S

Son of a gun
Originated when sea travel was the only way to travel large distances. There was little privacy on the ships. When a woman gave birth on the journey, the forward deck behind the main cannon was a common place for the birth to take place. If you were born at sea you were often referred to as a "son of a gun".

Sabotage
First used in the early 1900's to describe French railway workers that were on strike and used to cut the sabot that held railroad tracks in place.

Sacred Cow
A sacred cow is something open to criticism and highly reguarded. The origin is Hindu..

Safe Sex
Safe sex means taking precautions when having sex and using a condom to help prevent passing of diseases such as HIV and AIDS. This term originated in the 1980's due to the rise of the HIV/AIDS virus.

Shake a leg
To rouse yourself and get out of bed. Originally used in the navy. An alternative to 'show a leg'. This was the injunction given by naval officers to ratings who they were rousing from sleep. Showing a leg out of the sailor's hammock was required to prove they were awake.

Sleep Tight
Sleep tight which means 'sleep well' is a term which comes from how beds were made. Beds used to be made of ropes and would often slack and become loose which made sleeping very unconfortable. So, in order to sleep well you had to make the ropes as tight as possible before falling asleep.

Southpaw
This term for a left handed person originated in the late 1800's. Baseball diamonds were arranged so that the batters face the east to avoid looking into the afternoon sun. This meant left handed pitchers were on the southern ("South") side. "Paw" refers to their pitching hand.

Skid Row
Dating back to the 1880's it comes from "skid road" which was a logging road paved with tree trunks, or skids. The loggers usually hung out in a rough neighborhood full of vagrants and bums.


Saved by the bell
This term which means saved at the last possible moment derives from when people were buried with a bell above ground and a string in their coffin. This was just in case someone happened to be buried alive, they could ring the bell to notify others. This term is also used alot during boxing matches in which one boxer is saved by the round bell.

Stumped
This comes from trees along highways that were cut down. Back when wagons were commonly used, trees along highways had to be cut down to no more than 15 inches. On rainy days the stumps of the cut of trees would damage the axels due to the softened soil. So, when wagons sunk in mud you can say that they were 'stumped'

Strike a deal
This idiom which dates back to when horse traders in Ireland would agree on deals by hand slaps means to agree on a transaction.

Scapegoat
A scapegoat is someone who gets the blame for a scandal/mistake; typically, the scapegoat is either completely innocent, or at least is only one of many guilty people. This originates from the Old Testament of the Bible, in which a goat was sent into the wilderness for the sins of its owner. Lev 16:10: "But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as a scapegoat."

Straight From The Horse's Mouth
This also is a misquote of a Biblical passage. In the book of Numbers, God speaks to the prophet Balaam through a donkey; the phrase "straight from the donkey's mouth" has now become the phrase "straight from the horse's mouth". The phrase is used to indicate that something is definitely true, or heard firsthand; for example, "Yeah, it happened to Mark! I heard it straight from the horse's mouth!" Numbers 22:28 states: "And the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam..."

Spare The Rod, Spoil the Child
This was a common phrase in the previous century, and still exists today. It refers to the practice of spanking your children in discipline; the phrase "spare the rod, spoil the child" means that if you don't punish your children when they do wrong, you'll spoil them. This comes from a Biblical proverb (Prov 13:24): "He who withholds his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently."

Shot in the dark
A shot in the dark is a desperate attempt at doing something. For example, if you shoot at an enemy or attacker that you cannot see.

Spitting Image
The word spit may have come from the word 'spirit'. The word spit may have also come from spitting of the mouth, as in one person is so much like that person he may have been spit from the person's mouth.

Sour Grapes
Meaning to act mean after a disappointment. This phrase is derived from the bible. Old Testament, Ezekiel xviii. 2 - 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'.

Sitting Shotgun
Days of the old west if you rode a wagon somewhere you sat next to the person with the reigns w/ a shotgun in your handsto protect the wagon's cargo and the people on it because the driver had to hold onto the reigns to keep the horses moving if you were attacked.

Skin of your teeth
This saying means to barely escape from a harrowing situation. It comes from Job 19:20, where God inflicts all sorts of terrible things on one of those who love him. Poor Job had all his animals stolen, his children die, his house collapse and his body covered with sores. Job has this to say; "My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth."

