Phrases (No Math Required!)

Good Morning (Yip Yip)
Sorry about the delay in this post, but the bunnies have been using the computer non-stop playing some game with lots of numbers. I think they were boasting about 4.13 octillion the last time I heard. Anyway, they are finally asleep, worn out from playing Parcheesi all night. :P And so now I have a chance to catch up with the world. Things around here are going fairly well, Tuesday night there was a party to celebrate one of my master's birthdays. We played games, made Italian food, and had a great time! The weather has been classic rain, and more rain, but its been about 10 degrees warmer than usual, which has bee good for my fur, but I wonder what it may do to the snow this year. As long as we have plenty of rain though, I guess I'm not worried. *stretches paws* I think it's time for a tea and crumpet break. I'll be back in a moment...

Okay! *munch munch* much better! Lets see now, where was I? Oh yes, phrases. Many of our common phrases originated from long ago, and while some of the origins may be easy to deduce (batten down the hatches for example, means prepare for a storm), some of them are harder to guess at. We will look at a few of my favorites:

"The Bitter End"
-To the last man; the last extremity.
This phrase is actually an old nautical saying, first written down in 1627 by Captain Smith in his publication Seaman's Grammar:
"A Bitter is but the turne of a Cable about the Bits, and veare it out little and little. And the Bitters end is that part of the Cable doth stay within board."
Thus, a bitt is a post on the deck of a ship used for fastening cables and ropes. When a rope is played out to the bitter end, it means there is no more rope to be used.

"Ship-Shape and Bristol Fashion"
-In first class order.
This is one of my favorite phrases, as it easily conjures up pictures from that delightful film, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. It originates from two separate phrases: "Ship-Shape", and "Bristol Fashion". Let us look at the first. Ship-Shape was first used in Sir Henry Manwayring's The Seamans Dictionary: "The broom being of no use for the Ship, but only for to make her Ship Shapen, as they call it." Obviously, Ship-Shape means to have a tidy/clean ship. The second half of the phrase, "Bristol Fashion" comes from the coastal town of Bristol prior to 1803. Bristol is several miles from the sea, and as such has one of the most variable tidal flows anywhere in the world. The tide can range upwards of 30 feet. Ships that came in on the high tide were often beached at low tide. Therefore, they had to be built sturdy, and all cargo securely stored away. Over the years, the phrases were  used together.

"An ill wind that blows no good"
-something bad happens
while at first glance, seems to have a nautical origin,  the first recording of this phrase is from an English Proverb book written in 1546 by John Heywood: "An yll wynde that blowth no man to good, men say." The phrase appears later meaning the opposite, in sir Walter Scott's text: "Nane were keener against it than the Glasgow folk, wi' their rabblings and their risings, and their mobs, as they ca' them now-a-days. but it's an ill wind blaws naebody gude." Here the meaning is the opposite, meaning that a wind that didn't provide benefit to someone would be a bad and unusual one indeed (sounds ominous, yip yip).

"A dog is a man's best friend"
Of course I had to put this one in!
While the exact origin of this phrase is at least as old as 1821 (found in a newspaper article) the most famous story is that of an owner and his dog:

In 1870, a farmer shot a neighbor's dog and, in the subsequent court case where the owner sued for damages, the lawyer George Graham Vest gave a tear-jerking speech that became known as the Eulogy to a Dog:
"Gentlemen of the jury, a man's dog stands by him in prosperity and poverty, in health and sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow, and the snow drives fiercely, if only he can be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer; he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens." - And so on...**

**excerpt from www.phrases.org.uk

Enjoy!
Woof!!