Meaning:

To push to the limit, go all out, full speed.

Example:

If you study balls to the wall from now on, you just might pass your algebra class.

Origin:

A very colorful phrase, one needs to be careful when using "balls to the wall".   Although its real origin is very benign, most people assume it is a reference to testicles. 

In fact it is from fighter planes. The "balls" are knobs atop the plane's throttle control.  Pushing the throttle all the way forward, to the wall of the cockpit, is to apply full throttle. 

Alternatively, 

Early railroad locomotives were powered by steam engines. Those engines typically had a mechanical governor.  These governors consisted of two weighted steel balls mounted at the ends of two arms, jointed and attached to the end of a vertical shaft that was connected to the interior of the engine.  The entire assembly is encased in a housing. 

The shafts and the weighted balls rotate at a rate driven by the engine speed.   As engine speed increases, the assembly rotates at a faster speed and centrifugal force causes the weighted balls to hinge upward on the arms. 

At maximum engine speed - controlled by these governors - centrifugal force causes the two weighted balls to rotate with their connecting shafts parallel to the ground and thereby nearly touching the sides - the walls - of their metal housing. 

So, an engineer driving his steam locomotive at full throttle was going "balls to the wall".   The expression came to be used commonly to describe something going full speed. 

Thanks to Virgil Jose 

This may also be an example of rhyming slang.

Meaning:

To do something without planning, to change course midstream, to figure things out as you go.

Example:

Most stock investors are not making educated decisions, they are just flying by the seat of their pants.

Origin:

Before airplanes had sophisticated instruments and flight control systems, and even today, planes are piloted by feel.   Pilots can feel the reactions of the plane in response to their actions at the controls. 

Being the largest point of contact between pilot and plane, most of the feel or feedback comes through the seat of the pants. 

If you are "flying by the seat of your pants" your are responding to the feedback received.

See the related "on the fly".

Meaning:

To approach or exceed known performance boundaries.

Example:

Your performance at work is not exactly pushing the envelope.

Origin:

This expression comes out of the US Air Force test pilot program of the late 1940's. 

The envelope refers to a plane's performance capabilities.  The limits of the planes ability to fly at speeds and altitudes and under certain stresses define what is known as its performance envelope.  It's an "envelope" in the sense that it contains the ranges of the plane's abilities. 

"Pushing the envelope" originally meant flying an aircraft at, or even beyond, its known or recommended limits. 

Thanks to Kensmark 

A safe bet is that many who pushed the envelope crashed. 

The expression was popularized by Tom Wolfe in his book "The right stuff" (1979) and later the movie of the same name. 

Meaning:

Hopeful but unlikely to succeed.

Example:

She is driving on a wing and a prayer in that old jalopy.

Origin:

During World War One airplanes were still a novelty and untested in war.  A "wing and a prayer" was first uttered when an American flyer came in with a badly damaged wing. 

His fellow pilots and mechanics were amazed he didn't crash.  He replied he was praying all the way in.  Another pilot chimed in that "a wing and a prayer brought you back." 

Thanks to Keith R. Dutton

Meaning:

To look like someone else.

Example:

She told me I was dead ringer for Dilbert.  Is that good?

Origin:

The definition of ringer, from which this phrase comes, is "substituted racehorse." 

Unscrupulous racehorse owners have a fast horse and a slow horse that are nearly identical in appearance. They run the slow horse until the betting odds reached the desired level, then they substitute the ringer, who can run much faster. Dead in this case means abrupt or exact, like in dead stop, or dead shot.

Thanks to Jim Hubbell

Alternatively,

Gangsters with contracts on their lives might hire a person who looked similar to them, a ringer, to appear in a public places. The lookalike would often be convincing enough to fool the contracted killers, you can guess the part about dead.

Thanks to Gregory Pius

Alternatively,

Refers to a ringer in the game of horse shoes. A perfect toss, with the horse shoe landing perfectly around the pin, is called a ringer. A ringer usually makes a ringing sound when the shoe hits the post. 

You can get a ringer if the shoe encompasses the post, but doesn't hit the post and doesn't make a ringing sound, hence a "dead ringer." 

A throw that results in a dead ringer is a perfect and precise throw exactly on the post, analogous to a perfect lookalike match. 

Thanks to Radar and Jim Sears

Meaning:

Risky, potentially dangerous.

Example:

Clinton put himself in a dicey situation by getting involved with a 21 year old intern.

Origin:

Many betting games of chance, like craps, are played with dice. The phrase refers to the risk and uncertainty of those games.

Meaning:

Pass off responsibility to someone else.

Example:

In times of trouble, my old boss was quick to pass the buck.  But when things went well, her mantra became "the buck stops here".

Origin:

Some card games use a marker called a buck. Players take turns acting as dealer with the buck marking the current dealer. When the buck is passed to the next player, the responsibility for dealing is passed. 

Spawned the phrase "The buck stops here" popularized by President Harry Truman. 

A buck-slip is also a small piece of paper that is sometimes preprinted, or hand-written, and included the names of the people who were to receive a memo or report. It is a routing list. 

In the days before copy machines and computers people typed one memo, with a carbon copy, then passed the one copy of the memo around to the people listed on the buck slip. Each person initialed next to their name on the buck slip and passed the memo on to the next person on the buck slip.

A tactic used to delay or delegate something was to pass the document on to the next person, without initialing the buck slip -- pass the buck (slip). When Harry said the buck stopped here he meant he wasn't going to pass the responsibility along.

Although the buck slip was a popular use of the term, that usage may have originated with the gambling usage.

Thanks to John Sears

Meaning:

To state one's opinion.

Example:

If I can put my two cents in, maintenance on that Ferrari will kill you.

Origin:

"Put my two cents in" originates from the older "put my two bits in" and has its origin in the game of poker.  When playing poker you have to make a small bet before the cards are dealt called an "ante" to begin play in that hand. 

This phrase draws an analogy to the poker ante (two bits) and gains your entry into the conversation.

Thanks to Evelyn and Dawn Rambin and Ron Akers 

Two bits means one quarter (currently the American twenty five cent piece).  This comes from the older term "piece of eight". 

Today we have coins minted in different denominations - nickel, dime, and quarter in the U.S. - but this was not always so.  Gold and silver coins once served as currency, with the value of the coin equal to the value of the gold or silver contained in the coin.  To obtain currency valued at less than a full gold coin, coins would be scored and split into pieces.   This is how one would make change so to speak. 

Coins could be split into halfs, quarters, and eighths.  One eighth of a coin was called a "piece of eight" and also called a "bit".  Two pieces of eight is equal to one quarter.   Hence "two bits" is a quarter. 

Thanks to William M. Gatesman and Michael Welzien

Hence "Smashed to bits" literally means to break something into eighths. 

Meaning:

A sure winner.

Example:

Some stocks that seem like a shoe in turn out to be more like worn out sandals.

Origin:

The commonly used spelling of "shoe in" makes it seem as if it were rooted in the action of a shoehorn. In fact, the meaning comes from horse racing lingo: corrupt jockeys conspire and agree to hold back their mounts and to "shoo in," or urge forward, a slow horse on which they have bet. In such a phony contest, the shoo-in is the only horse in the race that is trying to win.

Thanks to Ben

Meaning:

Directly from the source.

Example:

If you want the real story you have to get it straight from the horses mouth.

Origin:

This is a boast of confidence from a racetrack tipster, who says he gets his information from the horses themselves—thereby assuring the bettor that the info is the correct.

Thanks to Jim Hubbell

Alternatively,

A horse trader would bend the ear of a prospective buyer with all kinds of talk about the animal, but for a clear measure of its worth, one can simply look in the animal's mouth. You can tell a great deal about a horse from its mouth. Age, nutrition, general health of the horse, and if it had been over reined. 

If a horse is unruly you have to rein it in a lot, and this shows in the horse's mouth.

Thanks to Gregory Pius, Radar, and J. Gold 

See the related phrases "Long in the Tooth" and "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

Meaning:

To take responsibility for something.

Example:

When it comes to the origin of phrases, the buck stops here.

Origin:

Some card games use a marker called a buck. Players take turns acting as dealer with the buck marking the current dealer. When the buck is passed to the next player, the responsibility for dealing is passed.  Stopping the buck is to accept responsibility for dealing. 

