"Piss Poor" and Other Curiosities

 

http://www.littlethings.com/customs-from-a-simpler-time-vas/

An Incredible Look At Sayings And Customs From A Simpler Time

philPHIL MUTZ

We can learn a lot about ourselves by looking to the past.

History not only provides us with a nostalgic glimpse at how things used to be — like with these classic childhood toys — but its lessons can still teach us things today.

So when I spotted this look at how life “way back when” has shaped our modern phrases and customs, I was absolutely floored!

This piece has been floating around the Internet for nearly 20 years, and its message definitely hits home.

While these facts have appeared in several forms  — like in this compilation by Flo Deems of ToneByTone — below is a word-for-word re-posting of one of these versions.

And though some versions refer to life in the 1500s — and some differing opinions have been offered on these origins — I think we can definitely agree that its message resonates throughout history.

Scroll through this viral piece to rethink all those old sayings and traditions that you might still use today!

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dustbowl photos

Dorothea Lange via Wikipedia

 

“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.”

dustbowl photos

Dorothea Lange via Wikipedia

“Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.

However, since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor.

Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.”

Dorothea Lange via Library of Congress

“Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water.

The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women, and finally the children. Last of all the babies.

By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, ‘Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water!’”

 

Arthur Rothstein via Library of Congress

“Houses had thatched roofs with thick straw-piled high and no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof.

When it rained, it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, ‘It’s raining cats and dogs.’

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed.

Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That’s how canopy beds came into existence.”

dustbowl photos

Arthur Rothstein via Wikipedia

“The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the term, ‘dirt poor.’

The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing.

As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way.

Hence, ‘a thresh hold.’”

Dorothea Lange via Library of Congress

“In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day, they lit the fire and added things to the pot.

They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day.

Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, ‘Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.’

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off.

It was a sign of wealth that a man could ‘bring home the bacon.’ They would cut off a little to share with guests, and would all sit around and ‘chew the fat.’”

 

Dorothea Lange via Library of Congress

“Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death.

This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the ‘upper crust.’”

Walker Evans via Wikipedia

“Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days.

Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.

They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up.

Hence the custom of holding a ‘wake.’”

dust bowl

Sloan via Wikipedia

“In old, small villages, local folks started running out of places to bury people.

So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave.

When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside, and they realized they had been burying people alive.

So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.

Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (‘the graveyard shift’) to listen for the bell.

Thus, someone could be ‘saved by the bell,’ or was considered a ‘dead ringer.’

Now, whoever said history was boring?”

-Viral Internet piece, as compiled by Flo Deems of ToneByTone

 

This incredible piece about “the way things were” is a great reminder to respect our rich history.

Which of these sayings do you use? Had you heard these explanations before? Let us know in the comments.

Please SHARE this nostalgic look back with friends and family!

ChrisBowers's picture

Some more:

Bite the bullet

bite the bullet, idiom, words, Grammarly

Meaning: To accept something difficult or unpleasant

Origin: In the olden days, when doctors were short on anesthesia or time during a battle, they would ask the patient to bite down on a bullet to distract from the pain. The first recorded use of the phrase was in 1891 in The Light that Failed.

Break the ice

Meaning: To break off a conflict or commence a friendship.

Origin: Back when road transportation was not developed, ships would be the only transportation and means of trade. At times, the ships would get stuck during the winter because of ice formation. The receiving country would send small ships to “break the ice” to clear a way for the trade ships. This gesture showed affiliation and understanding between two territories.

Butter someone up

Meaning: To impress someone with flattery

Origin: This was a customary religious act in ancient India. The devout would throw butter balls at the statues of their gods to seek favor and forgiveness.

Mad as a hatter

Meaning: To be completely crazy

Origin: No, you didn’t already know this one, because it didn’t originate from Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Its origins date from the 17th and 18th centuries — well before Lewis Caroll’s book was published. In 17th century France, poisoning occurred among hat makers who used mercury for the hat felt. The “Mad Hatter Disease” was marked by shyness, irritability, and tremors that would make the person appear “mad.”

Cat got your tongue?

Meaning: Asked to a person who is at loss of words

Origin: The English Navy 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. Another possible source could be from ancient Egypt, where liars’ and blasphemers’ tongues were cut out and fed to the cats. (What a treat for the cats!)

Barking up the wrong tree

Meaning: To have misguided thoughts about an event or situation, a false lead

Origin: This refers to hunting dogs that may have chased their prey up a tree. The dogs bark, assuming that the prey is still in the tree, when the prey is no longer there.

Turn a blind eye

Meaning: To ignore situations, facts, or reality

Origin: The British Naval hero, Admiral Horatio Nelson, had one blind eye. Once when the British forces signaled for him to stop attacking a fleet of Danish ships, he held up a telescope to his blind eye and said, “I do not see the signal.” He attacked, nevertheless, and was victorious.

Bury the hatchet

Meaning: To stop a conflict and make peace

Origins: This one dates back to the early times North America when the Puritans were in conflict with the Native Americans. When negotiating peace, the Native Americans would bury all their hatchets, knives, clubs, and tomahawks. Weapons literally were buried and made inaccessible.

Caught red-handed

Meaning: To be caught in the act of doing something wrong

Origin: This originates from an old English law that ordered any person to be punished for butchering an animal that wasn’t his own. The only way the person could be convicted is if he was caught with the animal’s blood still on his hands.

Give a cold shoulder

Meaning: Being unwelcoming or antisocial toward someone

Origin: In medieval England, it was customary to give a guest a cold piece of meat from the shoulder of mutton, pork, or beef chop when the host felt it was time for the guest to leave. This was a polite way to communicate, “You may leave, now.”

Go the whole nine yards

Meaning: To try your best at something

Origin: During World War II, the fighter pilots were equipped with nine yards of ammunition. When they ran out, it meant that they had tried their best at fighting off the target with the entirety of their ammunition.

Let one’s hair down

Meaning: To relax or be at ease

Origin: In public, the aristocratic women of medieval times were obliged to appear in elegant hair-dos that were usually pulled up. The only time they would “let their hair down” was when they came home and relaxed.

Rub the wrong way

Meaning: To bother or annoy someone

Origin: Early Americans, during the colonial times, would ask their servants to rub their oak floorboards “the right way”. The wrong way (not wiping them with dry fabric after wet fabric) would cause streaks to form and ruin it, leaving the homeowner annoyed. Alternatively, it could have derived from rubbing a cat’s fur the “wrong way,” which annoys them.

here's some more: https://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/the-surprising-origins-of-35-english-...

Wendy's picture

Thanks guys,
Some of these I already knew but a lot I didn't. Language is an interesting thing. Knowing the real meaning of words is one of the reason I'm so offended by many curse words!

Noa's picture

texting and tweeting is reducing r words 2 soundbites LOL

doublespeak changes meanings of words like muslim anti-semite conspiracy theorist

Words are power.

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