Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1884-05-17
ODD SAYINGS.
Origin of some OTten-Quoted words and
phrases.

Origin OF some Often-Quotcd words and
phrases.
Crosspatch. was at one
time term of contempt 1t did not
as Paris suggests. necessarily mean
fool, but signifed what we now mean
by a contemplate fellow. Shakespeare.
in "Midsummer Nights Dream" says:
A crew of patches, base mechanicals.
"Crosspatch" is the only remnant of the
word. 1t is very expressive of cross
ill-tempered, disagreeable person.
Mad as q March Hare.-A familiar
saying found in Skilton's "Reply
Against Certayne Young Scholars
(1520), and also in Heywood's prov
erbs" (1546).
Burden of a Song isthe 4
drone of a bagpipe. hence running &C
compartment or repetition of music2
sounds or words is called the "burder
Sadder and a Wiser Manly
phrase is from the Ancient MarineT
by Coleridge:
sadder and wiser man
lie rose the morrow morn.
Balderdash. Originally the froth or
father made by BARRIERS in dashing balls
of soap backwards and, forwards in hot
water.
Pubbly spume or BARRIERS bald rdash. INashes
1899:
Every O,.4. to His Own Taste
literal translation of the Frenc
erb Chacun son gout.. It is generally
used satirically, as. "Well, / 1idn't think
he would associate with people of that
kind; but with shrug), every one I'd
his own taste"
Whisky. The stuff itself was origi-
nally an Irish manufacture. and was
called usquebaugh pronounced as
kaoe-bos0), from utsge-water. and
beath0-life. It meant "the water of
life" The reason the last syllable was
omitted may be that its use oftener led
to death than to life. 1t was called
usque. and finally spelled whisky.
Folded Their Tents Like the Arabs.
-Longfellow, in his poem, "The Day
is Done" wrote the verse from which
this now very common saying was
taken:
And the night shall be filed with music,
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs,
cafl iu tasuIa aauaN
Siesta This Spanish term for nap
In the daytime has become completely
naturalized in this country. The Span
ish nap is usually taken about noon,
which, in their reckoning, is the sixth
hour (sesta). Hence in Spanish SesteGr
is to take the midday nap, and sesten-
dor is the room appropriated for the
purpose, usually on the north side of
the house.
Faint Heart Never Won Fair Lady
This is a very old proverb. In
'Propef New Ballad in Praise of My
Lady Marynes." printed in 1889, arc
these lines:
Then have amongst We once again.
Faint harts faire ladies never win
In "Britain's Ida" by Spenser. Cant0
", Stanza l., the second line reads:
Oh. fools faint heart fair lady could win.
Cheers But Not Inebriat es. -Cowper
used this phrase in reference to tea, but
it had been previously applied by
Bishop Berkley to tar-water. In his
work 'Siris," paragraph 217, the Bishop
says: Tar water is of a natureso mild
and benign, and proportional to the
human constitution, as to warm with
out heating, to cheer but not inebriate.
and to produce calm and steady Joy
like the effect of good news"
Standing in Another's Shoes In an
article on Legal Usages Among the
Ancient Northmen, "in Bayley's graphic
illustration (London, 1834), 1t is said:
.'The right Of adoption obtained one
form of it consisted in making the
adopted put on the shoes Of the adopter
r. -. 49,. ..1--4 -. - 4. - <x.., .~8...y,c