After writing my story last week, titled “Run Of The Mill: The Fan Of An Average Team,” a question struck me: what is the origin of the phrase “Run of the Mill?” Then I thought a little more and I realized there are loads of phrases, idioms, and figures of speech in the English language (many that we use on a regular basis) but when it comes to their origin we have no more knowledge about them than the origin of the man on the moon. Thus the idea for this listicle was spawned; a little list of common phrases and figures of speech accompanied by their origin because if you’re like me you’re just naturally curious about these kinds of things.
1. Run Of The Mill.
There are a lot of "run of..." phrases according to phrases.org.uk, all of which are used to describe ordinariness and overall averageness. Much like their meanings, the origin of these terms are roughly the same; they refer to products that come directly from the mill in an unrefined state that may contain some imperfections. "Run of the mill" specifically is of an American origin and refers to the early American weaving mills.
2. Arm And A Leg.
This is quite a common phrase. We all know this phrase is used to describe something that costs an incredible amount of money, for example, "those jeans cost me an arm and a leg," but where did it come from? Of course, an arm and leg would be an incredibly high price to pay for any item and it just so happens that is one of the possible origins for this phrase; however, there is one possible origin I find a bit more interesting. It is said that painters used to charge more for larger portraits (understandably) and head and shoulder pieces were the cheapest option. The 'head and shoulder' option was followed by the more expensive 'arms' option, and the most expensive "legs and all" option which included the whole body, hence the term "an arm and a leg" Interesting, huh?
3. Close, But No Cigar.
Close, but no cigar. This phrase is used when someone comes up just short of their desired outcome. Apparently, before they gave away Xboxes and life sized stuffed animals, fairground stalls used to give away cigars as prizes. So, when someone almost won a game at the fair the phrase often used was "Close! But no cigar"
4. More Bang For Your Buck.
The frugal man or woman's motto, "more bang for your buck," means getting more for your money. As its name suggests, this phrase had a rather explosive beginning. In 1953 President Eisenhower was faced with a problem. Eisenhower was a military man to the core, he was a five star general in WWII, and wanted to increase defense spending to combat the threat of those commies. However, as a member of the Republican Party he was almost politically obligated to cut state spending. Build the military, but decrease military spending. Difficult, right? Wrong. To solve this problem the US Joint Chiefs of Staff adopted the policy of using nuclear weapons in any conflict bigger than what they labeled a "brush-fire war." This policy allowed them to reduce the number of troops and replace them with atomic bombs which were relatively cheaper, thus the phrase "more bang for your buck."
5. Wet Your Whistle.
To "wet your whistle" means to have a drink. In the olden days bar frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their mugs. When they needed a refill they would blow the whistle to get the bartender's attention, and in the process they wet their whistle.
6. Give The Cold Shoulder.
Giving someone the "cold shoulder" is to intentionally act unfriendly or reject an individual. The "cold shoulder's" origins can be traced back to medieval England. In those days it was customary to give a guest a cold piece of meat from the shoulder beef, pork, or whatever meat was being served that evening, when the host felt like it was time for the guest to leave or if said guest was just simply unwelcome. A bit passive aggressive in my opinion...but what ever floats your boat.
7. Bite The Bullet.
A phrase meaning to "face an unpleasant reality" can trace its origins to the early days of surgery. Before the days of anesthetics and proper surgical sanitation, injured soldiers would bite on a bullet to help them deal with the pain of their procedure or amputation.
This is really an incredibly short list of phrases, idioms, and figures of speech so if you're intrigued you definitely search for the origin of some more. Besides, they make for interesting ice openers/bar conversations.