Sitting in a Catbird Seat
A person is "sitting pretty" or in a "favored position." This saying was popularized, at least, in these here parts [Texas], by a short story entitled "Catbird Seat," which was written by the well-known American writer of humorous fiction--James Thurber. Thurber, of "Walter Mitty" fame, gives credit to Red Barber--the down--home Southern baseball sports announcer for introducing this rural idiom to the mainstream American public. According to Thurber, the phrase means: being in an advantageous position

T

Three Dog Night
It refers to being cold. Often when ranchers or cowboys were out on the range they would have to sleep with their dogs to keep warm. A one dog night was a night when he had to share body heat with one dog, two dog night was two dogs and a three dog night was an extremely cold night where he would have to share body heat with three dogs. “how cold was it on your trip?” “It was a three dog night”.

Third World
Originally a French term (Tiers Monde), it was coined by G. Balandier in 1956. The First World refers to the industrialized West (like the USA), the Second World refers to the Communist nations of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and the Third World refers to all the other countries.

Third times a charm
While your first two attempts may have not been a success, the thrid try is good luck. American origin. The similar phrase 'third time lucky' is used in the UK..

Top Drawer
To go first class. Whether it refers to clothes, food, travel. Eg: we went top drawer

Tie the knot
Since bed frames were sprung with rope. To make yourself a marriage bed you had to 'tie the knot'.

Top Notch
Top notch is just another way of say, "Excellent". American origin - following on from the British 'topping', and preceding the US 'the tops'. All meaning the same thing.

Thats all Folks!
Banner shown at the very end of a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Three Sheets to the Wind
Refers to when someone has had too much to drink and is therefore unsteady. When I visited Nantucket Island - which has several windmills, that the operators would adjust the number of sails dependent upon how strong the winds were. One rule that they had to follow was to always keep an even number of sails (either 2 or 4), opposite each other so that the windmill remained balanced. If they ever had 3 sheets, the windmill became unbalanced and extremely wobbly and unsteady.

Twenty three skidoo
An american orginated Idiom (1920's) that means 'let's get out of here.

Turn A Blind Eye
Just stopped by the site on idioms and sayings and noticed that you were missing one I've used forever. 'Turn a blind eye' which stems from the battle at Copenhagen between the British fleet commanded by Admiral Sir Hyde Parker and the Danes (can't remember who commanded it). The attack was led by the famous Admiral Nelson into the bay and during the battle there was a point where Parker had felt that Nelson's losses were unacceptable and hoisted the signal to disengage. When informed of the signal Admiral Nelson held the telescope to his blind eye and said "I see no ships" disobeying the order and winning the battle. Thus the phrase 'turn a blind eye'.

The Wave
The "wave" was actually originated by A's fan Crazy George Henderson onOctober 15, 1981 in Section 331 of the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland,California. There was speculation that the wave originated at theUniversity of Washington during a football game, but it was a couple weeksafter Crazy George started it.

The Truth Will Set You Free
This is obviously a very common saying, and Jesus states in John 8:31-32, "So Jesus was saying to the Jews who believed in Him, 'If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free.'"

There's more than one way to skin a cat
In other words, there is not only one way to achieve a goal. Skinning in this idiom may mean to beat and cats may have suffered.

Tongue In Cheek
To keep yourself from laughing at a bad time, you can thrust your tongue into your cheek. Back in the 1700's, this was used to signal contempt for another person. Over the years the meaning changed to be more humor related.

Three strikes and you are out
Originally a baseball term. This phrase was used by US President Clinton as a slogan for his policy of long term jail sentences for three-time offenders.

To Make A Long Story Short
"Usually the phrase repeated by a person telling a boring, long-winded story, but who has no real intention of actually shortening the story at all. When you hear this phrase, you know you're 'in for the long haul'."The origin of this phrase probably dates back to Old English times - long before tv, the internet, or computers came on the scene - w/ guys like Chaucer who used to travel around the countryside with nothing better to do than to tell boring, long-winded stories that no one wanted to hear.

Til the cows come home
Meaning a long and indefinite time. This phrase was paraphrased Groucho Marx in Duck Soup. 'I could dance with you till the cows come home. Better still, I'll dance with the cows and you come home.'

To Everything There Is A Season
This is a famous song "To everything/Turn, turn, turn/There is a season/Turn, turn, turn" of the 70s. I forget who sang it (Jefferson Airplane, maybe?) because I'm not a child of the 70's. Anyway, the song takes quite a bit from a section of the Bible: "There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven: A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance. ... A time to love and a time to hate; a time to war and a time for peace." (Ecc 3:1-8)

U

Uncle Sam
The patriotic Uncle Sam beame a famous symbol during World War II on recruiting posters. The exact origin is unknown, but may have been from a Troy NY meat packer or inspector who signed his boxes "U.S." because those were his initials.

