Language

The phrase “one horse town” is American; we use the expression disparagingly to designate a town of such limited resources, so sleepy and dole-so, that one horse might be able to do all its necessary transportation. The usage first reported (1855) credits the expression to New Orleans, but as it was reported a few years … Read more

Nowadays, a kangaroo court is rarely heard of except in jails or similar institutions where a mock court, independent of regular legal procedure, is set up by the inmates to try a fellow prisoner for some alleged offense. Sometimes such courts are set up merely for amusement, as diversions against the tedium of imprisonment, and … Read more

The expression “red letter day” may be traced back to the fifteenth century, though in that period the allusion was to a holy day of some sort, such as one memorializing a saint or a church festival. The name came from the custom of using red or purple colors for marking those days upon the … Read more

An American doesn’t need to be told that the meaning of the expression “to get cold feet” is to lose one’s nerve, to become craven. The slang expression originated during my youth, probably in the early 1800’s, but, as has been the case from the earliest times, no one took the trouble to give it … Read more

Water, in the sense of luster or brilliancy as applied to diamonds or pearls, is presumably a meaning that was borrowed, in translation, from Arabic gem traders, for the same expression is found in other European languages. Three centuries ago, diamonds were graded as first water, second water, or third water, those of the first … Read more

We use the term “small fry” humorously when speaking of young children. Our ancestors for the past four hundred years have done the same, so the humor is somewhat antique. But the joke is on us, because even in the remote day when we borrowed “fry” from the Norse, it meant the children of a … Read more

To put the cart before the horse means to get the order of things reversed, as to give the answer to a riddle while attempting to give the riddle. This common occurrence must also have been common among the ancient Greeks and Romans, for they also had sayings that agree with ours. The Greeks said, … Read more

Nowadays, in schoolboy lingo, black Monday is the day after Easter, the day when school is resumed after the Easter holidays. But, although school children may not know it, the day after Easter has been called “black Monday” in England for many centuries as the anniversary of several different tragedies or ominous events. The first … Read more

The phrase “to know beans” is usually in the negative; one who doesn’t know beans is appallingly ignorant or is wholly unacquainted with the subject under discussion. It is likely that the expression arose from some story that went the rounds in America early in the nineteenth century, but, if so, the story has been … Read more

It would be interesting if, through family records, I could bring an unsuspected source into view which would explain why the expression “in a blue funk” means “in a state of dire panic,” or from another record determine why a stooge for an auctioneer, one who makes fictitious bids to stimulate higher bids, is called … Read more

Though Shakespeare was the first to use the saying “to wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve”, thus indicating an ostentatious display of one’s limitless devotion, he was merely adapting another phrase current in his day and which he himself used in an earlier play. It was lago, in Othello, who wore his heart on his … Read more

The word chantepleure means to sing and weep at the same time. It comes from the French words that mean, sensibly, “sing” and “cry.” Chantepleure is also a book by Linda Robinson, and is about three remarkable women friends who have survived four decades together, and face a momentous year in their lives. In architecture, … Read more

The expression “to beard the lion in his den” comes from two separate stories in the Old Testament of the Bible. I Samuel 17:35 has David telling of how he confronted and killed a lion before he braved Goliath: “and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him … Read more

The word kindergarten is German in origin, and means “garden of children.” Educator Friedrich Froebel coined the term, but only after trying to coin another one: Kleinkenderbeschaftigungsanstalt. Although its meaning was clear, “institution where small children are occupied”, its pronunciation was quite a feat. Public rejection of the term persuaded Froebel to make the switch … Read more

The words Idiots, Imbeciles, and Morons were originally designed as legitimate medical classifications to differentiate among different levels of mental retardation. Those classified as morons have the emotional and mental capacity of nine year olds. The word “Moron” was coined by psychologist Henry H. Goddard in 1910, and comes from the Ancient Greek word μωρός … Read more

