Engilsh- Proverbs and Origin

8/15/2019 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 &not. '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


3/9

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.


5/9


6/9

)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


7/9

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&


9/9

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&.

Engilsh- Proverbs and Origin

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