It's a weird time in Real Estate. The market is all over the place with some Buyers jumping on properties before things get heated again while others cautiously wait and watch the interest rates.
I think we are feeling a little weird as well.
Recently at a team meeting, after we'd exhausted all things professional of course, we got to talking about idioms. Yes idioms, those fun little sayings that we say but WHERE DID THEY COME FROM????? We sent Christine on a fact finding mission and here's what she came up with.
THE HISTORY BEHIND IDIOMS:
1. "Butter someone up"
- Meaning: To flatter someone in order to gain favor.
- Fun History: In ancient India, people would throw balls of butter at statues of the gods to seek their favor. This act of "buttering up" the gods led to the idiom’s current meaning.
2. "Bite the bullet"
- Meaning: To endure something painful or unpleasant.
- Fun History: During wartime, when anesthesia wasn’t available, soldiers would bite on bullets to distract themselves from the pain of surgery. Pretty hardcore way to deal with discomfort!
3. "Break the ice"
- Meaning: To initiate a conversation or get past an awkward moment.
- Fun History: In the past, ships that traded goods had to break through ice in frozen waters to reach ports. Similarly, when you "break the ice," you're making it easier to start a conversation.
4. "The elephant in the room"
- Meaning: A big, obvious problem that people are ignoring.
- Fun History: It’s said that this phrase comes from a famous Russian fable about a man who goes to a museum and notices all sorts of small things but misses the enormous elephant in the middle of the room.
5. "Cost an arm and a leg"
- Meaning: Something very expensive.
- Fun History: In the 18th century, portrait artists charged more money to paint full-body portraits because of the additional work involved. So, if you didn’t want to "lose an arm or a leg" financially, you would only commission a portrait of your head and shoulders!
6. "Caught red-handed"
- Meaning: To be caught in the act of doing something wrong.
- Fun History: In old Scottish law, someone caught with blood on their hands after committing a crime like murder or poaching was literally "caught red-handed."
7. "Let the cat out of the bag"
- Meaning: To accidentally reveal a secret.
- Fun History: This idiom is thought to come from medieval market scams where people would sell piglets in bags, but would substitute them with a less valuable cat. If the "cat got out of the bag," the secret was exposed!
8. "Sleep tight"
- Meaning: Sleep well.
- Fun History: In the old days, mattresses were supported by ropes, which you had to pull tight to avoid sagging. Hence, "sleep tight" meant literally tightening the bed for a good night’s rest.
9. "Riding shotgun"
- Meaning: Sitting in the front passenger seat of a vehicle.
- Fun History: In the Wild West, stagecoaches were often targets for robbers. The person who sat next to the driver carried a shotgun to protect the coach. Today, it's just about getting the best seat in the car!
10. "Pulling someone’s leg"
- Meaning: To tease or joke with someone.
- Fun History: One theory is that criminals in 18th-century England used to literally trip people by pulling their legs to rob them. Over time, it evolved to mean playful deception or teasing.
11. "Burning the midnight oil"
- Meaning: To work late into the night.
- Fun History: Before electricity, people used oil lamps to provide light while they worked late at night. If you were "burning the midnight oil," it meant you were putting in extra hours after dark.
12. "Under the weather"
- Meaning: Feeling unwell or sick.
- Fun History: Sailors who felt seasick were sent below deck to recover, literally putting them "under the weather" to avoid the harsh elements.
13. "Paint the town red"
- Meaning: To go out and have an extravagant, fun time.
- Fun History: In 1837, a rowdy group of British aristocrats led by the Marquis of Waterford got drunk and ran around the town of Melton Mowbray, painting buildings and signs red. Their wild night of vandalism led to the idiom meaning a night of wild fun.
14. "Kick the bucket"
- Meaning: To die (humorously).
- Fun History: In olden times, when animals were slaughtered, they would sometimes be hung from a beam or a bucket, and as they struggled, they would kick the bucket. This grim origin led to the humorous use of the phrase for death.
15. "Close but no cigar"
- Meaning: Almost successful, but not quite.
- Fun History: This phrase originated at fairgrounds in the 19th century when cigars were often given out as prizes for winning games. If you came close to winning but failed, the barker would say, "Close, but no cigar"
Hope we haven't let the cat out of the bag but we just had to know how these all came about. We wouldn't pull you leg on something like this, these meanings are all true. Makes a nice break from Real Estate which really is starting to cost an arm and a leg....ok, I'll stop!!!
