Language Jouranl 20 to 22 (WC: 445)

English Sayings and Customs

The Clink:

Then: The name of a prison which was on Clink Street in the Southwark area of London.

Now: The nickname for any prison.

Black Market:

            Then: In medieval England there were nomadic mercenaries who wandered the country side and would sell their services to the highest bidder. These were hardened fighters who lived solitary lives in the wilderness.

Now: Any market used to buy and sell illegal goods or services. Many times the product is stolen or against state law.

Son of a Gun:

            Then: After sailors had crossed the Atlantic to the West Indies, they would take the native women on board the ship and have their way with them in between the cannons. Some of the women the sailors left behind would have boys, who were called sons between the guns.

            Now: A phrase used to describe a person either in a positive or negative light who completed some type of task.

Patent Leather:

Then: After the Patten shoe which the young women wore in the buttery. When the cream spilled on their shoes, the fat would tend to make the leather shiny.

Now: Known to be a special type of leather.

Beat Around the Bush:

Then: Game birds were scared out of their hiding places under bushes and then killed.

Now: To be purposely ambiguous, or speak indirectly about a topic.

Cut through the Red Tape:

Then: Solicitors kept their clients papers in a file folder tied with red ribbon to prevent the papers from falling out. Of course, when they wanted to get at the papers, they would have to cut through the red tape.

Now: To clarify, or eliminate complications.

Getting Tanked

Then: When you drank too much out of the above "tankard" you were said to be "tanked" ... if you got so "tanked" that you passed out, there was a chance that somebody might think you had actually died. Since back then they didn't have experience with taking pulses, they often buried people alive who were actually in a drunken stupor or otherwise comatose.

Now: To become very drunk.

Pitcher:

Then: A leather jug treated with tar pitch to help it hold its shape.

Now: A kitchen appliance used to store or pour large amounts of liquid.

Frog in Your Throat:

            Then: Medieval physicians believed that the secretions of a frog could cure a cough if they were coated on the throat of the patient. The frog was placed in the mouth of the sufferer and remained there until the physician decided that the treatment was complete.

            Now: To have difficulty speaking because your throat is dry and cannot clear your throat.