Up the apples and pears
Slang for up the stairs. Its origin is unclear however a site visitor said it may have originated through cockney ryming slang..

Under the Weather
This popular phrase for "ill" dates back to 1827. It is commonly believed that bad weather can make you sick.

Use Your Loaf
The term "Use your loaf " comes from WW1 when trench warfare played a large part in battle. Sniperfire was rampant so if a soldier who had been lying in a trench for some time and popped his head up to see if all was clear he'd be likely to lose it. So instead they used to stick a loaf of bread from their rations on their bayonet and raise that in the air instead. Just thought i'd share that one for ya readers.

Up a blind alley
Meaning on the wrong track. Any alley with no clear or visible passage can be blind.

V

Vampire
This word dates back to the 1700's and probably comes from the Hungarian word Vampir. It may have also came from a Turkish word "uber" which means witch.

Van Gogh's ear for music
This is a reference to Van Gogh's well known ear which was cut off and means tone deaf.

W

Wag the Dog
Dates back to 1907 and means the subsidary (small) part controlling the major part. This was the title of a 1990's movie.

Wearing the pants
Being in charge, especially refers to women who are dominant over their husbands. In days of yore at least, men were supposed to be both the dominant force in the family and be the only family member to wear trousers. Thus a woman who wore trousers was considered to be in domineering.

Well Heeled
Well heeled or 'wealthy'. This is a cock fighting term. The most dangerious cocks were the ones with the large and sharpest heels.

Wet Behind The Ears
This phrase is used to state that someone is very young or, more often, inexperienced. When animals are born, they are wet from the amniotic fluid and the birthing blood. After giving birth, the mother animal licks her offspring clean with her tongue. This also stimulates them into taking their first breath. At that point, they begin to nurse and their fur dries. Due to the folds of skin, the last place to dry is often behind the ears, at the base. Thus, they are so newly born that they are still wet behind the ears.

Where there's muck there's brass
There is money to be made even with dirty jobs. This term started in England where money was once called 'brass'. Brass is rarely if never used today to refer to money.

Word in your shell
like Coming from a 'shell-like' ear, it simply means, 'I would like to talk to you'.

Windy City
Chicago is the Windy City because of the breezes from Lake Michigan.

Word for Word
Meaning exact repetition of someone else's words. This term dates back to the 1300's in Chaucer's 'I could folwe word for word Virgile'.

Whole nine yards
Comes from World War II fighter pilots, whose planes typically wereoutfitted with enough machine-gun ammunition to extend 27 feet. If a pilotexpended all his ammunition on a mission, he would say, "I gave them thewhole nine yards".

White Bread
This term refers to the supposed bland and uninteresting nature of white middle class culture in the US. This group is thought to be more trouble than is worth.

Wild and Woolly
Meaning unrestrained and law-less. Could have originated in the wild west.A site visitor also emailed the following:This relates to the snagging of wool from the wild ish sheep and animals in the past heather bound hills of Scotland and Wales

Wolf In Sheep's
Clothing A wolf in sheep's clothing is someone who is secretly out to harm you, while putting on a friendly face. Jesus first used this phrase to refer to people who teach false religions: "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves."

Who Let The Cat Out Of The Bag
The origins of this phrase come from when farmers would sell chickens at market. Most of the time they would just throw the chickens in a bag and sell them as however many were supposidly in there. But cats were cheaper than chickens so many times farmers would put a cat into the bag with the chickens and if someone suspected something they would open the bag. At that point the cat would jump out of the bag, thus giving away the secret.

X

X marks the spot
When one find's something or a clue to finding something one's been looking for. From the X on a pirate's map or the X where people are to sign documents? There're overtones, too, that the search has been the result of stupidity.

Y

Yankee
The origin is unknow but one theory holds that General James Wolfe (the battle hero of Quebec) used the word in a letter as a pejorative term for Americans. Another theory is that it comes from the Dutch "janke" which is a diminutive of the name Jan.

You are what you eat
What you eat determines how healthy of a person you are. So to be fit you must eat healthy. It was first used in the 1960's (during the hippy era). It originally referred to eating wholefood.

You Can't Take it With You
Also from the Bible, this saying originates from Paul's first letter to Timothy (I Tim 6:7), where he states, "For we have brought nothing into the world, and so we cannot take anything out of it. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content."

Your name is mud
This idiom means 'you are not popular'. While escaping after shooting President Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth broke his leg. The doctor that gave him medical attention was Dr. Samuel Mudd. At the time, Mudd had no idea that Booth had committed the murder. Dr. Mudd was unfairly convicted of being a conspirator to Booth.