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Each day, you probably use a variety of expressions, idioms, proverbs, and slang that aren鈥檛 meant to be taken literally. If you’ve ever wondered why we say certain things the way we do, you might be able to guess where they came from. Still, some English phrases are so unusual that their origins remain a mystery unless you understand the historical context behind them.
Chew the fat
To 鈥渃hew the fat鈥� is to chat casually, often about nothing in particular. The phrase may have started as sailors talking while eating salted meat. It鈥檚 a leisurely, friendly kind of conversation 鈥� the verbal equivalent of just hanging out with a friend on a lazy afternoon.
Armed to the teeth
Being overly prepared or too well equipped. A possible origin is 17th century pirates who wanted to make sure they never ran out of ammunition and held a gun in each hand. In order to be prepared, they tended to keep another gun in their pocket and held a knife in their teeth.
Butter him up
To flatter someone. In ancient India, a customary religious act involved devotees throwing balls of butter at the statues of their gods. This was meant to ask for the gods鈥� forgiveness and favor.
Skeletons in the closet
A secret that someone is embarrassed about. Before the UK passed its 1832 Anatomy Act, grave robbers supplied skeletons for medical schools. When a raid occurred, the teachers tended to hide these skeletons in the closet so as not to have them confiscated.
In a nutshell
When you want to make it clear that you’re going to sum something up in just a few words. This hyperbolic expression alludes to the Roman writer Pliny’s description of Homer’s Iliad being copied in so tiny a hand that it could fit in a nutshell. For a time it referred to anything compressed, but from the 1500s on it referred mainly to written or spoken words.
Letting someone off the hook
Excusing someone from a task or obligation. The phrase is believed to originate from fishing, where a fish is removed from the hook, allowing it to escape.
Once bitten, twice shy
Means a bad experience makes you cautious, originating from literal animal bites in folklore and appearing in English literature by the 1800s, with the concept traced back to Aesop’s Fables
It鈥檚 not over until the fat lady sings
It means that one should not presume to know the outcome of an event which is still in progress. This saying originates from opera, referencing the long, grand final aria typically sung by a heavyset soprano.
Fly by the seat of Your pants
To improvise by instinct. Prior to the widespread use of reliable aviation instruments, pilots were at the mercy of the weather. Assessment of cloud cover and potential storms were vital in the early days of flying, when encapsulation of an aircraft by thick cloud or dense fog could have fatal consequences. The thin air and inability to see could become disorienting. When overtaken by rough conditions, a skilled pilot would 鈥渇ly by the seat of their pants.鈥� They flew by instinct and feel鈥攁nd their backside, or the seat of their pants, made the most physical contact with the airplane.
Make the grade
To succeed. The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway鈥檚 Allegheny steam locomotives were incredibly powerful, featuring an output of 7,500 horsepower. They were designed to pull heavy, loaded coal trains up and over the Allegheny Mountains. These trains had a steep climb to the summit, but the 771,000-pound giants had enough traction to 鈥渕ake the grade.鈥�
Red tape
We use the term red tape to denote anything that may delay or hold us up, whatever the process may be. It also refers to a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy or paperwork. This term originated from the fact that legal and official documents were tied up or bound with red tape since the 16th century. By doing so, it was often difficult to access them. Hence, the term 鈥渞ed tape.鈥�
Beyond the pale
When something is beyond the pale, it鈥檚 unacceptable or immoral. It originates from the concept of a “pale,” a boundary fence (from Latin palus, meaning stake) defining a safe, civilized area, with “beyond the pale” meaning outside that border into lawless or uncivilized territory
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