The phrase ‘square meal’ comes from the English Royal Navy during the time of Nelson.

In order to stop plates and dishes slipping around on the table while ships were at sea, four pieces of wood were nailed to the benches in the shape of a square – hence the phrase ‘square meal’.

Today, the phrase refers to a hearty, wholesome meal.

The word ‘sincere’ has some interesting roots.

One story states that the word originates from the ancient marble quarries of Rome, where unscrupulous stone dealers used to cover imperfections in the marble with wax.

The practice eventually became illegal, as the Roman Empire certified that all marble had to be ‘sine cera’ or ‘sincerus’, meaning ‘without wax’.

So, to be sincere is to be genuine.

Hadrian's Wall, which was built to guard the Romans’ northern English border against the marauding Scots, had forts situated at regular intervals along its length. Every two weeks, the soldiers were allowed to sleep inside them.

This is where the British term for two weeks, 'fortnight', comes from.

This phrase originated during the Great War.

The Vickers machine gun boasted a nine-yard magazine belt. To 'give them the whole nine yards' meant to use up the entire belt on the enemy.

These days, the phrase means ‘everything possible’.

Submitted by Ben Edwards

In Tudor England, the ladies wore pointed bonnets called wimples. Underneath their hats, their hair was piled high and pinned up.

Naturally, in the bed chamber, caps and hats (as well as other garments) were removed. It was a time for wanton behaviour and abandonment – but only in the bedroom, and in private.

Hence, letting one's hair down was a practical as well as a symbolic thing.

Today, ‘to let your hair down’ means to have fun and enjoy yourself.

No, it's not as coarse and rude as it might appear! This very common description of the British winter weather actually comes from the times when the Navy fought with cannons.

To prevent the cannon balls from rolling around the ship, they were welded to a small stable upright called a brass monkey.

In the bitter cold, the weld could snap and let the balls loose!

'Blighty' is a nickname for Britain.

In the First World War, soldiers would pray for a 'blighty': a wound that would get them back to Britain for treatment.

Some people say that the word is a corruption of 'beauty', but it’s more likely derived from a Hindu word meaning 'stranger' – and that it was picked up during the times of the British Raj.

This phrase describes a person who has no mind of his or her own, and just does whatever someone else says.

Jack Straw was an itinerant hedgerow preacher.

Submitted by Patti Johnson

In bygone times there was a lack of places to bury people after they had died – so people would dig up coffins after a number of years in order to reuse the graves.

When the coffins were opened, around one in 25 were found to have scratch marks on the inside. They had been burying people alive!

To prevent this from happening again, a string was tied to the deceased's wrist and guided up through the ground, where it was tied to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night and listen out in case it rang.

'Graveyard shift' also refers to the practice of sitting in a graveyard overnight to guard against grave robbers.

These days, it means a late or overnight work shift.

Submitted by Marg Duncombe

In olden times, the man of the house had the privilege of taking his yearly bath in a tub of clean, hot water. He was then followed by his grown-up sons, the women, and the children. Last of all were the babies. By then, the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it!

Today, the phrase means that you shouldn’t discard something valuable when attempting to throw away something bad.

Submitted by Marg Duncombe

British houses used to have thatched roofs made out of thick straw. It was the only place where animals could get warm, so dogs, cats and pests (including mice and bugs) used to live in the roof.

When it rained, it became slippery – and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off.

These days, ‘it’s raining cats and dogs’ is a phrase used when it’s raining very heavily.

This is also the reason why four poster beds developed. The idea of the bed’s 'roof' was to prevent nasty things from falling into your open mouth while you slept! The side curtains were added to keep out draughts.


Submitted by Marg Duncombe

Once upon a time, the only light in a house was provided by a candle called a taper, which was usually kept alight on a holder beside the fire.

If special visitors came and more light was required, the taper was lit at both ends.

These days, the phrase means to exhaust oneself by getting up early and working hard until late at night.

Before thermometers were invented, brewers would dip a thumb or finger into their alcoholic concoction to find the right temperature for adding yeast.