This phrase was popularized by president Harry Truman who kept a sign with the phrase inscribed on his desk and is a rebuttal to the older phrase "Pass the buck". 

The media interpreted Harry's sign to mean he was accepting responsibility, but he may well have had something else in mind. Truman was a poker player. He knew exactly what the "buck" was -- it was the marker that identifies the person who calls the game, or in essence, sets the rules. Truman may have been saying that he was in charge and would set the rules - a bit different than just accepting responsibility.

Truman used other poker references as well - remember Truman's "New deal"?

Thanks to Gary Wilkes

Meaning:

Tough times, when things are looking bleak.

Example:

A bit of advice for you - when the chips are down you need to fall back on a technique I like to call quitting. 

Origin:

From the practice of using chips as a substitute for money when gambling.   When winning you accumulate a lot of chips.   But when you lose, your chips dwindle down. 

Thanks to John Gold

Meaning:

Following a dead end path, pursuing an incorrect lead or assumption.

Example:

If you think those gloves will convict OJ, you are barking up the wrong tree.

Origin:

When using dogs in a foxhunt, the dogs sometimes corner the fox in a tree. The dogs will proceed to bark up at the fox. Barking up the wrong tree, where there is no fox, is a pointless exercise.

Meaning:

Very cold.

Example:

I am not going outside.  It is cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey and mine are considerable more sensitive.

Origin:

In the 1700s cannon balls and black powder were carried by boys referred to as "powder monkeys". 

One explanation has it that the balls were stacked in the familiar pyramid configuration with a wooden triangle holding the bottom layer together. These wooden triangles (perhaps as an extension of powder monkey) were also referred to as "monkeys". The trouble with wooden monkeys was that they couldn't take much abuse before shattering under the impact of dropped cannon balls. 

The next material used to make monkeys was brass. These worked perfectly in warmer weather. The trouble with brass monkeys was that they tended to shrink a little when the weather turned cold enough. This shrinkage squeezed the bottom layer up, sending balls rolling all over the deck. 

Thanks to Darryl 

Interesting tale, but not likely.   The boys were definitely called powder monkeys, and the triangles may indeed have been called monkeys.  But the idea that cold weather would cause enough shrinkage to squeeze out the cannon balls is fanciful.  Brass is an alloy made of copper and nickel and is quite stable. 

Considering the size of even a small cannon ball is perhaps 2 to 3 inches in diameter, the amount of shrinkage of the monkey would have to be a couple of inches to push out the balls.  Impossible.

Meaning:

To kill someone.

Example:

During the Ted Kazinski trial, the big question was not his guilt but if the jury would drop the hammer and call for the death penalty.

Origin:

The "hammer" is the hammer of a gun.   When the gun is cocked, the hammer has been pulled back.   Pulling the trigger drops the hammer onto the cartridge, firing the gun. 

Popularized by the seemingly tireless stream of police dramas on television. 

Thanks to RB Stevenson

Meaning:

Something that shows great promise, then disappoints by being over too quickly.

Example:

Ross Perot's political career turned out to be a flash in the pan.

Origin:

Flintlock muskets have small pans to hold the gunpowder fuse. Sometimes the gunpowder in the pan would flare up without firing the gun. That would be a "flash in the pan". 

Alternatively, 

Derives from the early gold prospectors who would literally see a flash of light as they panned for gold, but who would often fail to find the nuggets on closer inspection.  See the related expression "pan out". 

Thanks to Nina  Zhito

Meaning:

To be less than fully prepared.

Example:

Before you go in half cocked demanding a raise, you better think through what you are going to say.

Origin:

"Cocked" refers to the action of cocking a gun.  Interestingly the term cocking a gun comes from flintlock muskets of 17th century, the hammer was very ornate and resembled a rooster (a cock). 

The phrase was originally "going off half cocked". 

The half cock position of the cock on a flint or cap lock weapon was a "safe" position to which the cock was drawn to permit access to the priming pan (flint lock) or to permit capping (cap lock). The cock could be placed in the half cock position while, hopefully, not risking having the weapon go off accidentally. 

Pulling the trigger of a flintlock at "half cock" will not fire the weapon. The hammer, which contains the flint, will not strike the frizzen with sufficient force to produce a spark and the primer charge in the pan will not be ignited.

The loading process of a flintlock is quite involved.

1) Draw the hammer to the "half cock" position

2) Prime the pan

3) Close the pan

4) Charge the weapon, i.e. pour the powder into the barrel

5) Load the ball/bullet

6) Drive the ball home

7) Draw the hammer to "full cock" position 

Particularly in the heat of battle, it was easy to forget the last step and continue with the platoon, change position (with the loaded gun in "safe" mode), shoulder the weapon to be fired, and pull the trigger with the result being that nothing happens. Embarrassing and potentially dangerous.

Thanks to C.A. Eubanks, Nathan Hillman, and Robert Marciszewski

Meaning:

In good health and ready to go.

Example:

I've been training for the marathon and I am feeling in the pink.

Origin:

In traditional English fox hunting, hunters wore scarlet colored jackets called pinks.   If you are wearing your pink, you are ready to go hunting. 

Alternatively,

Refers to the rosy color in ones cheeks when in good health.

Meaning:

To be aggressively seeking a confrontation.

Example:

Presidential opponents are typically loaded for bear waiting for missteps in office. Clinton provided many opportunities to load up.

Origin:

Old muskets were loaded by pouring gunpowder down the barrel, followed by the shot.   The power of a given charge could be adjusted by adding more or less gunpowder. 

When hunting large animals like bear, a large and powerful gunpowder charge would be loaded into the musket.   Hence loaded for bear is to be hunting with a powerful charge ready.

Meaning:

Get ready.

Example:

Lock and load, we need to go.

Origin:

This phrase refers to the actions required to prepare a gun for firing. 

"Lock" is an archaic term for what is now called the "action" or the "receiver".  It was originally called the "lock" because the mechanism locked the hammer back in the cocked position.  The trigger releases the lock to fire the weapon. 

"Load" is to load the cartridge into the firearm, or the charge and ball in a muzzle loaded musket.

Meaning:

The whole thing, complete.

Example:

I want to buy the house and the furniture, lock stock and barrel.

Origin:

This phrase refers to the three primary components of a firearm. 

"Lock" is an archaic term for what is now called the "action" or the "receiver".  It was originally called the "lock" because the mechanism locked the hammer back in the cocked position.  The trigger releases the lock to fire the weapon. 

Stock is the portion of the firearm that the holds all the other parts together and provides a grip for the shooter.  This is the part of the firearm that was traditionally made of wood. 

Barrel is of course the metal tube that the bullet is fired through. 

If you purchase a gun "lock, stock and barrel" you got the whole gun, complete. 

Thanks to Ron Akers

Meaning:

A person who is out of control, unpredictable, who may do damage.

Example:

The typical Engineer is too honest for his own good, they can be like a loose cannon around customers.

Origin:

On sailing ships that had cannons, it was important that they be secured. Cannons are very heavy, and a loose cannon on a ship's deck in a rough sea could be thrown about in an unpredictable fashion, causing a lot of damage. 

More than just needing to be lashed down during normal travel, cannons needed to be secured during use, or else the recoil would send the cannon on its way causing injury or damage. 

Thanks to Kensmark

Meaning:

Vulnerable, easy prey.

Example:

Salesmen learn to size up a prospective customer. When they see a sitting duck, they know it instinctively.

Origin:

A duck on the ground, a "sitting duck", is far easier to shoot than a flying duck. It wasn't until this century and in some states well into this century that it became illegal to shoot ducks on the ground.

Thanks to Radar

Meaning:

Very easy to accomplish.

Example:

The negotiation on my new car turned into a turkey shoot, and I was the turkey.

Origin:

Originally a turkey shoot was a contest in which muzzle loaded guns were used to shoot turkeys.   Turkeys are very easy to shoot. They are large and move slowly. Despite the fact the are birds, turkeys don't fly very well. 

Turkeys are not very intelligent animals. In modern turkey farms, the birds sometimes forget to drink and die of dehydration, despite the fact that a water supply is tied to their bodies. They sometimes die of heart attacks when scared by load noises.

Today the term turkey shoot continues to be used for shooting contests, usually held around Thanksgiving.   In the modern turkey shoots, targets are substituted for turkeys.   Often a turkey is awarded as a prize to the winner. 