There are a couple of theories about the origin of this phrase, both from England. The first comes from Cockney rhyming slang, which uses rhymes instead of the intended word: “the weep and wail” instead of “jail,” for example, or “my struggle and strife” for “wife.” Some say “brass tacks” was a rhyming substitute for … Read more

Delve into the origins of the Greek language, unraveling its roots and discovering whether Greek falls under the umbrella of Romance languages. Key Takeaway: The Greek language, with its rich history, has distinct origins separate from Romance languages, offering a unique linguistic journey. The Greek language has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language. … Read more

Deep underwater, and deeper underground, scientists see surprising hints that gas and oil deposits can be replenished, filling up again, sometimes rapidly. This process is called “resting.” So the holes or cavities are not usually filled after drilling unless they pose an unusual risk.

In Ontario, to serve as a juror, you must be at least nineteen years old and a Canadian citizen. The provincial government chooses names randomly from the municipal voters’ list to comprise a jury panel to be called into court. Final jury members are selected by drawing fifteen to twenty names of those called from … Read more

Black holes in space seem to be a recent phenomenon, yet Albert Einstein (1879-1955) predicted them in his theory of relativity in 1915. They are the incredibly dense centres of dead stars. Black holes appear black because their gravitational fields are so huge that even light can’t escape. We find and measure black holes by … Read more

The U.S. Air Force estimates that 9,000 pieces of space junk larger than ten centimeters across are currently orbiting the Earth with thousands of more smaller pieces. Space junk has only scored one confirmed hit on an active spacecraft. In 1996 a French military satellite was hit and knocked into a new orbit. The international … Read more

There is no known escape from a black hole. To escape Earth, we have to travel at 25,000 miles per hour. If we go any slower, we won’t break the planet’s gravitational pull. When we run out of fuel, we will fall back to the ground. Black holes are even harder to escape. To get … Read more

The device we call a radio took its name from radio telegraphy. It was commonly referred to as “wireless” up until World War II when the military preference for radio caused that name to catch on to describe the revolutionary receptacle of sound. The word radio is derived from radius, Latin for “spoke of a … Read more

An alias intended to conceal a user’s real name or identity within an electronic message is called a “handle.” Consider that handle is an extension of the word hand and is used to describe something you can get you hands on. Clearly, though an alias can be used to avoid revealing personal data, a figurative … Read more

Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust where it is principally found in combination with bauxite. In 1808 when the English scientist Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829) was figuring out how to isolate aluminum, he first called it alumium. In 1812, though, he renamed the metal aluminum, which is how it is still … Read more

Silk is a fine, lustrous, natural fibre made from secretions by very small silkworms to produce cocoons. The cultivation of silk began more than 5,000 years ago in China, and the process is very manual and expensive. In 1935, while China and Japan were at war and the silk supply to Western countries was interrupted, … Read more

The abacus is an ancient counting device with movable counters strung on rods and is used to solve arithmetic problems. Computers and calculators have made the apparatus obsolete. The word abacus has Semitic roots and came to English through the Greek word abax, meaning “dust” or “sand.” Before the board with the beads, the ancients … Read more

The expression “Garbage in, garbage out” became famous when used by the brilliant lawyer Johnnie Cochran (1937-2005) during the O.J. Simpson trial. Its source is the computer abbreviated GIGO, which surfaced during the early 1960s. The acronym means that computers can only give you what has been put into them. Unfortunately, in spite of this … Read more

Some baseball players, like Sammy Sosa, believe that the spring from a “corked bat” adds distance to a struck ball. Even though physicists say this notion is nonsense, occasionally someone will try to use one. The basic method of corking a bat is to drill a straight hole into the top about one inch wide … Read more

Masters of the culinary arts may have disdain for the microwave oven, but for most modern kitchens they are essential. The cooking use for microwaves was discovered by accident in 1945. An American scientist named Percy Spencer (1894-1970) noticed that a candy bar in his pocket had melted while he was testing a magnetron, a … Read more

