowing smoke up your ass" which is a commentary on how native americans used to believe that

10 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

People used to think a tobacco enema could save you for drowning https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_smoke_enema

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

blowing tobacco smoke could heal ones afflictions.

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Pretty interesting, but you really might want to doublecheck your spelling.

10 years ago | Likes 15 Dislikes 4

While making them I would notice PS text tool skipping letters I knew I typed. I figured it was lag. I fixed what I caught but some I didn't

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 4

Well anytime you meant to use 'were' you used 'where' so I'm calling bs

10 years ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 1

More please.

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

"Close but no cigar" was specifically from a game called a high striker. If you hit it right, you rang the bell and won a cigar. If not...

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Also don't look a gift horse in the mouth is relevant for the horse one

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Yes! Meaning "If you get a free gift, don't complain about the quality."

10 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

The point of no return one was so badly worded it made me question my sanity

10 years ago | Likes 111 Dislikes 2

where were that one? or should I say were where that one?

10 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 1

AUGH not again!

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

I only made it to dead as a door nail, I am frail.

10 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 0

Much better than I managed. Lophole?

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

The spelling mistakes were too painful to read that I couldn't finish reading them all!

10 years ago | Likes 63 Dislikes 7

You don't like reading about lopholes?

10 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

"Ships were soften fooled..."

10 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

Agreed! The message is lost when I can't respect the creator due to rudimentary spelling errors :(

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

*where *to painful...

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

After a bit of research, #3 #5 and #10 are incorrect. #8 is just a theory.

10 years ago | Likes 18 Dislikes 4

Could you show me some sources?

10 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 3

I feel the explanation of why its false is not well written. "it cant be true because cats cant be mistaken for pigs", is what its saying.

10 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 6

But there is no evidence that it refers to the pig in a bag scam. So it's just one of multiple theories.

10 years ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 3

I had always believed it to be a sailing term, as in "you're in for a lashing, the boatswain has taken the cat-o-nine-tail out of the bag"

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

That's one of two theories and the more logical of the two, but there's no evidence of its origin. We'll never know.

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Some of these are just plain incorrect. I.e cat out of the bag is from the cat of nine tails on board a ship ...

10 years ago | Likes 60 Dislikes 7

There's some question as to which is the true meaning, it could be either, or, or neither.

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

So you don't think it is a sustainable buisness model to give people cat meat instead of pork?

10 years ago | Likes 19 Dislikes 0

Couldn't find proof of that one, either.

10 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

I'd always heard OP's picture as the reasoning (same as "pig in a poke" as @WhyCanWeAllJustBeFriends says above). What's the one you know?

10 years ago | Likes 10 Dislikes 0

I was waiting for someone to correct this. As a mariner myself, thank you.

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

As a tall ship sailor, yes!

10 years ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 0

Same, same!

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Prob obvious, but what's you're ship?

10 years ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Formerly the S/V Irving Johnson and the S/V Hawaiian Chieftain. I've been rocking tug boats for the last two years.

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Awesome, I sail aboard the Duyfken.

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

The internet has ruined me, I don't trust any of these. They may be 100% correct and I want to believe, but I can't.

10 years ago | Likes 684 Dislikes 3

They're mostly true. The normal linguistic caveats apply where we think it's like this, but we're not really sure.

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

Ha-ha me too!

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

The grammar and spelling errors did not help my belief, either...

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

IKR I've never heard any of these, so it must be either a really good post or a really fake one.

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

Looks like it's about 50/50. Which I think is better than usual.

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

The horse one is true, it's the best way to tell their age

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

Might be the best way to tell their age but it's not the source of that particular idiom.

10 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

It's also why you don't look a gift horse in the mouth (be critical something you got for free).

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

The close but no cigar one is true. Or at least I think it is... Damn now you're making me question everything anyone's said to me.

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

The internet says it's true.

10 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I've read differently on that one

10 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I know what you mean, i saw one post where the first one said we managed to get below absolut zero which in my mind is impossible, ruined it

10 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 1

Yeah, i looked it up after i finished the post to see if it was true, everything i know is wrong

10 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I know the cat in the bag one. It's one of two possible truths. ...I recently looked it up because my family discusses things like this...

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

Yeah, I can't find proof of either one, though. The various websites mention both theories. I hope it's the whip-in-a-bag theory.

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

Yeah, cat-o-nine tails are cool ^_^

10 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Because I don't want to believe people were stupid enough to buy a cat in a bag thinking it was a pig.

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

It was cat meat vs. pig meat. Or maybe cat vs. piglet. Probably the former, as they make distinctly different sounds.

10 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

This would have been much easier if I just BS'd all of this. Dang, wasted my time.

10 years ago | Likes 248 Dislikes 10

BlueScreened?

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

bull shitted... which is another idiom.

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

While they're correct, I'd recommend using citations next time. Or, just adding a citations edit now that you're front page.

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

There's always next time.

10 years ago | Likes 24 Dislikes 1

Providing external sources goes a long way

10 years ago | Likes 14 Dislikes 0

Will do next time.

10 years ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 1

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10 years ago (deleted Feb 20, 2023 10:06 PM) | Likes 0 Dislikes 0

Can confirm, watched QI.

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

I can practically hear the wrong answer klaxon going off

10 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

wut

10 years ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

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10 years ago (deleted Feb 20, 2023 10:06 PM) | Likes 0 Dislikes 0

Medicine has dome some weird shit.

10 years ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Oh wow, you were serious... Good god.

10 years ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0