The phrase was further popularized by the Marianas Turkey Shoot, the name given to an aerial battle fought with Navy aircraft in World War II that took place in the Marianas Islands.

By the time of the invasion of the Marianas, the Japanese Army and Navy had lost most of their best pilots to combat attrition and did not have the huge manpower reserves enjoyed by the US. In addition, the Japanese were forced to disperse their forces while the US hammered the island(s) being invaded with all necessary and available forces.

The battle was quite one-sided with US flyers shooting down over 400 Japanese aircraft while losing something like 20 in combat. 

Some American pilots lingered in the battle area too long because of all the tempting targets and were actually forced to ditch their aircraft at sea on the way back to their carriers. Even with dozens of aircraft lost in this manner, the engagement was considered a decisive victory for the Americans. 

Japanese carrier aircraft were no longer a threat to the US Navy at sea. Only land-based kamikaze attacks would threaten again. 

The US sent over 500 first-line fighter aircraft into the battle while the Japanese had a hodgepodge force of less capable types with inexperienced crews.

Thanks to Steven Walker and Charlie Moreland

Meaning:

A need to perform under a tight deadline.

Example:

I am under the gun to complete this report, it is due first thing in the morning. 

Origin:

"Under the gun" means laboring under a threat of a gun pointed at you.  Either you finish fast, or you get shot. 

Thanks to Kensmark

Meaning:

Value for you money.

Example:

You can buy that small fries, but the supersize gives more bang for the buck.

Origin:

This phrase originates in Cold War deliberations concerning funding new weapons.  For example, the US Air Force habitually claimed that ballistic missiles such as ICBM's could do more damage to an enemy country for a given expenditure than a Navy aircraft carrier could. 

Thus, they claimed, missiles give more "bang for the buck" than ships. 

Thanks to Melchor Balaguer and Bax

Alternatively,

The price paid to a prostitute, like most things in this world, can be negotiated, a lower price yielding more "bang for the buck".

Thanks to WFredMR

Meaning:

Pay a painfull price and move on.

Example:

If you want to clear those 8 tickets off your driving record, you will need to bite the bullet and pay the fines.

Origin:

Before the advent of ether, the first anesthetic, surgery was a pretty desperate and painful affair.   With the patient (although victim might be more descriptive) fully conscious and feeling the pain.   These early surgeries were typically limb amputations or the removal of some object lodged into the body such as a bullet or arrowhead. 

A typical amputation consisted of the "surgeon" using a saw to hack off the unwanted limb.  The skin was then pulled down over the stub and sutured shut.  Amazingly, some of these patients survived, but certainly the success ratio was low.  Note that poorly skilled physicians today are called "hacks".

Even after the advent of anesthetics such emergency surgery has had to be performed at times.  Particularly in times of war when anesthetics may be in limited supply or unavailable. 

To ease the pain the patient was given a couple of stiff belts of whiskey to numb the senses, then given a stick or lead bullet to bite down on as the surgeon went to work with knife and saw. 

The bullet or stick was given to let the patient focus their energy and attention on the biting instead of the cutting and pain.   It may also have helped to reduce the screaming, which probably benefited the surgeon and attendants. 

Why bite on a bullet?  Made of lead, bullets are malleable.   Although quite strong they will actually deform somewhat when bitten hard.   Hence teeth would not break as would likely happen from biting a stone for example.   Bullets are also readily available in times of war, when this type of surgery is frequently called for.   "Bite the bullet" may have originated in the civil war. 

The patient who bit the bullet was cooperating with the surgery.  Clearly this poor fellow saw the surgery as unavoidable and absolutely necessary.   He had decided to "bite the bullet" and get on with the surgery. 

"Biting the bullet" has been captured in countless war movies and westerns. 

Thanks to Jane, Kyle, John Gold, Kevin Morefield, Frederick Blume, Laurie Lee, and Melchor Balaguer 

Alternatively,

In the early 1800's, when Britain ruled India, there were many Muslim and Hindu auxiliary soldiers attached to the British military units.  At this time bullets were constructed of paper cartridges that had to have one end torn off before being placed into the musket.  Because one hand was holding the musket, and the other the shot, the easiest way to tear the end off was to do it with your teeth. 

But the cartridges were lubricated with the fat of pigs, to allow them to slide into the barrel of the musket more easily.  Both Muslim and Hindu soldiers were forbidden by religion to touch, much less ingest the meat of a pig. 

They would refuse to bite off the end of the bullet because of the pig fat grease.  The British officers insisted that they do so anyway, and the orders "  they'll just have to bite the bullet" eventually entered the vernacular. 

Thanks to Pat Cadle 

An interesting tale - but the paper did not contain the bullet, only the gunpowder.   The bullet was loaded separately.

Meaning:

To die.

Example:

Oscar's bungee jumping experience came to an abrupt stop when he bought the farm on his first try.

Origin:

It comes from W.W.I.  When a US soldier was killed in combat his family was given a "death benefit" that amounted to a enough money to buy a parcel of farm land in the mid west. 

Thanks to Geoff Knowlton 

Some might consider this just compensation to the surviving family.  Personally I would prefer a minor wound with the lesser compensation of "renting the farm".

Meaning:

A training program designed to provide an inexperienced person basic knowledge, usually military.

Example:

At most restaurants, bussing tables acts as a sort of boot camp for would be waiters.

Origin:

During the Spanish-American War sailors wore leggings called boots.  The term "boot" came to mean a Navy (or Marine) recruit. These recruits trained in "boot" camps. 

Thanks to Donald R. Swartz

Meaning:

To be held accountable for a mistake, offense, or a lie.

Example:

Lisa's loafing at work finally caught up with her.  She was called on the carpet for playing computer games.

Origin:

In military parlance, called on the carpet refers to having to present oneself to a superior officer, report at attention and receive a disciplining for some offense.  Sometimes a defense is allowed, but often, the communication is quite simple, clear, and unidirectional, with the recipient being forced to stand at attention while the abuse takes place. 

Although no longer true, there was a time when only the top officers had carpet in their offices.   Hence the carpet referred to the office of a senior officer. 

Thanks to Bruce Cady 

The term is also used in the business world.  About the only difference is that the recipient is not (typically) expected to stand at attention.

Meaning:

To gain approval.

Example:

You put a feather in your cap when you bought lunch for the boss's secretary.

Origin:

It was once a common practice to award a feather to a soldier who had killed an enemy.  These feathers were worn on the helmet, or other headgear and were considered symbols of social status much as modern soldiers receive and display medals. 

Thanks to Ron Akers 

Similarly,

When American Indians performed bravely in battle, they would receive a feather to add to their headdress. The more feathers on an Indian's headdress, the better the warrior. 

Thanks to J. Muscat

Meaning:

To be okay, everything is good.

Example:

If you would only pay the bills on time, everything would be hunky dory.

Origin:

Huncho-dori was a major street in Yokohama that was frequented by American sailors on leave during W.W.I.  To be in Huncho-dori was to be enjoying leisure activities, and having a good time. 

Alternatively,

The archaic English word "hunk" meant "goal" and is probably derived from the Dutch "honk" also meaning "goal".  To have reached one's goal is to be satisfied and happy.

Thanks to Ron Akers

Meaning:

To be the best at something.

Example:

Tell me who is the king of the hill around here, so I will know who to knock off.

Origin:

This goes back to battlefields of long ago.  All sides fought to conquer the high ground, the hills.  This was often the best vantage point and the point of most advantage.  Whichever unit won or took the hill was likely winning. 

Thanks to Amory National Guard

Meaning:

You must keep this secret or there will be a price paid.

Example:

Do not discuss any of our plans outside this boardroom, remember loose lips sink ships.

Origin:

Popularized by US military propaganda during World War II.  The phrase was meant as a reminder that classified information was never to be discussed with anyone without proper clearance and a need to know. 

Specifically the phrase means that disclosing a military secret to the enemy could result in large loses, such as the sinking of an entire ship.

Meaning:

Too much, overdone, excessive.

Example:

Wearing that bikini is one thing, but a bikini with a mink coat puts you over the top.

Origin:

During the first world war a charge over the protective battery which ran alongside a trench was called "going over the top." Such a charge usually resulted in many casualties, as did most operations during that most tragic conflict.