In unskilled hands, a chainsaw can be dangerous, it might even cut through an arm or a leg. Ironically, that was what the first chainsaw was invented for. A German named Bernard Heine (1800-1846) invented the chainsaw in 1830. It was called an osteotome. In those days before general anesthetics, surgeons depended on speed to … Read more

Toilet seems an odd name for the bathroom’s chief plumbing fixture, but it makes sense when you consider that since the seventeenth century, “toilette” meant a lady’s dressing room. The chief purpose of the room was for cleaning up or changing clothes. The other business was done in an “outhouse.” When a lavatory became attached … Read more

James Alexander “Jim” Tyng was the first baseball player to wear a catcher’s mask while playing for Harvard in 1877. The first baseball catcher’s mask was a fencer’s mask introduced by Harvard University’s Fred Thayer who received a patent for the mask in 1878. It wasn’t until 1890 that the major leagues adopted the idea … Read more

In 1869 the Cincinnati Red Stockings began utilizing a system of hand signals based on military flag signals that soldiers had used while playing baseball during the Civil War. Baseball’s hand signals evolved from the earliest days of the game. Consequently, there are many moments and persons involved in their development, but none more important … Read more

There is a myth that the World Series was named after the New York World newspaper. The paper was established in 1860 and was sold in 1930 after merging with the Evening Telegram, becoming the New York World Telegram. However, the World had nothing to do with naming baseball’s annual classic. In 1884 a series … Read more

A battery is a military term for a unit of guns, mortars, or rockets grouped to facilitate better battlefield command and communication. Its use in baseball to describe a pitcher and a catcher alludes to the fact that the battery is the principle attack force for the small army of nine players on a baseball … Read more

Uncover the origin of the term “shortstop” and its role in baseball. Explore the intriguing history behind this pivotal position, bridging second base and third base. Key Takeaways: Examine the historical evolution of the term “shortstop” in baseball. Discover the pivotal role and unique responsibilities of players in this position. Gain insights into how language … Read more

The legend is that in the days before supermarkets, small grocery store owners placed their tins of canned corn on the top shelves because they stored well and didn’t sell as quickly as fresh corn. For most customers this system put the cans out of reach. The store owner or clerk needed a broomstick to … Read more

In 1974 it became public that in 1930 the United States had drawn up a strategic plan that included a successful invasion of Canada. The scheme was called “Plan Red.” It involved attacks on Montreal and Quebec, Winnipeg’s railway centre, Ontario’s nickel mines and power generation, and the Great Lakes. Naval blockades were to be … Read more

The Canadian flag is red in color. On February 15, 1965, when Canada’s new flag became official and flew over the country for the first time, the ceremonious proclamation read: “A red flag of proportions two by length and one by width containing in its center a white square the width of the flag with … Read more

The Alberta tar sands have attracted the interest of the United States. Although Canada already accounts for 16 percent of U.S. oil consumption, new technology may someday diminish the Americans’ need for carbon-based fossil fuels. Water is another matter. Each day 4,755 billion gallons of water are funnelled through water pipes, turbines, and irrigation systems … Read more

The Statue of Liberty, formally called Liberty Enlightening the World, was a gift from the French to the people of the United States. It has stood since 1886 in New York City Harbour on Liberty Island. The famous poem engraved on a plaque at the base of the statue is a sonnet entitled “The New … Read more

An almanac is an annual publication forecasting weather and providing other miscellaneous information relative to a calendar year. The earliest almanacs were largely preoccupied with astronomical and astrological information as well as dates for feasts and festivals. The seventeenth century saw almanacs begin to broaden their scope to include stories, poems, remedies, statistics, and jokes. … Read more

There was no pumpkin pie at the first Thanksgiving. But because the plant’s season coincides with the celebration and because it was Native Americans who taught the Pilgrims the pumpkin’s value, the melon has become a traditional Thanksgiving dish. At first pumpkin was customarily served stewed as a custard or sweet pudding and was presented … Read more

