| In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was
either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed
him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed
both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how
many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted.
Arms and legs are "limbs" therefore painting them would cost the buyer
more.
Hence the expression Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg," |
| As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year! (May & October) Women always kept their hair covered while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs. The wigs couldn't be washed so to clean! them, they could carve out a loaf of bread,put the wig in the shell and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term "big wig." Today we often use the term "here comes the Big Wig" because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy. |
| In the late 1700's many houses consisted of a large room with only
one chair. Commonly, a long wide board was folded down from the wall and
used for dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the chair while
everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Once in a while an invited guest
would be offered to sit in this chair during a meal whom was almost always
a man. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. Sitting
in the chair, one was called the chair man.
"Today in business we use the expression/title Chairman," |
| Needless to say, personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told "mind your own bee's wax." Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a smile." Also, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt and therefore the expression "losing face." |
| Ladies wore corsets which would lace up in the front. A tightly tied lace was worn by a proper and dignified lady as in "straight laced." |
| Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the "ace of spades." To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full deck." |
| Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what was considered important to the people. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs and bars who were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times "you go sip here" and "you go sip there." The two words "go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and thus, we have the term "gossip." |
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