The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-04-24
THE POPULAR PHRASES,
nov, WHEN. AND WHERE TBE MANY
IHfNGS WE SAY ORIGfNATED.
some OF the favorite Expressions Date
Back to the Time of Engiand's iatly
Kings-Msny Are of Foreign Origin

pccially OF popular phrases. "A gic@t re"i
OF curious reconcile history is oiten
wrapped up In them; but. unfortunately
the metamorphosis which they undergo
in the lapse of time is such that the most
cunning word-hunter is often puzzled to
trace their origin. Let us consider a rev
OF these phrases.
In spite OF ones teeth" is said 10 date
back TO the time of King John Of En-
gland. the violent and odious successor
Of Richard the LION Heart who was
hated by all classes of his subjects for his
cxactions and impositons Early in his
reign. he got a worthy Jew into his
clutches and drew out one Of his teeth
daily. u IT'LL after a fortnight of torture.
the Jew yielded 10 the tyrants demands
for mon ~. Similarly. the phrase, haul
ing over the Goals" refers to "A period in
the twelfth or thirteenth century, when
fcudnl b: rons extracted money from the
Jews by suspending them above slow fires
Till they paid a ransom or died. Jhe
political term TO rat" used far more In
England than I'm this country. originated
in the time OF George ]. His enemies re-
Niled the adhcrents OF the courts as
Hanover rats" Not long after the ac-
ccsson OF the House OF Hanover 10 the
English throne. some Of the brown-that
IS. the German or Norwegian--rats were
brought over 90 England; and, being
much stronger than the black or com
mon rats. they in many places quite eX-
tirpated the latter. AT FIRST. the word
both the noun and the verb ito rat
was loveled at the converts TO the gov
eminent of George l.; but gradually IL
obtained wider meaning. and came 10
denote any sudden and mercenary change
I'm politics.
TO SMELL A RAT.
The expression ito smell rat mean
Ing TO conceive a suspicion. Is said 10
come from the German phrase Unrath
wittern. TO smell something objectionable.
The German prefix I'm has passed into
tho English article a. and this and
perverted translation have given us The
phrase i'm question. In the phrase "dowse
the glim" (put out the hghD. the word
'dowse" is from the dialect verb dout,--
that is, TO DO out. or put out; and 'Slim'
IS a modification OF "glimmer." an I'M
certain light ITO sleep like top seems
very absurd phrase. IL is n corruption
OF the French proverb. "dormir CONNIE
une taupe." TO sleep like mole. Just
the cheese" IS an Oriental phrase. The
word cheese" from cheez. Hindoostanee.
means thing" In England. persons who
fawn upon the aristocracy are called tuft-
hunters-a phrase which refers TO the
fact that at the universities at Oxford.
Cambridge, and Dublin, a student who
Is noblemans son wears, or at one
time wore. q tuft or tassel on the square
cap worn by undergraduates at the uni
versty.
A "toad-eator" is one who does the
most nauseous things TO please his pa
trons--as a mountebanks boy in the
olden time ate toads in order to show
his masters skill in expelling poison.
Stealing another mans thunder dates
back to Queen Anne's time, In England.
John Dennis. n minor man OF letters
whom Pope satirized. wrote q tragedy
entitled "Appius and Virginia" The
piece is now recollected only by the
Circumstance that the author invented
some new thunder for the performance.
and by his piteous complaint against the
actors for afterwards stealing his
thunder" ar expression which became
prOverbial.
TO TOLL A BELL.
The phrase "to toll a bell' has a very
curious history. 1t is an incorrect way
Of saying, ito toll a knel on a bell"
When an inhabitant Of an English parish
died, It was once customary 20 sound
the church bell. for two reasons,-flrst.
because IL was supposed that the agita-
ton of the atmosphere caused by the
sound from consecrated bells tended TO
prevent evil spirits molesting the parting
soul in its flight toward heaven; and.
second to invite neighbors and friends 10
Join in supplication for the person about
10 depart. At the end Of the knell proper
Il was usual to indicate. by some pecu-
liarity in the ringing. the sex and age
OF the deceased and this was done by
certain number Of strokes sounded apart
usually three for a child. six for a wo-
man and nine for a man. These strokes
were counted. and thus the knell at the
conclusion was said 10 be told; that IS.
counted,-as in the phrase untold gold"
or Here Is the sum twice told" Grad
ually this idea was lost. and rhe part oiple
told was referred TO a supposed inhnitive.
20 toll. instead Of its natural infintive. 10
tell or count Again. the strokes told.
or counted at the end Of a knell were
rallied tellers and this term was corrupted
into tailers. from their sounding at the
End or tail Of the knell; and as nine OF
these were given TO announce the death
81 an adult male. this fact gave bi;th 10
the saying Mine tailors make man."
MIND YOUR P'S AND Q'S.
The phrase Mind your Ps and Q's' Is
generally. but enormously, supposed TO
have originated in the score of P's and
Q's (pints and quarts) chalked up In bar
rooms in the case OF customers who did
not pay down for their drinks. The
phrase comes from the pr1nting-office.
and Is due to the similarity in form of
the iower-case or small p and q in font
of roman letter. leading a novice TO mix
them when distributing type into the
oases Turning the tables on an op-
ponont IS an expression derived from the
game Of backgammon. backgammon
s. the game (gamon) Of the trough (boc).
but I'm early times it was called the game
OF tables. "ro turn the tables" or back
CANNON board, is TO reverse the relative
position Of two antagonists; and hence
they are said to be turned upon a player
whose fortune has been adverse.
In Cornwall England smoked pill
chards are called Fair Maids "a sim
pular name Of which Prof. Max Muller
gives the following explanation: "These
smoked pilchards are largely exported 20
Genoa. and are eaten during Lent They
are called In Italian fumada, smoked
fish The Cornish sailors picked up That
word. naturalzed It. gave II an intellisi-
bile meaning. and thus became, according
to their own confession. exporters of fair
maids. You see the Odyssey and the ad-
ventures OF Ulysses are nothing. compar-
ed with the adventures Of our words"
Going the whole hog which is almost
universally regarded as a characteristic
American phrase. is said 20 be Of Hiber-
MAN coinage. Before the year 1875 tie
SILVER shilling in Ireland was equiv llent
- thirteen pence or one penny more
than tho English one. The former coin
Was sometimes called "a thirteen" and
sometimes "a hog" When an Irisn'lan
n. ohary of expense. spent an entire
shilling In entertaining a friend, he vas
sail Ito 20 the whole hog. '-Nugal 1t
tCgiiai.