Since the casualty rate was very high, it took remarkable bravery to go "over the top". Some considered it excessively brave and the phrase has come to be associated with excess.

Thanks to Ron Akers, Moshe Handel, and Bob McQueer

Meaning:

A complete job, quality, without cutting corners.

Example:

My new car has air conditioning, power windows, power locks, the whole nine yards.

Origin:

Interestingly, this seems to be one of the most disputed phrase origins.   Many possible explanations, yet no consensus on the true origin.  Take your pick. 

This phrase has also been attributed to W.W.II fighter planes. Nine yards was the exact length of a belt of 50-caliber ammunition for the Corsair fighter.   If a target was shot at with the entire band, it was said to have been given "the whole nine yards". 

Thanks to Tony Schullo 

Alternatively, a tailor making a high quality suit uses more fabric.   The best suits are made from nine yards of fabric. 

This may seem like a lot but a proper suit does indeed take nine yards of fabric. This is because a good suit has all the fabric cut in the same direction with the warp, or long strands of thread, parallel with the vertical line of the suit. This causes a great amount of waste in suit making, but if you want to go "the whole nine yards", you must pay for such waste.

See the related phrase, "dressed to the nines".

Thanks to K. Paull

The phrase certainly applies to the preparation of a full set of men's clothing. To fully understand this, you need to know what constituted a "full set of clothing" for a man in the 17th and 18th Centuries where the phrase can first be traced.

The items of clothing for a man were a Westkit (waistcoat), Breeches (pants) and a Great Coat. The material requirements to tailor these garments (even with a minimal amount of waste) is nine yards of material (45" width in the 1800s). A Westkit requires 1.5 yards, Breeches requires 2.0 yards and the Coat requires 5.5 yards for a total of 9.0 yards. These amounts can be confirmed with many museums, historians or period re-enactors.

The reason that the Coats required so much material was that they went from shoulder down to the back of the knee in length, and then the lower portion of the coat was full and pleated, almost like a dress. The pattern for the coat below the waist is almost a full circle

Thanks to Uncle Bob 

Alternatively,

"The whole nine yards" refers to the amount of fabric in a proper Scottish kilt.

Nine yards of fabric seemed positively way too much for a skirt - I mean a kilt.   I was skeptical so I did a quick calculation on the kilt idea. 

Measuring myself around the buttocks and hips, I find that I am 42 inches in circumference.   9 yards is 324 inches.   Hence 9 yards of fabric could wrap around me 7.7 times!   Even allowing for pleats and a bit of breathing room, this seems far too much. 

However the kilt notion may have merit. Today, cloth is sold linearly such that a yard is three feet long, regardless of the width. But these measurements are likely to be the area of cloth - nine square yards. 

The kilt, much like the suit, must have the fabric oriented in the proper direction. The plaid or Tartan as it's called has to be matched perfectly, so it doesn't look crooked. This alone takes a huge amount of cloth. The nine yards is the area of the fabric the tailor starts with, much of which ends up as scrap. 

Additionally, a kilt does not simply wrap around the waist. It also includes fabric that is worn up and over the shoulder.

Old style kilts were used as blankets, toweling, or whatever else came to mind. There is a tale about one man using his to escape from a window of his lady-friend's bedchamber when her husband came home early. Needless to say he had to streak across to his horse and home. 

Unfortunately, this turned out rather like those "Dumb Crook" cases you hear about now. Because each kilt was a specific Tartan, the husband had no trouble at all identifying the culprit.

Thanks to Ceruleann, Neuticals, and K. Paull

Alternatively, old style concrete mixers, or coal bins, held nine yards. 

Thanks to Kensmark

Many old sailing ships had three masts, the fore, main, and mizzen.   Each mast held three square sails.   The horizontal stays that support the square sails are called yards.   Hence the ships had nine yards. 

Incidentally, a yardarm is one side of the yard. 

Depending on the sailing conditions, more or less sails would be raised.   In the best conditions peak speed could be achieved by raising all nine main sails, the whole nine yards. 

Thanks to Harry Stevenson 

Meaning:

Three nutritious meals per day.

Example:

The Air Force and Navy give you three squares and a bunk, but the Army makes no guarantees.

Origin:

This is an extension of the related phrase "Square meal" and means to have three square meals per day.  It is popularly used in the US military.

Meaning:

Legal, out in the open, activities not concealed.

Example:

All of my business dealings have been above board. At least all that you know about.

Origin:

Early trading ships would hide illegal cargo below the ship's deck. Legal cargo could be placed in plain view on deck, or above the boards of the deck.

Meaning:

To be healthy.

Example:

I visited the doctor today and was given a clean bill of health.

Origin:

This widely used term has its origins in the "Bill of Health", a document issued to a ship showing that the port it sailed from suffered from no epidemic or infection at the time of departure. 

Thanks to Donald R. Swartz

Meaning:

Drink or eat.

Example:

Enough talk, let's put some food down the hatch.

Origin:

Here's a drinking expression that seems to have its origins in sea freight, where cargoes are lowered into the hatch for transport below deck. The freight appears to be consumed by the ship. 

Thanks to Donald R. Swartz

Meaning:

Thorough, complete.

Example:

I searched the house from stem to stern for that cat, then found him sleeping on a shelf right in front of me.

Origin:

The very front of a ship is called the stem, the rear is called the stern. From stem to stern includes the entire ship. 

Thanks to Susan Stevenson

Meaning:

To be depressed or unmotivated.

Example:

Id like to provide a good example, but I'm feeling in the doldrums.

Origin:

Doldrums is the name of a place in the ocean that is located near the equator and is characterized by unstable trade winds.   A sailing ship caught in the Doldrums can be stranded due to lack of wind.

Meaning:

To be ill.

Example:

I'd love to help you move all your furniture next weekend, but I expect to be feeling a bit under the weather.

Origin:

Passengers aboard ships become seasick most frequently during times of rough seas and bad weather. Seasickness is caused by the constant rocking motion of the ship. Sick passengers go below deck, which provides shelter from the weather, but just as importantly the sway is not as great below deck, low on the ship. 

On a ship the greatest swaying action is on deck, and the most stable point is down near the keel. Hence seasick passengers tend to feel better below deck.

Thanks to Joel Finkel

Some illnesses like rheumatism and arthritis act during time of poor weather. Sufferers from those ailments are literally under the influence of the weather

Thanks to John Gold

Meaning:

To exceed expectations, to do better than expected.

Example:

The California smog test is tough, but my car passed with flying colors.

Origin:

Color(s) has numerous meanings.   An early use of the word is flag, pennant, or badge. 

"Passed with flying colors" comes from sailing ships that, when passing other ships at sea, would fly their colors (flags) if they wanted to be identified. 

Alternatively, 

A metaphor drawn from parades, which do not merely pass, but rather do so with flags raised, "with flying colors." 

Thanks to Dennis Reed Jr. 

See the related phrase "show your true colors". 

Meaning:

A confined space.

Example:

This bedroom doesn't even have enough room to swing a cat.

Origin:

This colorful phrase evokes strange images of feline cruelty. In fact it has nothing to do with cats, but the real story is at least as cruel.

The "cat" is a cat-of-nine-tails, a type of whip used to discipline sailors on old sailing ships.   The cat-of-nine-tails has one handle to which is attached nine thin strips of leather, each perhaps three feet long. The cat-of-nine-tails would be used to administer lashings that would sting and leave welts on the recipient.

The whippings would take place on the deck, because below deck there was not enough ceiling height to swing a cat-of-nine-tails.

Interestingly, the Disney cartoon character Mickey Mouse once gave a graphic illustration with some comic relief to this phrase. In the 1920's "Steamboat Willie" was release as Mickey Mouse's first cartoon. There is a scene in the cartoon in which Mickey is on a boat. He proceeds to pick up a cat and swing it around by the tail. Apparently this particular boat had enough room to swing a cat. 

Thanks to Kevin Morefield

Meaning:

Repeatedly taking successive turns in the same order.

Example:

Everyone in this family will take round robin turns putting out the trash, everyone that is except me.

Origin:

"Round robin" originated in the British nautical tradition. Sailors wishing to mutiny would sign their names in a circle so the leader could not be identified.

Thanks to Erin and Justin Bengry

The "round" part of the phrase is clear. The "robin" less so.

