San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-04-03
HOW PHRASES ORIGINATED.
Curious Expressions That Have Be-
come Household Words.
From RarebitS

| come Household Words.
| From RarebitS
The origin of the phrase, II can't
see it," is traced TO Lord Nelson. who
ut the battle of Copenhagen, was told
that q signal was given to cease hring,
and the direction polluted out TO him.
Selling q telescope, he applied IL 10
his blind eye, and exclaimed, II can't
see it,"
"Hauliug over the cosls," dates
six or seven centuries back, when
feudal barons often used harsh meth
DDS of extracting gold from the rich
Jews by suspending their victims
above slow fires until they paid ran
SONS or died. There was q scene of
this sort In "Ivanhoe." in which the
Trout de Beuf eodesvors to extort
money from Isaac of York, father Of
Rebecca.
The term "blue stocking" was orig
icslly used in Venice about the year
l4OO to designate literary classes by
coIors. In Mill's "History of Chiv.
airy" we are told that members Of
the various academies were dlstin-
guished by the color of their stock
ings, blue being the prevailing color.
| The application of the term to women
| originated with Miss Hannah Moore's
| admirable description OF "Blue
Stocking Club" in her BIAS Bleu."
| "Corporations have no souls" is
much older expression than most
people imagine. 1t originated with
| Sir Edward Coke, who, in the six
teenth century, was considered one Of
the best legal writers Of the age. He
says, in one of his treatises: Corpora
tions cannot commit trespass, nor be
outlawed, nor communicated, for
they have no souls"
The phrase, II acknowledge the
corn" originated with slave In
America. He was charged with
stealing corn found in his possession.
Having sack with him, he was also
charged with stealing that. His re-
ply was: mo, sar; / knowledge de
corn, but l amt gwlne to knowledge
de sack"
"Any color so it's red" originated
/ among the class Of characters called
Jakeys in the local drama. One Of
them being on q committee appointed
TO procure q new fire engine, was
asked what color the company desired
the apparatus painted. He replied,
why, any color, so it's red"
Drowning the miller" originated
from the following fact: If the mill
stream below the dam is sotpped, the
water is pounded back, and the mill
becomes what the mIlleIs call
tailed" There is too much water,
the mill will not work, and the miller
is said TO be drowned out" Hence
when too much of any one article is
put into a mixture, it is called drown
ing the miller"
"Better late than never" was used
over 800 years ago by Thomas Tucker,
In his Five Hundred Points OF Good
Husbsndry." Later on Bunyan used
it in his Pilgrims Progress"
Not few OF the phrases in use at
this day originated with Lyly, and
are found in his "Euphues," popu
lar book pu olished in 1880. Among
them might be mentioned caught
mapping" 50 crooked stick or none"
brown study" catching birds by
putting sa on their tails" &c.
When people do not particularly
like each other, it is sometimes said:
There is DO love lost between them"
The phrase occurs in the old ballad,
The Babes Of the Wood ;" and is 8
tale of the days of Shakespeare, en-.
titled "Montchensey."