In 1969 a sixty-five-year-old Atlanta man named Michael Goldgar returned home from visiting an aunt confined to a nursing home and realized that most of the elderly were treated as burdens by their children and grandchildren. He thought of earlier times when the elderly were a source of wisdom and the nucleus of a family. … Read more

A jubilee is “a season of rejoicing” and comes from the ancient Hebrews. Fifty years after the Jews were freed from Egyptian bondage, they created a semi-centennial festival that lasted a full year within which all land would be left fallow and returned to its original owners. All debts were paid off and all slaves … Read more

The monarch butterfly is the only North American butterfly known to migrate. Scientists believed monarchs migrated for quite a long time, but it wasn’t until 1975 that Cathy and Ken Brugger found the butterfly’s wintering grounds in Mexico’s Sierra Madre. There they discovered that the aboriginal peoples who lived in the area thought the butterflies … Read more

The phrase “loaded for bear” means you are well armed to meet any problem. In the days of muskets, the gunpowder charge could be adjusted depending on the size of the animals you expected to encounter in the wilderness. So if you were hunting bear, or simply entering their territory, you went into the bush … Read more

If you have ever wondered why Siamese cats are always “talking” or bossing you around, it may be because they are descendants of royalty. Cats were revered in Siam where they were often selected to become receptacles of the souls of departed royals and senior government officials. When such a regal person died, a chosen … Read more

A “canard” is a story or a statement that is a hoax or a lie. Canard is French for duck, but in English the word refers to a deliberate falsehood and is based on a French proverb about cheating or swindling. Vendre un canard a moitie literally translated means “to half sell a duck.” However, … Read more

The expression “Sitting in the catbird seat” means you have an advantage over the opposition. The catbird is a thrush, and like its cousin, the mockingbird, perches among the highest branches of a tree and has a warning cry that resembles that of a cat. “Sitting in the catbird seat” originated in the U.S. South … Read more

“Happy as a clam” seems to assume that the mollusk is indeed happy. This notion was probably inspired by the observation that if a clam is held sideways and looked at straight on it appears to be smiling. However, the expression is incomplete. It began as “happy as a clam at high tide.” High tide … Read more

There are no rabbits native to North America and there never were. The North American animal is properly called a hare, so the answer to the question is zero rabbits. Early North American settlers dropped the word hare from their vocabulary. The American term jack rabbit is an abbreviation of the original name jackass-rabbit, so … Read more

The adjective hare-brained usually refers to a plan or action that is unexplainably preposterous. If there is any confusion about this word’s meaning, it lies in the sixteenth-century dual spelling as both harebrained and hair-brained. In any case, the word is a reference to the wildly odd mating season practices of hares, which are so … Read more

A beaver is an industrious little rodent whose fur was the foundation of an industry that helped create Canada. At a time in history when knights wore armor, the hinged bottom portion of the helmet was called the “beaver”. This was because when it was lifted for food or drink it revealed a man’s beard, … Read more

Greyhound dogs have been bred for hunting and racing and have extremely keen eyesight. They are one of the fastest land mammals and can reach speeds up to forty-five miles per hour. They were introduced to England from Celtic mainland Europe in the sixth century BC. The dogs come in a wide variety of colours, … Read more

Dogs often turn around several times in a circle before lying down. They appear to be trying to make themselves comfortable, though it has been facetiously suggested that “they are looking for the head of the bed.” The fact is that dogs have maintained this habit from their origins in the wild. Like their ancestors … Read more

Much like “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” we sometimes say “a leopard can’t change his spots” to underline that mature people can’t alter who or what they are. Such a person’s character is too indelible. The phrase about the leopard’s spots comes from Jeremiah 13:23 in the Bible: “Can the Ethiopian change … Read more

The original “brownies” are little Scottish elves, wee brown men, who are believed to fix things and help out around farms when everyone is asleep. They were the inspiration for the name Lord Baden-Powell’s sister, Agnes, gave to the branch of Scouts that serves younger girls from six through eight years of age. Brownie points … Read more