This may just be alliteration. Alliteration is two or more neighboring words in a phrase that start with the same letter and is constructed largely because it sounds good. It is a type of rhyme

Meaning:

To reveal your true intentions, personality, or behaviors.

Example:

Everyone is on best behavior on the first date, but soon enough you will show your true colors.

Origin:

Color(s) has numerous meanings.   An early use of the word is flag, pennant, or badge. 

Early warships often carried flags from many nations on board in order to elude or deceive the enemy. The rules of civilized warfare called for all ships to hoist their true national ensigns before firing a shot. 

Someone who finally "shows his true colors" is acting like a warship which hails another ship flying one flag, but then hoisted their own when they got in firing range. 

Thanks to Donald R. Swartz 

See the related phrase "passed with flying colors". 

Meaning:

A nutritious meal.

Example:

I am overweight because my wife's cooking is delicious but full of fat and sugar.   The only way to get a good square meal is to eat out. 

Origin:

British war ships in the 1700s including the HMS Victory did not have the best of living conditions. A sailors breakfast and lunch were sparse meals consisting of little more than bread and a beverage. But the third meal of the day included meat and was served on a square tray. Eating a substantial meal onboard a ship required a tray to carry it all. Hence a "square meal" was the most substantial meal served.

Thanks to Jeff Wagner

See the related "three squares".

Meaning:

Exclamation of disbelief.

Example:

I'll be a son of a gun. I didn't think you could keep a job for more than six months. 

Origin:

Early warships had very cramped quarters. Sailors slept between the cannons because that was the only space available.

They sometimes had female company on board. Some ships actually carried prostitutes. Other times a sailor's wife would be allowed on board so that he would not have to leave the ship, and potentially desert.

In any case, many children were conceived between the cannons, or guns. Woman who gave birth on the ships typically also did so between the guns.

The male children were thus called "son of a gun".

Thanks to Gregory Pius and Donald Swartz

Meaning:

No smoking.

Example:

California is a strange place.  In restaurants and bars the smoking lamp is out, but in the cannabis buyers club you can smoke all you like. 

Origin:

The smoking lamp probably came into use during the 16th Century when seamen began smoking on board vessels.  The lamp was used to light the smoke before matches were invented. 

The smoking lamp was also a safety measure. It was devised mainly to keep the fire hazard away from highly combustible woodwork and gunpowder. 

Most navies established regulations restricting smoking to certain areas on board.  Usually, the lamp was located in the forecastle or the area directly surrounding the galley indicting that smoking was permitted in this area. 

Even after the invention of matches in the 1830s, the lamp was an item of convenience to the smoker. When particularly hazardous operations or work required that smoking be curtailed, the unlighted lamp relayed the message. 

"The smoking lamp is lighted" or "the smoking lamp is out" were expressions indicating that smoking was permitted or forbidden.  The smoking lamp has survived only as a figure of speech. When the officer of the deck says "the smoking lamp is out" before drills, refueling or taking ammunition, that is the Navy's way of saying "cease smoking." 

Thanks to Donald R. Swartz 

Meaning:

Very drunk, highly intoxicated.

Example:

The groom made it to the alter, but he was three sheets to the wind.

Origin:

The phrase comes from 18th-19th century English Naval terminology.   The original phrase was "three Sheets in the wind" and referred to the erratic behavior of a ship that has lost control of all of its sails. 

In nautical terminology sheets are the ropes that adjust the position of the sails relative to the wind. 

The speed and direction of a sailing ship is controlled by the number of sails raised on each mast, the angle of the sails to the wind (trim of the sails), and the position of the rudder.  If the sheets used to control the sails are to break or are have been released, the sheet is said to be "in the wind". 

One can imagine a sail thrashing wildly in a strong wind with its sheet (the control ropes) blowing about.  It would be very difficult to regain control of such a sail. 

Prior to the 1810's it was common for ships to have three masts, (fore, main, and mizzen).   If the sheets on all three masts are "in the wind", the ship loses all steering control. 

The ship's lack of control is likened to that of a stumbling drunk.

Thanks to Steve Tinsley and Tony Scott

Meaning:

Follow the group, don't disagree, do what others are doing.

Example:

Your lifestyle has gone on for too long.  It is time for you to toe the line - get a wife, a job, some kids, and be miserable just like everyone else.

Origin:

Many mistakenly think the phrase is "tow the line", thus obscuring the meaning. 

This term comes from military line-ups for inspection. Soldiers are expected to line up, that is put their toes on a line, and submit to the inspection. 

Alternatively but similar, 

The space between each pair of deck planks in a wooden ship was filled with a packing material called "oakum" and then sealed with a mixture of pitch and tar. The result, from afar, is a series of parallel lines a half foot or so apart, running the length of the deck. 

Once a week, as a rule, usually on Sunday, a warship's crew was ordered to fall in at quarters -- that is, each group of men into which the crew was divided would line up in formation in a given area of the deck. To insure a neat alignment of each row, the sailors were directed to stand with their toes just touching a particular seam. 

Another use for these seams was punitive. The youngsters in a ship, be they ship's boys or student officers, might be required to stand with their toes just touching a designated seam for a length of time as punishment for some minor infraction of discipline, such as talking or fidgeting at the wrong time. A tough captain might require the miscreant to stand there, not talking to anyone, in fair weather or foul, for hours at a time. 

Hopefully, he would learn it was easier and more pleasant to conduct himself in the required manner rather than suffer the punishment.  From these two uses of deck seams comes our cautionary word to obstreperous youngsters to "toe the line." 

Thanks to Donald R. Swartz

Meaning:

I am frustrated with this situation.

Example:

For the love of Pete, can we just pick a restaurant and stop searching? I am hungry.

Origin:

This phrase and phrases like "for Pete's sake" are euphemisms for the phrases "for the love of God/Christ" or "for God's/ Christ's sake" and hail from a time when those phases were considered blasphemous.  Nowadays phrases like "for the love of god" are commonly used, but the euphemisms are still used. 

Why Pete?  Most likely it is a reference to the catholic Saint Peter. 

Other phrases with similar origins are: "Zounds!" (archaic British slang), is a contraction of "christ's wounds", "oh my goodness" and "oh my gosh" for "oh my God", and "gosh darn it" for "God damn it" 

Thanks to Ron Akers

Meaning:

If good luck is willing.

Example:

I am sure that your tax returns will not be audited, knock on wood.

Origin:

One theory is that it originated in the middle ages when there were in circulation, pieces of the Holy Rood or Cross on which Jesus was crucified.  To touch one of these was supposed to bring good luck hence touch wood for good luck.  There were also several Holy Foreskins around at the time ..but that was a different story! 

Thanks to Zebulun 

Alternatively,

The Druids, who worshipped trees, especially Oaks, wore a piece of Oak around their neck to ward off evil spirits. Hence touch wood for good luck. 

Thanks to Cynthia Blackledge 

Alternatively,

You knock on wood because of those wily Wood Sprites.  In medieval times, people believed in mischievous creatures known as sprites. Sprites are actually spirits or ghosts who were reputed to enjoy causing trouble and wreaking havoc in the lives of the living.  Among the most mischievous were wood sprites. 

If you were to mention something good, the wood sprites would try to foul it up.  The thought was that if you knocked on the wood when you said these things, the wood sprites would not be able to hear you because of the knocking sound. Hence they would leave you alone.

Thanks to Coach Alan and Fluke

Meaning:

To stay out of trouble.

Example:

Ever since getting out of jail on bond I have been on the straight and narrow.

Origin:

This phrase comes from the Bible and describes the path to heaven. 

Matthew 7:14 to be exact: "Broad is the way that is the path of destruction but narrow is the gate and straight is the way which leadeth to the house of God."

Thanks to Don & Betty Jo Chapman, Fluke, Richard Laurent, and Yvonne Fuost 

A second reference to it is in John Bunyan's book "The Pilgrim's Progress". In it, Pilgrim, the representative of the Everyman, must follow the "straight & narrow".

Thanks to Cassie Perry

A third comes from John the Baptist: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make his path straight."

Thanks to Mike Graham

Meaning:

One can see the inevitable result of circumstances.

Example:

We are having a downsizing and the writing is on the wall: we'll all be cut loose.

