Origin(s) of common phrases and sayings

[GPS_fan]

I saw this in another thread:

[GJF]

OK, so we have started Sir Winston Churchill on the metric non topic

Are we only quoting from the Navy?

Try these HERE or HERE

Army.

From Napoleon Bonaparte - An army travels on its stomach

Napoleon of course originally said this in French - "une armée marche à son estomac". It is normally translated into English as "An army *marches* on its stomach". He meant that an army's success depends on logistics; however brave and dedicated the soldiers are, if they have no food they cannot march or fight.

Air Force

Balls to the wall.

Origin: From fighter planes. The "balls" are knobs atop the plane's throttle control. Pushing the throttle all the way forward, to the wall of the cockpit, is to apply full throttle.

Navy

Slush Fund

A slushy slurry of fat was obtained by boiling or scraping the empty salted meat storage barrels. This stuff called slush was often sold ashore by
the ship's cook for the benefit of himself or the crew. The money so derived became known as a slush fund.

Misc'

Egg on my face

Speaks to the embarrassment of having eaten breakfast in a sloppy manner, resulting in residual egg on the face. While it originated in the U.S. (not so long ago, maybe post-1950s), it was also used in England. In 1972 Lord Chalfont reflected in 'The Times' of London: "There is something reassuringly changeless about the capacity of the highest military authorities for getting egg on their face."
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[GPS_fan]

[MaFt]

when we were younger playing tig we had a rule of 'you cant tig your butcher' which meant that you cant get the person who just got you

i have no idea where this came from but my theory is it started from 'you cant tig who touched ya' which gradually morphed into 'you cant tig your butcher'

that's my (unproven) theory anyway!


also, "Mind Your P's and Q's" has nothing to do with please and thank you. it was short for 'mind your pints and quarts' as if people in pubs were rude they'd get their drinks taken from them - so to remind them to behave they were told to "mind their p's and q's"


MaFt

[GJF]

This topic has reminded me of the odd saying of "May you break your leg" wished upon actors to one another, wondering where it originated from, i found the following -

Of all theatrical superstitions, this attempt to ward off the forces of darkness by wishing one’s fellow performers the opposite of good luck is the one that’s perhaps best known outside the profession. It belongs with other superstitions, such as that it’s bad luck to whistle in a theatre, that you should never utter the final line of a play at the dress rehearsal, or that you must never say the name of the Scottish Play in the green room. Actors have always been a superstitious bunch, as you might expect from a profession in which employment is sporadic, audiences fickle and reputations fragile.

The saying is widely used among actors and musicians in the theatre today, sometimes before every performance, but more often reserved for first night. Where it comes from has for decades been a source of dispute here are the following speculations:

In earlier times, actors wished one another “may you break your leg”, in the hope that the performance would be so successful that the performer would be called forth to take a bow — to bend his knee.

At one time audiences showed their appreciation by throwing money on the stage; to pick the coins up, actors had to break their legs, that is, kneel or bend down.

The curtains on either side of a stage were called the legs, so that to pass through the legs was to make it out on to the stage ready to give a good performance, or perhaps expressing the hope that you will need to pass through them at the end of the show to take a curtain call, implying your performance had been good.

The saying really refers to getting one’s big break, that the performance will be good enough to ensure success in one’s career.

The famous French actress Sarah Bernhardt had a leg amputated in 1915, which didn’t stop her performing; it is considered good luck to mention her in the hope that some of her theatrical prowess will rub off by association.

John Wilkes Booth, the actor who assassinated President Lincoln, broke his leg when he jumped on to the stage to escape afterward. Somehow, reminding fellow actors of this event is supposed to lead to good luck in the performance.

Found this at worldwidewords.org
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[GPS_fan]

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