Too cold, and the yeast wouldn't grow. Too hot, and the yeast would die.

Nowadays, the expression ‘rule of thumb’ means a broadly accurate guide or principle.

Another possible derivation for this phrase comes from an ancient custom whereby men were permitted to beat their wives – but only with a stick no thicker than their thumb. This is also where the phrase ‘to have someone under your thumb' comes from.

Submitted by Marg Duncombe

Our ancestors’ personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many people developed acne scars by adulthood.

Women would spread beeswax over their 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 to 'mind her own beeswax'.

These days, this is a tongue in cheek way of telling someone to mind their own business.

The wax-smoothing practice also led to the phrase ‘crack a smile’. When a woman with beeswax on her face smiled, the wax would sometimes crack!

In old England, ale used to be drunk in pints and quarts.

When customers got unruly, the innkeeper would yell at them to ‘mind their pints and quarts’ – in other words, to ‘settle down’.

In 1794, Admiral Vernon of the British fleet decided to water down the Navy's rum. Needless to say, the sailors weren't too pleased and gave Admiral Vernon the nickname Old Grog – after the stiff wool grogram coats he wore.

The term ‘grog’ soon began to mean the watered down drink itself. When you were drunk on this grog, you were ‘groggy’ – a word still in use today.

Submitted by Marg Duncombe

Many years ago, pub customers had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic mugs. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service.

‘Wet your whistle’ is a phrase inspired by this practice. These days, the phrase has simply come to mean ‘to have a drink’.

Submitted by Marg Duncombe

It was the accepted practice in Anglo-Saxon England years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink (it was supposed to make the wife fertile and the husband virile).

Mead is a honey wine – and because the Anglo-Saxons used a lunar calendar, this period was called the
‘honey month’, or what we know today as the ‘honeymoon’.

Submitted by Tana M. Schiewer

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on.

That's where the phrase ‘good night, sleep tight’ came from.

Submitted by Tana M. Schiewer

During the middle ages and mediaeval period, the condemned were taken from London city gaols to Tyburn Hill for execution.

En route, along what is today's Oxford Street, the cart stopped and they were allowed one final drink at a country inn situated on the road.

The 'one' they were drinking was for the road to death.

These days, the phrase is used for the final drink before heading home.

In olden times people would share a drinking vessel called a 'pigin', which was passed around the drinking circle. When it was your turn to drink, you drank down to your mark, or ‘peg’.

If you upset the crowd you had to miss a few turns, hence you were brought down a 'peg or two'.

Nowadays, the phrase means to reprimand someone behaving in an arrogant manner.

Horribly, people used to have heavy weights loaded onto their chests in an effort to squeeze a confession out of them at an interrogation.

They were, quite literally, 'pressed for an answer'.

Many people were buried alive in times past because it was not recognised that they might simply be in a coma. This was especially true of people who drank.

Thus, a body was usually left out for a while, and a party thrown around it – just to make sure the corpse didn't 'wake' up!

There are several potential derivations for this phrase.

One is that peasants were permitted under ancient forestry acts to take from the forests only that which they could reach from the edge with their hooks or shepherds crooks.

Another version has it that Cromwell vowed to take Waterford in Ireland attacking either via the village of Hook or Crook.

Today, the phrase means ‘by any means possible’.

Travel to the walled city of York in northern England and you'll undoubtedly enjoy time in its narrow cobblestoned streets – which were known as 'the Shambles' in bygone times.

Traditionally, this is where traders erected their temporary stalls and sold their wares, long before the idea of a permanent shop was feasible.

In fact, such streets were a feature of all towns. You can imagine the chaos as traders fought for space in these unregulated areas. It would truly have been shambolic!

When the ships of old were about to leave port, sometimes sailors tried to smuggle ladies aboard, concealing them in their hammocks.

The officers or mates would do a final inspection of the ship and crew before she left. Anybody in a hammock was bidden to 'show a leg'. Should a hairless and shapely one dangle, the owner was usually a Jill rather than a Jack Tar – and eviction swiftly followed!

Today, the phrase is used when trying to rouse someone from sleep.