Origin:

From the Book of Daniel in the Bible's Old Testament. Belshazzar, the king of Isreal, had stolen from the temple in Jerusalem. At a party where wine was being consumed, the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote on the wall.

The interpretation of the writing was that the King's days were numbered. He had been weighed on the scales and found deficient and his kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians. That same night, Belshazzar was killed.

Thanks to Susan Jacobson

Meaning:

To get married.

Example:

I understand you want a baby, but don't you think you should tie the knot first.  In fact maybe you should get a girlfriend first.

Origin:

Some marriage ceremonies actually tie together the wrists of the bride and groom. 

Webster defines "tie" as "to unite in marriage".

Meaning:

Something that is costly to obtain or maintain and provides little benefit or value.

Example:

The London Bridge became a white elephant.   The bridge was relocated to Havasu City Arizona, where it now remains as a tourist attraction.

Origin:

From the Burmese belief that albino elephants are sacred.   They can't be used for work and they must be lavished with the ultimate amount of care. 

Giving a gift of a white elephant would be done to someone considered an enemy.  The idea being that you would eventually wipe out your enemy's wealth with the care of the sacred elephant. 

Thanks to Neuticles 

Why would anyone accept such a gift from an enemy?   Better yet, why would anyone buy a white elephant for oneself? 

In the late 1800's P.T. Barnum of circus fame did precisely that. Barnum heard of a sacred white elephant in India.   Thinking it would be an excellent attraction, he sent an agent to buy it sight unseen. 

When the animal arrived in Bridgeport, CT, Barnum was horrified to see that it was covered with large pinkish splotches and was not white at all. The public was not impressed and Barnum had to keep his "white elephant" hidden from public view in a stable while he tried to decide what to do with it. Although it was useless to him, he had actually paid a lot of money for it. 

Incidentally, the elephant died later when the stable in which it was hidden accidentally burned to the ground. 

Thanks to Kymberli Drummond 

Reminds one of the "accidental" insurance fires that happen today.

Meaning:

Approaching the end of a long process.

Example:

Building a house is a long ordeal.   Just when you think you are down to the short strokes something unexpected comes up.

Origin:

When a golfer begins at the tee, he hits the ball towards the green by driving, or using a long stroke.  When the ball is on the green, he must get the ball in the hole by putting - or taking "short" strokes. 

Thanks to Anita 

Similarly,

A painter (canvases not houses) begins on a clean canvas using large and broad strokes of the brush.   As the painting progresses the brush strokes become shorter and finer as detail is filled into the painting.

Meaning:

Undecided until the end, at the last minute

Example:

We almost missed our flight, it came right down to the wire.  The traffic on the way to the airport was horrible and we had to run to our gate.

Origin:

This phrase refers to races where the winner is determined by whoever crosses the finish line first.  Think of horse racing and foot races.   A string is stretched across the finish to help the judges see clearly who crosses first in a close race.  That string is called the wire or tape, the winner is the one who breaks the wire first. 

The "wire" is actually string, tape, or paper and not a metal wire at all.   No need to be concerned about those horses tripping and getting themselves caught in the wire. 

Hence "down to the wire" means the event is not decided until the very end of the event.

Thanks to George Petersen and John Gold

Meaning:

To get a boost or advantage.

Example:

I could get up a 5:00 am to get a leg up on my competition, but I don't think so. 

Origin:

This phrase may incorrectly invoke images of a dog raising its leg.

In fact "Getting a leg up" is from the act of an equestrian receiving help in mounting a horse.

The helper would create a foothold by cupping the hands to heft the rider upward, throwing a leg up and over the steed.

Thanks to Paul O.

Meaning:

The accomplishment of three successes or wins.

Example:

Pam has pulled off a hat trick, three divorces, three big settlements.

Origin:

"Hat trick" originated from the English game of Cricket.   The term originally referred to a bowler retiring three consecutive batsman with three consecutive balls. 

This is roughly equivalent to a pitcher in baseball striking out three consecutive batters using only three pitches to each!   This was considered quite an accomplishment and was traditionally rewarded with a hat. 

The term is now used for other sports, always referring to an accomplishment of three.   A popular use today is three goals by a single player in one game of hockey or soccer.

Alternatively,

Comes from the days when it was common for men (and women for that manner) to wear hats to social events, and in Canada a hockey game is a social event. If a player scored three goals in one game, appreciative fans would throw their hats onto the ice. 

Thanks to Tom Landers

Meaning:

To be paying attention, to respond promptly, to be doing one's job.

Example:

If you were a bit more on the ball, we might have averted the reactor melt down.

Origin:

From the early days of baseball.  A pitcher who "had nothing on the ball" was one who was having a bad outing.  The term implies that the pitcher has no control or speed on the ball. 

Thanks to Ron Akers

Meaning:

To impart a spin to something in an effort to make it hard to control, usually a ball in sports like tennis.

Example:

Your serve is dangerous when you put english on it.

Origin:

"The English way" or "English" comes from the British game of Snooker.   Snooker is a forerunner to the game of Billiards or pool.  Similar to pool, Snooker uses cue sticks, balls, and a table however the table has no pockets. 

A technique used in Snooker is to impart a spin to the ball to alter its travel. 

Thanks to John Gold

Meaning:

Weather through tough times, try to minimize the trouble.

Example:

Sometimes in life you just have to roll with punches, even when the punches feel like they are coming from Mike Tyson. 

Origin:

Rolling with the punches is a technique used in boxing. The objective is to avoid receiving a direct hit with solid contact. 

The technique is to move away from the punch in an attempt to avoid the blow or at least create a glancing blow. A glancing blow being preferable to a direct hit. 

Thanks to Roger Groover and Radar

Meaning:

To intentionally fail in competition, to throw a game.

Example:

All good salesmen learn to take a dive when playing golf with customers.

Origin:

Boxers (e.g. prize fighters) who have been bribed to throw a bout but wishing to make it look as if the opponent won legitimately would dive to the mat after being hit. This was to create the illusion of a legitimate knock out. 

Incidentally this is also a good strategy when playing golf with the boss.

Meaning:

Control of a situation.

Example:

If you are wondering who has the upper hand in your relationship, the next time you get up to fetch drinks, take a look on the sofa.   There you will find that person.

Origin:

This phrase originated with the advent of sandlot baseball.  In order to determine which team would bat first, one player would grasp the baseball bat at the lower end.  A player from the opposing team would then place his hand directly above the first player's hand.  They would alternate hands up the bat until the end was reached and one of the players had the "upper hand". 

Thanks to Steve

Meaning:

To be heavily armed.

Example:

Don't even think about going into Chicago's housing projects unless you are armed to the teeth.

Origin:

This is a pirate phrase originating in Port Royal Jamaica in the 1600's. Having only single shot black powder weapons and cutlesses, they would carry many of these weapons at once to keep up the fight. 

In addition they carried a knife in their teeth for maximum arms capability.

Thanks to Robert W.

Meaning:

To say things intended to harass.

Example:

Don't get mad, I am just busting your chops.

Origin:

At the turn of the century, wearing very long sideburns-- called mutton chops or lamb chops -- was en vogue. Lamb chop side burns also made a comeback in the late 1960s. A bust in the chops was to get hit in the face. Since Mutton Chops are no longer considered high fashion, the term has come to be figurative rather than literal.

Thanks to Gregory Pius 

Meaning:

To be far less competent or have far less skills than someone else.

Example:

When it comes to performance, Corvette can't hold a candle to Porsche.

Origin:

Before electric lights, someone performing a task in the dark needed a helper to hold a candle to provide light while the task was performed.   Much as a helper might hold a flashlight today. 

Holding the candle is of course the less challenging role.   Someone who is not even qualified to hold the candle is much less competent than the person performing the actual task.

Meaning:

Clearly understood.

Example:

You don't have to repeat yourself. Your message is clear as a bell.

Origin:

Bells such as the type used in churches are large and loud. Their sound can be heard from a great distance. Bells sound a single, clear note so their sound is distinctive and not easily confused.

Before electric sirens and amplification systems, bells were a valuable means of signaling people and alerting of important events - like an impending attack. The bell and the message intended could be heard clearly over a large area. 

Back in the 1910's, many companies were trying to get into the manufacturing and selling one the hottest items around, the phonograph. One of those companies was the Sonora Chime Company. 

