Along that same line;we all remember General Norman Schwatzkopf of desert storm fame. He was a junior . His father was a general in war 2.Before he went into the Army he was a policeman + here's the good part.He was the cop that arrested the kidnapper of the Lindberg baby. I found that interesting.

“Being sold a bill of goods.”

What was the origin?

Bootlegger - Came from the practice of hiding illegal alcohol, or other contraband, in one's boot in the 19th century.

As to the bill of goods phrase I can only enter an opinion,not a fact. In the late 19th century,traveling peddlers r/e carpetbaggers would ply their trade as traveling salesmen that sold everything a woman could want from needles+ pins to bolts of fabric + anything else.Some (probably most) were unscruplious raskals.That is my thought on the phrase.Human nature has'nt changed much.

"The die has been cast". Refers to the singular of dice, being thrown; and an irrevocable choice, or decision, being made. From England, around 1630.

Makes perfect sense.

A few with obvious meanings, origination unknown.
Fitting to the thread.

I don't give a rats a$$.
I couldn't care less. (I could care less is improper).
Buck naked is also improper. Butt naked is correct.

"The hair of the dog that bit you." From the 1500s. The remedy for a bite by a rabid dog was believed to be the application of some hair of said dog to the wound itself.

That evolved into a reference to drinking. Meaning that the cure for a hangover was a small bit of the same drink the next morning.

True that. I recall an interview with a reporter in Alaska that saw every night these folks just falling out of the saloons at night + came to the conclusion that "the hair of the dog" was a leading cause of alcohalism.May be,I can certainly see where it could apply.

A Conniption Fit is an Americanism from the early 1800s. The phrase was last used by my Mother when I was growing up. She usually used it whenever any of her children were acting-up; going psycho over something minor; in her opinion.

Also,the term vittles was a bastardization of the old English victuals spoken by the eastern mountanineers (r/e hillbillies) that were originally
English transplants. Different subject here but in the past the Maori warriors when depressed,etc. just wanted to end it all had a system that allowed them to die with grace.The system was to take a knife + run through the villiage stabbing any one encountered,meanwhile the populace would come out to kill him (an honorable suicide)+ the cry to all was AMOK AMOK.That was the meaning of running amok.

A "wolf in sheep's clothing". From the Bible, New Testament, Matthew 7:15. It is part of The Sermon on the Mount.

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot. Once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive, you were "piss poor". But worse than that were the really poor folks who couldn’t even afford to buy a pot. They ‘didn’t have a pot to piss in’ and were considered the lowest of the low.

We all (maybe all) remember the comic strip "Little Orphan Annie," I have a book from the 20's when the series originated + It was very apparent that Oliver Warbucks fortune came from financing WW1. Thus the name 'Daddy Warbucks'.

Years ago we had a term of acceptance to the issue by the wording of "Does a meskin wear khakis?".you get the gist,that was the common response for something so obvious.One night I was was walking home from a street dance + out of this darkened alley I was asked if I wanted a beer. I said the correct above response,yo which the Mexican said Sure do man.What the hell I was young ,dumd,+ (brave?).So I went to meet the crew of Mexs.We all had a beer + no swithblade actions happened.I can only suppose that their thoughts was if a Gringo comes into this alley willingly he is either one bad M.F. or a fool.Better not to take the chance.One can usually guage the situation,these were not thugs,just sporting young men.Everyone went home O.K.

Woolgathering.(i.e. daydreaming) You don't hear that one much these days but was popular in the 30's. The premise was that woolgathers were clipping moving sheep + a bit of not being totally aware of what you were doing could result in a loss of fingers or worse.

Certain phrases pop in my mind and I think to post them here, but I forget them by the time I get around to it....Pfft!

Semi, as in the big rigs that go down the highway. Does anyone know how they got that name?

A full trailer has axles on both ends, while a semi trailer only has axles on one end and is supported by the fifth wheel. Thus, a tractor and semi trailer, often shortened to a semi.

Bean pole for a skinny dude?

That seems self evident to me;I have grown pole beans + we always put a long stake in the ground for the climber to follow.That was often a shovel handle,e.g.

