Old sayings are rich in history, interesting facts

Have you ever wondered how different types of saying got started like “Ring around the rosy”?   In this week’s article I thought I would share with you, the reading audience, and a brief history of just a few sayings.

One of the things tanneries used in the 16th and 17th century to tan animal skins was urine.  Poor families would pee in a pot and once a day they would take it to the tannery.  If you had to do this to survive you were said to be “Piss Poor.”  Worse yet if you didn’t have a pot to pee in, the saying was “You didn’t have a pot to piss in nor a window to throw it out of.”  Man — that’s poor.

In the 15th, 16th, 17th, and18th century bathing wasn’t a common thing; actually some thought that if you wash off the dirt it opened you up for disease.  Have you ever wondered how June weddings became popular?  Well… most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in June after the snow melt.  Also, June brides starting carrying bouquet of flowers to help hide body odor. 

In early America bath tubs were very large.  They would boil water on the wood stove and slowly fill up these large tubs.  The man of the house usually took the first bath, then all of his sons, then the wife, then daughters with the baby being last.  By the time the baby got its turn the water was so dirty you could actually lose the child in the water if the mother let go of it. Hence the saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the Bath water!”

Have you ever wondered what dirt poor meant?  Well…most homes in the 16th, 17th, & 18th century had dirt floors.  Only the wealthy had wood or slate floors.  So if you didn’t have wood or slate floors you were considered “Dirt Poor.”

For those of us who are contractors, this is for you.  Because only the wealthy had slate or wood floors, in the winter those floors would get pretty slippery, especially when snow fell.  To help resolve this problem, they would place thresh (Straw) on the floors to help keep their footing.  As winter wore on, they added more thresh until finally, the thresh would fall outside of the door when they opened it.  To stop the thresh from falling outside they added a piece of wood to the entrance-way.  Hence: a thresh hold.

When I was a kid I would hear my dad tell my mom, “Honey, I bought home the bacon.”  This saying dates back to the early 18th century.  Most folks ate lots of vegetables; pork was consumed only on special occasions.  When visitors came over, they would hand up their bacon to show off.  It was a sign of wealth proving that a man could “bring home the bacon.”  They would cut off a piece to share with their guests.  They would all sit around and “chew the fat.”

Have you ever heard the term “upper crust” — usually meaning wealthy.  This dates back to the late 18th century.  Bread was divided according to status.  Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf of bread, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

In old England local folks would tie a string around the wrist of the dead before burying them.  The string would go from the wrist to the top of the grave and attached to a bell.  They did this in fear the person would wake up.  They would place a person outside of the grave all night just in case the bell started ringing so they could dig them up. Hence “graveyard shift,”  “dead ringer” and “saved by the bell.”

If you would like to share a cleaning idea or concept with the reading audience, call Ed at NWES (255-2266), email them to nwees@hughes.net  or send them to Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church St., Sandpoint, ID 83864, Attn: What Would Ed do?  For more information about Ed, and his new handyman services, check him out at www.nwees.com.

Copy written by Edmond E. Madan, certified forensic, fire, flood, mold inspection & remediation/restoration contractor.  Ed is the president of Northwest Environmental Services, Inc.