This company started the Sonora Phonograph Company and used "Clear as a Bell" as their slogan, touting the fidelity of their machine's sound reproduction. 

Thanks to Merrill Tritt

Meaning:

Nearly achieving success, but not quite.

Example:

That free throw was close but no cigar.

Origin:

Carnival games of skill, particularly shooting games, once gave out cigars as a prize. A contestant that did not quite hit the target was close, but did not get a cigar.

Meaning:

To be working fast, proceeding rapidly.

Example:

After working with those old hand tools, power tools will make you feel like you are really cooking with gas.

Origin:

Although common place today, gas stoves have not always been the norm. Gas stoves started to be available in the 1800's, and until that time wood stoves were the standard.

Now you're "cooking with gas" comes from an old advertisement for gas stoves. The phrase suggests that gas is faster, easier, cleaner, better than cooking with wood.

Thanks to John Gold

Meaning:

To be dead, with no chance for recovery.

Example:

You might as well junk that car, the engine is dead as a door nail.

Origin:

Nails were once hand tooled and costly. When an aging cabin or barn was torn down the valuable nails would be salvaged so he could reuse them in later construction. 

When building a door however, carpenters often drove the nail through then bent it over the other end so it couldn't work its way out during the repeated opening and closing of the door. When it came time to salvage the building, these door nails were considered useless, or "dead" because of the bend. 

Thanks to Kymberli Drummond

This may also be an example of an alliterative. An alliterative is the use of like consonants in neighboring words to create a sort of rhyme.

Meaning:

Well dressed with attention to detail.

Example:

Beware any salesman that is dressed to a tea, smiles too much, and talks fast.

Origin:

A short way of saying "dressed for a tea" or "dressed to go to a tea". In the Victorian era, high tea was a formal affair. All proper people dressed in appropriate attire. 

Thanks to Kenneth R. Swanson

Meaning:

Dressed flamboyantly, dressed well.

Example:

New years eve is the one day of the year when people like to go out dressed to the nines.

Origin:

Common lore has it that a tailor making a high quality suit uses more fabric.   The best suits are made from nine yards of fabric. 

This may seem like a lot but a proper suit does indeed take nine yards of fabric. This is because a god suit has all the fabric cut in the same direction with the warp, or long strands of thread, parallel with the vertical line of the suit. This causes a great amount of waste in suit making, but if you want to go "dressed to the nines", you must pay for such waste.

Thanks to K. Paull

Alternatively,

The meaning is drawn from the phrase "the whole nine yards" which has come to mean a complete high quality job without cutting corners. 

Alternatively, 

This saying originated in Shakespeare's time and is connected with the price a person had to pay for theater tickets depending on where their seats were located. The farthest seats were one pence and the ones closest to the stage were nine pence.  If you sat in the expensive seats you would feel obliged to dress up so as not to look out of place with the other wealthy patrons. 

Thanks to Kymberli Drummond

Meaning:

Make a phone call.

Example:

Don't be such a stranger.   Drop a dime some time.

Origin:

This is a good phrase to discuss with anyone born after 1970.   Pay phones cost 35 cents today, but they really did cost 10 cents at one time.  The dime was dropped into the slot of the pay phone. 

Thanks to William M. Gatesman

Along similar lines is "to spend a penny" which in the U.K. means to use the toilet. The penny refers to the price of admission to a public pay toilet. 

Thanks to Joel Finkel

Meaning:

To hold one accountable for a commitment, make good on a promise.

Example:

You made a fair bet with me on the Superbowl and I am going to hold your feet to the fire for payment.

Origin:

Pertains to torture used during the Crusade's.  As a method for extracting confession for heresy, non-believers were positioned in a manner that allowed the inquisitor to apply flames to the feet of the accused.  This was done until the accused confessed or died. 

Thanks to William Tippets 

As ridiculous as that method of obtaining a confession seems by today's standards, consider a modern parallel - plea bargaining.  The accused is offered the choice between a reduced sentence in exchange for a confession, or prosecution with the risk of more severe penalty (possibly death).

Meaning:

Having or pursuing multiple opportunities simultaneously.

Example:

I have been out of work for 6 months, but I have a number of irons in the fire.

Origin:

Blacksmiths traditionally worked iron into shape by hammering.   The iron being worked would be heated in the fire until it was red-hot and malleable.   The Smith removes the iron from the fire and shapes it with repeated blows from a hammer. They need to work quickly before the iron cools. Once the iron is cool, it becomes brittle and cannot be hammered.

Once removed from the fire, the iron cools quickly.  It takes longer to heat the iron to red-hot than it takes for it to cool.   Blacksmiths work more efficiently by having multiple pieces of iron in the fire heating simultaneously.   In that way, the Smith can always have a piece of iron red-hot and ready for hammering.  The cooled piece would be returned to the fire if it needed more hammering.

Alternatively,

Refers to the number of irons (think pressed shirts here) a colonial woman kept hot in the fire at one time on washing day. Irons in those days were of course not powered by electricity, they were heated by...fire. Irons made from (what else?) iron took a long time to heat up in the fireplace so women would often have several to speed up their ironing chores.

Thanks to Cassie Perry

Meaning:

Do what everybody else is doing, whatever is popular.

Example:

When the Chicago Bears are winning, I will jump on the bandwagon and be a fan.

Origin:

Old time political campaigns would attempt to gain supporters with what amounted to a small parade including a band for a candidate with sufficient support. Jumping on the bandwagon was akin to providing your support for this popular candidate.

Meaning:

Calm down, be patient.

Example:

I will be off the telephone in a minute, so keep your pants on.

Origin:

Appears to suggest that one should calm down because romance is not imminent. 

This phrase is actually a derivation of "keep your shirt on".   It is an interesting example of how phrases can adapt to obscure the origin.

Meaning:

Calm down, be patient.

Example:

Just keep your shirt on, dinner is almost ready.

Origin:

Before modern manufacturing techniques, shirts, and all clothes for that matter, required a lot of labor to make.   They were more expensive than they are today.   Someone thinking of starting a fight might take off his shirt to prevent damage.   Telling someone to "keep his shirt on" was equivalent to telling him "I don't want to fight". 

This phrase has been twisted into the equivalent "keep your pants on".

Meaning:

To divulge a secret.

Example:

Don't let the cat out of the bag about Susan's Christmas present.

Origin:

At medieval markets, unscrupulous traders would display a pig for sale.  However, the pig was always given to the customer in a bag, with strict instructions not to open the bag until they were some way away.  The trader would hand the customer a bag containing something that wriggled, and it was only later that the buyer would find he'd been conned when he opened the bag to reveal that it contained a cat, not a pig.  Therefore, "letting the cat out of the bag" revealed the secret of the con trick. 

Visitors to London may be interested to know that they can still get fleeced like this on Oxford Street every day of the week at the "auctions" that take place there.  It's an opportunity to see a true Medieval craft still in use today - do not, however, be tempted to buy the cameras, video recorders or obscure items offered. 

Thanks to Toby O'Connor Morse

Alternatively,

At one time, and even today in some circles, some people who have unwanted cats put them in a "gunny" sack with some large rocks and drop the whole thing in the river. 

Some people would find this practice objectionable.   Hence a desire to keep it a secret.   Letting the cat out of the bag would divulge that secret. 

Thanks to RB Stevenson 

See the related "a pig in a poke". 

Meaning:

To be poor, to have difficulty supporting yourself.

Example:

Most people who marry young start out living hand to mouth.

Origin:

During the Great Depression and other times of economic scarcity, people often did not know when or where the next meal was coming from.  In such a case, when you get something in your hand that can be eaten, it goes into the mouth immediately: ergo "hand to mouth." 

Thanks to R.B. Stevenson

Meaning:

Behave properly.

Example:

Since drunk driving arrest, he has been minding his Ps and Qs.

Origin:

Comes from the early pub days when beer and ale was served in pint and quart containers. The tab was kept on a chalkboard used to count the pints and quarts consumed. To watch your Ps and Qs is to control your alcoholic intake and behavior.

Thanks to Dennis Lampson

Not only did pub keepers maintain the count of pints and quarts consumed, they often maintained a tab for regular customers, especially sailors. The sailors tab was sometimes paid directly out of the sailors pay by the ship's captain. This to assure the pub keeper of payment.

