Daily Los Angeles herald., 1880-07-01
Origin Of Some Familiar Phrases.
[Troy Times.l

|
regard to their origin are very
common. The commo phrase
"Catching a Tartar" has its origin
variously stated. Grose, the anti
quarian, says it came of a story o
an Irish soldier in the Imperia
service, who in a battle against thu
Turks, called out to his comradt
that he had caught u Tartar
"Bring him along, then" was the
reply. "He won't come" answer
ed Paddy. "Then come YOURSELF
said his comrade. To which the
Hibernian responded: "Ah, but he
won't let me-"
"You can't say boo to goose.'
How often have persons relieved
their feelings of irritation at the
weakness Of others by hurting this
phrase at them! Had the latter
only known its origin they might
have been paid back in their own
coin. The origin is this: When
Ben JOnson, the dramatist, was in.
troduced to nobleman, the peer
was so struck with his homeIy APP
pearance that he exclaimed:
"What! are you Ben Jonsou?
Why, you look as though you
couldn't say boo to q goosep'
"Boo!" exclaimed the witty dra-
matist, turning to the peer am.
making his bow.
II have bone to pick with your
is a phrase that Is uncomplimenta
ry to the ladies at starting. 1t
means, as is we'll known, having
an UNPLEASANT mattert to settle with
you, and this is the origin of the
phrase: At the marriage banquets
of the Sicilian poor, the BRIDES fa-
Their, after the meal, used to hand
the bridegroom bone, saying:
"Pick this bone, for you have taken
in hand q harder task"
The we'll known saying that the
shoemaker should stick to his last
originated with Appelles, the cele-
DRAFTED Greek painter. who set a
picture he had finished in a public
place and concealed himself behind
1t in order to hear the criticisms of
passers by. A shoemaker noticed
defect in the shoe and the painter
forthwith corrected it. The cob
bier came again the next day, and,
encouraged by the success of the
first remark, began to extend his
censure to the leg of the figure,
when the angry painter thrust out
his head from behind the picture
and told the shoemaker to keep to
his trade.
"Going the whole hog.n The
phrase originated in Ireland, where
British shilling has been called a
''hog" time out of mind. In Ire
land If fellow happened to make
shilling, when he met his friends
he would announce that he would
stand treat, even If the expense
reached the whole amount-in
plain words, that he would ego the
whole hog" to crafty them.
There is a mode of declaring by
the words, che has kicked the
huckep that person is dead.
There is a tradition that one Bal
sover, having hung himself to a
beam while standing on the bot
tom of pail or bucket kicked the
vessel away IN order to pry into fu.
turity, and 1t was up with him
from that moment. There is "a
story of dairy maid who having
upset q pail of milk, was assailed
by her rural beau with, "rhcre
you've kicked the bucket ~ To
which her ready and clever reply
was: "No, I've only turned little
pail (pale).'.
"No great shakes" is a contempt
tuous expression when applied to
any one. 1t has been supposed
that this phrase might be traced to
the custom Of shaking han.s, the
shake being estimated according to
the value set upon the person CIV
Ing it, and hence offered to the per-
sou. Lord Byron, writing to his
publisher in September, 1920, said:
II had my hands full and my head
too, just then"-when he wrote
MurinO FLlier0-''so it can be no
great shakes"
A curious piece of history is
wrapped up in the word "pol-
troon." supposing it to be, indeed,
derived, as many psychologists
have considered, from the Latin
"police trrncus," one that is de-
prlved, or who has deprived him.
self, of his thumb. We know that
in old times self-mutiiation of
this description was not infreQuent
on the part Of some coWardly,
Sinking fellow, who wished to es-
cape his share in the defence of his
country. He would cut off his
right thumb, and at onca become
incapable Of drawing tho bow, and
thus useless for wars. 1t il not to
be wondered at that the "police
truncus"-the poltroon-first APP
piled to a coward of this sort
should afterward become name
of scorn affixed to every base aud
cOwardly evader Of the duties and
dangers of life.
"Dead as u door-nail.o This
prOverbial expression il taken from
the door-naii, that is the nail on
which, in old doors. the knocker
strikes. 1t is therefore used as a
comparison to any one irrecOver-
ably dead: one who has fallen las
Virgil says) mutto n,orte-i. e.,
with abundant death, such as re-
| iteration or strokes on the head
naturally produces.
Falstaff-What! Is the King dead?
Pistol-As nail in door.
| shakespeare.
GAS dead as n herriug.n has a
simple origin. That fish, when fat,
il called u "bioater," dies immedi-
ately upon its removal from the
sea. It wants air and can only live
in salt water; whereas an eel lives
q long time after leaving its native
element. Swimming so near the
surface as it does, the herring re-
quires much air. and the gills
when dry cannot perform their
functiou-that of breathing.
The familiar phrase, "The school
master is abroad" was first uttered
by Lord Brougham, about fifty