One of the great and endearing mysteries about cats is their use of purring to show affection. But cats also purr when in danger or while giving birth or dying. Feral cats will even purr during a standoff with another cat. Cats only purr in the presence of humans or other cats. Because they are … Read more

The “sperm” in sperm whale is an 1830 abbreviation of spermaceti, which means “sperm of a whale.” It was once believed that the waxy, gel-like substance in the snouts of these aquatic mammals was the seed of the male whale. Spermaceti was prized for its medicinal properties and was also used for candle oil. The … Read more

The original meaning of fast was “hold firmly,” as in “she held fast to her principles.” As a practice of not eating, fasting is all about maintaining firm self-control. Today fasting can take many forms and is practiced by the religious and non-religious. As a protest, prisoners use it to demonstrate that their captors don’t … Read more

A zealot is a supreme fanatic, often a bigot, and perhaps unfairly is best known in history as a radical Jewish political movement called the Zealots. This sect joined with several other Jewish groups to launch a rebellion in Palestine against the Roman Empire in the first century AD. Known for being aggressive, intolerant, and … Read more

A bigot is someone who is intolerant of any religion, race, group, or politics other than his or her own. The word began as a curse and was first recorded in English in 1598 as meaning “a superstitious hypocrite.” The word Bigot originated as “bi got” from a common Old French slur against the Normans … Read more

If a person is “pining away,” he or she is tormented by longing or grief, because pine, in this case, has the same meaning as pain. In the early English language, Christians referred to pinian as the consequence of the tortures and punishment of Hell. Pinian became both pine and pain. As time went on, … Read more

A “guardian angel” is a heavenly spirit assigned by God to watch over each person during his or her individual life. The angel is part of the dogma of the Roman Catholic faith and is there to help guide people and keep them from evil or danger. The feast to honor guardian angels is on … Read more

Martyrs are people who choose torture or death rather than renounce their beliefs or principles. The English word derives through Latin from the Greek martur, meaning “witness.” The first Christian martyr is said to have been St. Stephen, who was stoned to death after being convicted of blasphemy by a Jewish court around 33 AD. … Read more

Muslims pray five times a day in response to an order from God. Prayers must be said just before sunrise, after the sun peaks at noon, in the late afternoon, just after sunset, and between sunset and midnight. The ritual of prayer involves a series of actions that go with the words of a prayer. … Read more

Patron saints are chosen as guardians or protectors over specific areas of life. These can be chosen by people or groups without papal consent simply because the saint’s interest or life experience relates to a group or individual. The church has, however, chosen many patron saints such as the writer Francis de Sales, who was … Read more

Canada has two patron saints. Since French Catholics were the first Europeans to settle Canada, they brought their religion and customs with them, including the assignment of patron saints. St. Anne, the Virgin Mary’s mother, shares patronage of Canada with Mary’s husband, St. Joseph. St. Anne is also the patron saint of housewives, cabinet makers, … Read more

Lighting three cigarettes in a row with one match was common practice among smokers until the advent of lighters. It was especially practical to outdoorsmen or soldiers who needed to ration their matches. “Three on a match” became bad luck during the Boer War (1899-1902). Commonwealth soldiers discovered the hard way that an enemy sniper … Read more

The general legend about “raining cats and dogs” relates to the thatched roofs of the Middle Ages. It would have you believe that when it rained, all sorts of creatures, including cats and dogs, slipped and fell in such abundance that it gave rise to the expression, but that’s wrong. The truth is that the … Read more

An amethyst is a pale blue to dark purple crystallized quartz and is a precious stone found in modern-day Iran, Iraq, Brazil, India, and some parts of Europe. It was worn on the breastplates of high priests because the ancients believed that wearing or even touching an amethyst kept people from getting intoxicated no matter … Read more

Saints are individuals of exceptional holiness and are important in many religions, including Christianity. The first official canonization took place in 993 AD when Pope John XV (died 996 AD) declared Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg a saint. Butler’s Lives of the Saints, published in 1759, had 1,486 entries. The revised edition in 1956 listed 2,565 … Read more