"There ain't no free lunch". Prior to the Volstead Act of 1919 (proabition)The general rule in bars was to have a large plethora of food on the counter.You bought drinks you could eat for free. They looked askanse if you only ordered a beer but if you ordered a whiskey you were treated to a meal.Needless to say that after the act went into force + then when it went out,one thing you could count on is that anymore,There is no more free lunch.Interesting footnote here; W.C. Fields(noted alcky) as a child would dance for pennies on the street until he had enough for a glass of whiskey;then he could eat.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie -

"Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the first to put this notion into print, in Troilus and Criseyde, circa 1380, although the belief itself may well be much older."

"It is nought good a slepyng hound to wake."

What about . . .
Tip Top Shape

I think it is self explanatory, but maybe not

Hotter than a $2.00 pistol does'nt take too much imagination.As well as the term Saturday Night Special,with a conotation that this was a cheap gun of course used in the black communities.

Need anything else be asked about this one?

DCS, please don't shoot the messenger. When these terms were formed we were under Jim Crow + political correctness hadn't even been thought of. I.E., EVERYBODY knows that all niggers carry a straight razor, ad nauseum. All we are doing here is passing on phraseology + the invention of terms. I find it quite interesting.

I actually meant the phrase stirring the pot/shit.

Sorry,I misunderstood. Perhaps it means just what it says.

Not a phrase, but I know about wearing a cowboy hat inside. Don’t. What about the bad luck putting your hat on a bed?

The only 2 folks that eat with their hat on are cowboys + jews. The hat check system was set up in Texas dance halls in eras past; not so much today because if you knock a mans hat off, it's fist city.

Not that I'm advocating violence but when was the last time you saw a fistfight right there on the street? It used to be quite common before the pussification of the men in our country quit dealing with their issues themselves + gave it to the already overloaded cops. When I was a kid, we worked it out, after school, behind the bleachers, etc. But we worked it out!... A message to the next generation " Grow a Pair"!

"Cat got your tongue?" Supposedly from the old English Navy. They used to use a whip called “Cat-o’-nine-tails” for flogging. The pain was so severe that it caused the victim to stay quiet for a long time.

Makes me think of Churchill's comment when he was the newly appointed young lord of the admiralty + all the old tars who were stuck in the ways of the last 2 centuries could not abide this young upstart not following on the "Traditions Of The English Navy" to which Churchill replied, "The traditions of the English navy are Rum, sodomy, + the cat of nine tails."

quote:

Originally posted by NormanConquest:
Not that I'm advocating violence but when was the last time you saw a fistfight right there on the street? It used to be quite common before the pussification of the men in our country quit dealing with their issues themselves + gave it to the already overloaded cops. When I was a kid, we worked it out, after school, behind the bleachers, etc. But we worked it out!... A message to the next generation " Grow a Pair"!

I am 42, but had a shotgun in my truck during the mid 90s. I went to Highland Park and we were fairly safe, despite being shot at after a football game.

My mother asked me about the El Paso shooting snd she asked why there are AK-47s out there. She has known guns as we are all hunters, but she didn’t know that certain gun has been around since she was a child as well as the AR-15, well she was a young adult then.

It ain’t the gun. It will be interesting to learn about this sick individual. Prayers for all.

I had heard that the shooter had gone over the edge due to the immigration issue + went off. I don't KNOW that. If so did he only shoot Mexicans? When we hear of these mass shootings via the media we never seem to hear about the race. Bigot or not, certainly unbalanced to say the least.

Sounds like a bigot. My guess is that he went to El Paso because of the preponderance of Hispanics. When you start firing and swinging an AR, everyone is a potential victim. It is a shame these cowards never think of killing themselves first.

Yeah Ken Kinda reminds me of that line in "Band Of Brothers" when they are sitting on the rubble pile + the one guy is reading 'Stars + Stripes' + says (this is 1945) + says hey guys, it says here Hitler just shot himself + another guy says "Why the hell didn't he do it 4 years ago?"

"Cold-Turkey" - Supposedly this phrase, in one version, originated in the early 1900s. When an addict in the throes of withdrawal would go through a period when his skin would appear clammy, pale and covered in goose-bumps, much like the carcass of a cold (plucked) turkey.

Another term from the past concerning someone wearing glasses was ' 4 eyes or Cricket'. Most young folks 60+ years ago did not wear glasses.