The Origins of 21 Common Phrases

The Origins of 21 Common Phrases
August 12, 2024 / Nicholas C. Rossis
I don’t know about you, but I love history. It inspires, humbles, and fascinates me.

Part of that is learning the etymology of some common words and idioms, many of which are Medieval or even older. I list here some of the most fun ones I’ve come across and hope you enjoy learning about them as much as I did!

A nest egg
Farmers collecting eggs often leave one to encourage the chickens to continue laying eggs in the same nest. By the fourteenth century the phrase “nest egg” was used in this context by the sophisticated seventeenth century, it meant to set aside a sum of money for the future.

A Pinch of Salt
“Addito salis grano” was first used by Pliny the Elder around AD 77 referring to King Mithridates VI of Pontus, who developed immunity to poisoning by ingesting small, regular doses of poison with a grain of salt to make them more tolerable (ironically enough, when Mithridates was defeated by the Romans he drank poison to kill himself, only to discover that this was no longer effective. He ended up stabbing himself instead).

While Pliny obviously meant the phrase literally, the English started using a similar expression—“cum grano salis”—in the Middle Ages. This more modern version implies that, just as adding salt enhances flavour, taking a dubious story with a pinch of salt makes it more digestible.

A red-letter day
This one has its origins in Medieval ecclesiastical calendars, which marked feast days and saints’ days in red, while other days were in black.

Baker’s dozen
The Assize of Bread and Ale of 1262 was a piece of medieval legislation that aimed to stop bakers from selling underweight loaves. To stay on the right side of the law, bakers started to give an extra piece of bread away with every loaf, and a thirteenth loaf with every dozen.

Beyond the pale
While you may think the phrase has to do with one’s complexion, the word “pale” actually originates from the Latin word “palum,” meaning ‘stake.’ In English, it initially referred to a fence marking the boundaries of a territory under specific authority, such as a cathedral pale. Over time, this extended to denote the limits of political jurisdiction.

The phrase came to be viewed as what was within the pale was considered civilized, while beyond it was seen as barbaric.

By hook or by crook
While records of this phase date back to the 14th century, its origins are unclear. One theory attributes it to a Medieval law about collecting firewood, that allowed peasants to only take what they could cut from dead trees by using their reaper’s bill-hook or a shepherd’s crook.

Curry favor
Nope, nothing to do with Indian food. Rather, the phrase came from the Middle English words ‘curry favel’, which in Old French was ‘estriller fauvel’ and translates to rubbing down a chestnut horse.

Wait, what?

Yep. A chestnut horse.

The unlikely origins of this phrase lie with Le Roman de Favuel, a 14th-century French romance that has its characters grooming a chestnut horse in order to win his favor and assistance. The popularity of the work led people to accuse those who tried to further their own ends by flattery to be currying favel. By the sixteenth century, the play was forgotten and people changed the phrase to the only slightly more sensical “currying favor.”

Dead as a doornail
Medieval carpenters nailing door nails, which were particularly thick, had a practice of first striking them all the way in, then hammering the head sideways in a way that ensured it couldn’t be pulled out or used again. Such a nail was appropriately called a “dead nail.”

The phrase dates back at least to the 14th century, when the words “ded as a dore-nayl” appear in Middle English poems like The Romance of William of Palerne and William Langland’s Piers Plowman. Shakespeare also uses it in Henry IV Part 2—“and if I do not leave you all as dead as a doornail, I pray God I may never eat grass more.” (Act 4, Scene 10).

Dyed in the wool
In medieval times, people applied vegetable dye directly to raw wool rather than to spun yarn or finished cloth. The goal was to let the dye seep into all the fibers, resulting in a more consistent and durable color in the final cloth. The technique led to the expression “dyed in the wool,” referring to someone deeply ingrained with a particular characteristic or belief.

Get off scot-free
The most likely origin of this phrase comes from medieval England, where peasants had to make to their feudal lords a payment called ‘scotage’. However, the poorest peasants would be exempt from this payment, thus going “scot-free.”

Another possibility has it originating from tavern bills, which were also known as “scots.” In this context, going “scot-free” meant to have a drinking companion or friend cover the bill.

Gibberish
The unpronounceable Abū Mūsā Jābir ibn Ḥayyān was a ninth-century scholar who wrote about sciences, magic, alchemy, and philosophy. When his Arabic works made their way to Europe, his name was simplified to the rather plainer Geber. However, even if they could now pronounce his name, his writing would be too complex for most readers, leading to a description of his work as ‘gibberish’—and to a new idiom being born.

Give someone the cold shoulder
It has been said that the Iliad is the story of a bad guest breaking hospitality rules, and all the chaos that broke out because of that. This suggests just how important hospitality was in the past, so it’s no surprise that a guest would be received with a grand meal in the Middle Ages. However, what happens when they overstay their welcome? They would be served leftovers, such as a cold shoulder of mutton from the previous night’s dinner, leading to this memorable phrase.

Hue and cry
Hue comes from Old French, where ‘huer’ means crier. In the Middle Ages, if you saw a crime being committed, you were obliged to raise ‘hue’ and ‘cry’, i.e. to shout and make noise to warn the rest of the community.

Let the cat out of the bag
A friend visiting an Algerian suk bought a beautiful silver necklace for his wife. The merchant made a big point of showing him the seal that proved the silver’s high quality. However, when my friend arrived back home and gave the necklace to his wife, he discovered he’d been swindled: while placing it into the gift box, the cunning merchant had replaced it with one that bore no such seal and was of lower quality metal.

Perhaps my friend could take consolation from the fact that this trick is so old it has led to this popular idiom. The origins come from medieval markets, where sneaky sellers would show a sample of their goods, e.g. a pig, then give customers a sealed bag ready to go. However, what they showed wasn’t what was inside—for example, placing a cat inside instead of a pig. Smart customers who checked their bags found out the truth and spilled the secret, letting everyone know.

Peeping Tom
This is an interesting one, because it was first used in the eighteenth century but refers to the medieval legend of Lady Godiva, dating back to the 13th century. According to the story, Godiva rode naked through the streets of Coventry to protest against the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband, Leofric, Earl of Mercia. Leofric had dared her to do this and promised he’d reduce the levy if she did.

While in the original tale nothing more happened except that the people enjoyed lower taxes, eighteenth-century storytellers embellished it. In the new telling of the story, the townsfolk respected her wish for privacy as Lady Godiva rode through the streets, by staying indoors with doors and shutters closed. However, Tom the Tailor succumbed to curiosity and peered at Lady Godiva through a window. This ‘Peeping Tom’ then was blinded, either through divine punishment or from angry neighbors.