Sweating…our bodies way of telling us to cool down. Beads of sweat curl around our arms. They make a crown around where the hair stops and forehead begins. A phrase has been used for as long as I can remember that that when one says it, that they are heavily sweating. This slightly common phrase is, “I am sweating like a pig,” or some variation of that. This is a phrase I have used almost every time I find myself sweating more than I would like to, but one day, I opened a Diet Peach Snapple, heard the lid of the bottle pop, and turned it over to read the fact. From my memory, the fact said something like, “Pigs Don’t actually sweat.” I was stunned and felt like this world has been saying one thing, when in fact, that one thing has been a huge lie.
I took to the internet to try and find the real meaning of this now mind-boggling phrase. Neatorama.com was where I found my release, and my new understanding of the phrase I had come to believe meant one thing, but now suddenly means something else. The website wrote:
When pig iron is originally created from iron ore, the smelter needs to heat the ore to extreme temperatures, and then move the liquid metal into the mold. Until the liquid cools, it can't be safely moved, as the extremely hot metal is liable to spill, burning whatever it comes in contact with. How does the smelter know when the metal is cool enough to transport? When the "pigs" "sweat." As the metal cools, the air around it reaches the dew point, causing droplets to form on the metal's surface.
An actual pig, not an iron one, does not really sweat. Their bodies can not form the sweat beads to help their bodies cool off. So, for a pig to cool off, they roll around in mud. After finding out the true meaning, my entire thought process on this phrase has now changed. I know at least I used to think of a gross sweaty pig when that phrase was mentioned, and now I am going to think of iron smelting, even though I truly don’t understand that concept.
Understanding the real meaning of this phrase, got me thinking on to what else people misconceive and misuse in regular, everyday phrases and words. For example, many people will say the phrase, “I could care less.” When people say this phrase in this way, they are saying there are things they could care less about, when in fact, they probably meant “I couldn’t care less,” stating there is no way they could care any less than they already do.
Another thing people use wrong a lot of the time is the word literally and metaphorically. Yes, the use of literally can sometimes be used as an exaggerated state to get the listener to understand how terrible or incredible something is/was. I am guilty of saying things like, “I literally died,” or “I literally puked my brains out.” There is no way I “literally” died and there is no way I “literally” puked my brains out because I am still alive and I am pretty sure my brains are fully intact.
Although those phrases aren’t factually incoherent like the sweating like a pig phrase, it is clear that our society, and especially my generation, does not think enough about the words we use. Language and words are a beautiful thing, and understanding what we are saying is highly important to show how we are educated individuals. From now on, whenever I say, “I am sweating like a pig,” in my mind I will know I am talking about iron smelting, and if someone else were to say it in front of me, I will be sure to ask if they know and understand the correct meaning behind the phrase. And as an English major, I feel it is important to keep words special and beautiful, but as a young adult, I am also guilty of misusing words and phrases, but hey, I try my best.
