Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-01-23
HOW THEY ORIGINATED.
Some OF the Queer Expressions
Now In Common Use.
"Dead as . Door-NaiI' Erpiained-"I Ao-
knowledge the Corn FIRST Used bya
Commemorative the Cake"
q Negro Contribution.


respecting the hare assert that in
March the animal is particularly
wild and sly. Consequently the
phrase can have no meaning except
as q sarcastic allusion to ones lack
Of courage and spirit.
One often hears Hes as dead as
q door-nail," yet it Is probable that
most OF those who use the phrase
cannot tell why door-nail should
be deader than any other nail that is
made Of metal. 1t is explained, how
ever, that the door-nail in earlier
times was the plate on the door
upon which the old-fashioned and
now unused knock er" struck to
arouse the inmates of the house. AS
the plate or nail was struck many
more times than any other nail, it
was assumed to be deader than
nails struck only when driven into
wood.
~ acknowledge the corn, mean
Ing to retract or take back, has q
number of explanations, the most
plausible of which is that, in 1928,
one Stewart, of Ohio, made speech
in congress in which he declared
that "Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky
sent their haystacks and cornfelds
to New York and Philadelphia for o
market" Wickcliffe, of Kentucky,
questioned the correctness of the
statement. ''What do they send2"
asked Stewart. ''Why, horses,
mules, cattle and hogs" What
makes your horses, mules, cattle
and hogs?" continued the Ohio man;
'you feed one hundred dollars worth
Of hay to a horse; you just animate
and get on top of your hay stack
and ride off to market. How is
1t with your cattle? You make
one Of them carry fifty dollars worth
of hay and grass to the eastern
market How much corn does it
take at thirtythree cents q bushel
to fatten a hog? Why. thirty
bushels. Then you put thirty BUSH
els in the shape of hog and make
it walk off to the eastern market"
II acknowledge the corn," shouted
the Kentucky member.
"To take the cake" had its or
igin in the cake walk in which col
ored couples participated, the prize
being a cake. Hence, anyone who
does thing conspicuously well, or,
sarcastically and more usually, one
who fails is said "to take the cake"
ga little bird told me" is an al
most universal adage, based upon
the idea that this ubiquitous wan
derer from the vantage of the upper
air spies out all strange and secret
things and tells them to those who
can understand. Thus, in Ecclesi-
astes, x, 20: Course not the king,
no, not In thy thought; and curse
not the rich in thy bed chamber; for
the bird Of the air will carry thy
voice, and that which hath wings
shall tell the matter"
LET US return to our muttonS,"
meaning let us return to the SUBJ
ject matter from which we have wan
dered. The phrase comes from an old
French play, in which draper who
had been cheated by lawyer of six
eils of cloth appears in court to de-
fend a shepherd who has stolen
twenty-eight sheep Of the draper.
The pretense of the thievish lawyer
caused the draper to wander from
the sheep thief to his swindling law
yer, confusing the two misdemean-
ors, which caused the Judge to fire.
quently exclaim: "Let us return to
our muttons" (sheep).
"Not worth tinker's damn" Is
really not profane in itself, as the
last word should be spelled without
an "n." A tinker's dam is wall Of
dough or clay raised around spot
which the plumber is repairing, just
as he desires it, fixed with solder.
The material can be used but once;
consequently, after being used, is
worthless. Hence the force of the
adage for q comparison Of worthless
things.
Everything is lovely and the
goose hangs high" is a much-used
expression, but why the hanging Of
the goose high should have anything
to do with making everything love-
ly is not clear, unless it is explained.
Hangs is a misapprehension of the
word 'honks, the cry of the wild
goose as it flies. On clear days wild
geese fly high, hence they ''honk"
high. Consequently the adage means
everything is lovely and the weather
is fair.
"I'll put spoke in his wheel" has
very little meaning as the word
spoke is now used, ana instead of
being a threat, might be considered
as a pledge to assist. 1t had its
origin many years ago when wheels
were solid except three holes to re-
ceive "spoke" or pin when going
down hill, which acted as brake.
In 1859, In memorial. two measures
designed to interfere with the arbi-
trary government of James II. are
spoken of ''as such spokes in their