The Christian book of scriptures was first called the Bible by the Greeks. The ancient Phoenicians had found a way to make a form of paper from the papyrus plant, which gave us the word paper. They had done this in the city of Byblos, which is why the Greeks called the new paper biblios, … Read more

The exclamation “Jesus H. Christ!” is often used as an attempt to avoid a blasphemous curse. In our quest to unveil the origins of the ‘H’ in ‘Jesus H. Christ,’ we embark on a journey exploring Jesus’ life, tracing historical threads to understand the significance of this enigmatic initial within the context of his identity. … Read more

Someone on the “straight and narrow” is living a legal, moral, and disciplined life. The expression was referred to in The Pilgrim’s Progress by English writer John Bunyan (1628-1688). In that inspirational book, Pilgrim, the representative of everyman, must follow the “straight and narrow.” The phrase has a biblical origin in Matthew 7:14: “Broad is … Read more

Cape Canaveral, Florida, was named by the Spanish and began to appear on maps around 1564. After the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) and because he had been such a driving force behind the space program, Jacqueline Kennedy (1929-1994), his widow, asked President Lyndon Johnson (1908-1973) to rename the space facility located … Read more

In 1875, during trouble with the First Nations, the local North-West Mounted Police sent E troop under Inspector E.A. Brisebois to erect a barracks on the Bow River. When Brisebois wanted to name the new structure after himself, his commander, Lieutenant-Colonel James Macleod, overruled him and named the settlement Fort Calgary, after the ancestral estate … Read more

A “scallywag” is usually a reference to a mischievous, youthful little scamp who seems to cause trouble continually. The original English spelling of scallywag was scalawag and is a reference to Scalloway, one of the Shetland Islands, where the famous Shetland ponies are bred. The word was created as an insult to the residents of … Read more

The United Nations Population Division has projected that the world’s population will become seven billion by 2013 and grow to 9.1 billion in 2050. Since most people continue to move to cities, the million-population club of urban centres grows ever more quickly. Rome, Italy, was the first city to reach a million in 133 BC, … Read more

The population of the world’s cities is measured in two ways. One is by population within metropolitan boundaries. By that measure, Mumbai, formerly Bombay, India, is the world’s largest city with almost twelve million people in 2005. Measuring by urban agglomeration, which means the city plus surrounding communities, Tokyo, Japan, leads with a staggering thirty-five … Read more

There are those who say that “Toronto” was a First Nations chief, while others insist the name refers to a Native tribe. Still others contend the name was derived from the Huron word toronton, meaning “meeting place.” Research into early French explorers’ maps from the 1670s, however, has uncovered the truth. These maps show present-day … Read more

Once upon a time, in a land far far away, people only used cash when they bought things. Credit was a personal issue between the dealer and individual customers. In the 1920s, gas companies and hotel chains started issuing cards for credit exclusively for use in their own establishments. By the late 1930s, some of … Read more

The modern concept of sharing capital ownership was initiated by the Dutch East India Company in 1612, which raised money by selling pieces of the business to the public. This process gave the Dutch East India Company the ability to grow and share its profits with its “shareholders.” The original meaning of the word stock … Read more

“Grey market” goods are legally sold through channels other than those authorized by the manufacturer. Unlike black market products, which may be counterfeits, grey market goods are the real thing. Entrepreneurs simply buy a product in one country where the item is significantly cheaper than another, then import it to the target market and legally … Read more

The country of England got its name from a Germanic tribe that migrated there in the fifth century AD. These Germans called themselves Anguls or Anglas, which became Angles around the fourteenth century. The Angle invaders called their new home Land of the Angles or Engla Land, which through time became England. The German invaders … Read more

The noun job as “a piece of work” was first recorded in the mid-sixteenth century. By the mid-seventeenth century, the word had also come to mean “continuous labor for pay.” The term began as jobbe, which is a variant of gob or lump and means specific work for money. Career, on the other hand, started … Read more