However, this created the opportunity for the pub keeper to charge for a few extra pints and quarts. And in some cases the captain was in on this little deception, and shared in the extra payment. Hence it was to the sailors best interest to keep count of the pints and quarts. To mind his Ps and Qs.

Thanks to Neuticals

Alternatively,

Lower case Ps and Qs look similar and can be mistaken for each other. When setting moveable type printing presses, "minding your Ps and Qs" is important. 

Similarly, 

A person just learning how to write could easily confuse lower case Ps and Qs. Hence a need to be careful and "mind your Ps and Qs".

Thanks to Dan

Alternatively,

Ps and Qs may just be a childish word play for "please and thank yous"! Certainly this seems to fit with the accepted meaning.

Meaning:

A single symbolic penny.

Example:

I refuse to pay even one red cent for the work until you complete the whole job.

Origin:

The "Red" refers to both the color of a penny (one cent) and the image that used to be on the penny, an American Indian head. Redskin is a slang term used for American Indians. 

Before today's Lincoln penny was the Indian Head penny.

The Indian Head penny was first issued in 1859 and looks just like that as issued in 1908 (before the Lincoln Cent). The only difference was that those from 1859-1864 were of a different copper-nickel alloy while 1864 started the common bronze, which was used until 1982. (You didn't know it changed then, did you?)

The copper-nickel alloy has a reddish tint, which turns redder with time and skin oil.

Before the Indian Head penny was the "Buzzard Cent", as the One Cent coins in 1856-1858 were called. The flying eagle on the coin was damned as an ugly bird and it wasn't popular. 

However, it was the first "small cent" using about the same size as our penny today. In the half century before this, One Cent coins were about the size of today's Half Dollar! (of course they were also worth something then)

Thanks to Brien Malone, Robert W., and Kenneth R. Swanson

Meaning:

To come to fruition.

Example:

My lifelong dream of making my fortune by cornering the lint market just didn't pan out. 

Origin:

Early prospectors panned for gold.  They would swirl a mix of soil and water around the pan.   Because Gold is very dense, with a little skill the pan could be swirled at just the right speed to allow the gold to settle to the bottom of the pan, while the dirt and low-density particles would wash over the side. 

This would continue until there was nothing left but gravel -- and maybe a little speck of gold if it "panned out"! 

Thanks to Nina  Zhito 

See the related expression "flash in the pan". 

Meaning:

To have money or wealth.

Example:

You want to have children!  We can't afford them, we don't have a pot to piss in.

Origin:

In medieval London, people did not have indoor plumbing. It was common to use a chamber pot as an indoor toilet. The chamber pot could then be dumped out a window into the street gutter below. A person who did not have a "pot to piss in" was poor indeed. 

In medieval times the word "piss" was not considered at all vulgar. It was not until Victorian England that words such as piss were deemed vulgar.  Even today phrases like "pot to piss in" and "Full of Piss and Vinegar" are somehow considered to be generally acceptable and only moderately crude. 

Thanks to John Gold 

Meaning:

To complain or lecture loudly and with angry emotion.

Example:

Upset about his neighbors load music at 3:00 am, Davis knocked on the door and proceeded to read the riot act.

Origin:

"Reading the riot act" used to be a literal event.  Bobbies in Britain used to read a prescribed proclamation, known as the Riot Act, before they could break up or arrest a crowd.  The Riot Act is used in a fashion similar to the Miranda Rights in the US. 

The Bobbies would approach the crowd, read the Riot Act aloud, and then disperse or arrest them. 

Thanks to Kensmark

Meaning:

To sound familiar, to spark a memory.

Example:

I don't remember meeting him, but the name John Smith rings a bell.

Origin:

Bells such as the type used in churches are large and loud. Their sound can be heard from a great distance. Bells sound a single, clear note so their sound is distinctive and not easily confused.

Before electric sirens and amplification systems, bells were a valuable means of signaling people and alerting of important events. 

Further, accurate timepieces were not always as available as they are today. Bells were used to signal people of the start of events such as a church session, the start of school, or a celebration. The bells acted as a reminder of the start of the event for people who had an out of synch timepiece or no timepiece.

Someone would literally ring a bell as a reminder.

As an aside bells were later used on clocks to mark the hour. A large clock usually in the town square could be heard throughout the town. This clock acted as a master time reference for the town. The hourly bell ringing gave people an opportunity to synchronize their respective timepieces, and early watches required frequent adjustment.

Meaning:

A basic rule that is usually but not always correct.

Example:

As a rule of thumb, plant tomato seeds three inches deep.

Origin:

Based on the use of ones thumb as a rough measurement tool. Generally correct for course measures. 

Most old English measures of distance were based on the body measurements of the king--the length of the foot, inch (thumb tip to first knuckle), cubit (elbow-to-fingertip), and yard (nose-to-fingertip). 

Alternatively, 

Old English law (and potentially early American law) declared that it was okay for a man to beat his wife but had to use a stick no larger in diameter than his thumb. 

There is no truth to the rumor that this law was an early start to the women's rights movement.

Meaning:

Sleep well.

Example:

Good night, sleep tight.

Origin:

Before box springs were in use, old bed frames used rope pulled tightly between the frame rails to support a mattress. If the rope became loose, the mattress would sag making for uncomfortable sleeping. Tightening the ropes would help one get a good night sleep.

Meaning:

Act quickly while the opportunity is still available.

Example:

If you want the job, you need to strike while the iron is hot.

Origin:

Blacksmiths working iron by hand heat the iron in a fire to red-hot making it malleable. The Smith removes the iron from the fire and shapes it with blows from a hammer. They need to work quickly before the iron cools. Once the iron is cool, it becomes brittle and the opportunity to hammer it into shape has passed.

Meaning:

To give approval.

Example:

If Siskel and Ebert give the movie two thumbs up, it is probably pretty good.

Origin:

The phrase comes from the thumbs up hand gesture. It is attributed to the ancient Romans and the Gladiators who fought in the Coliseum.

When one Gladiator had emerged victorious in a fight, the spectators would get to decide if the loser should live or die. If they felt the loser had fought bravely enough, his life would be spared, otherwise he would be killed. 

The spectators signaled their vote with a "thumbs up" for life and thumbs down for death.

In truth the thumbs down was not as we do it today, but instead a forward and downward thumb motion as if stabbing it into the ground. The thumb symbolized the weapon of the victor and hence the motions showed how the weapon should be used on the loser.

Meaning:

With a healthy dose of skepticism, suspicion, and caution.

Example:

Dave has been known to stretch the truth a bit.  Take what he says with a grain of salt.

Origin:

Salt is now an inexpensive and readily available commodity. But it was once very valuable due to its high demand as a food preservative and relative scarcity. 

Salt was thought to have healing properties and to be an antidote to poisons. To take (eat or drink) something "with a grain of salt" was to practice preventive medicine. One would do this if they were suspicious that the food might be poisonous or may cause illness.

Thanks to Ron Akers 

The phrase and meaning is thousands of years old, the Latin equivalent phrase is "cum grano salis".

Thanks to Barry Harridge and Richard Laurent

Meaning:

To be competent, reasonably skilled.

Example:

Not to worry about your new suit, any detergent worth its salt can remove blood stains. 

Origin:

Today salt is inexpensive and universally available, but that wasn't always the case.   Salt has been a valuable commodity in many cultures throughout history. 

Salt is sodium chloride.  It can be obtained from mines or the oceans.   Today salt is commonly mined from large deposits left by dried salt lakes.   Modern mining and transportation methods have made salt an inexpensive commodity. 

Salt is an effective food preservative and before refrigeration was widely available, the demand for salt as a preservative was much greater.  The human body requires salt for the regulation of fluid balance.   Salt used as a seasoning adds to the taste of many foods. 

Because of salt's high value, it was used as a method of exchange. Roman soldiers received a salt allowance as part of their pay.   In fact the word "salary" is derived from the Latin "salarium" meaning "of salt". 

To say that someone is "worth his salt" is to say they have earned their pay. 

Thanks to - 
Bargery Williams 
Ron Akers 
Nathan Thomas 
Damon Koehler 
Bill Davis

Meaning:

To raise a problem, issue, or solution right before an important deadline.

Example:

I had given up after trying for days to get tickets to a sold out show, then at the eleventh hour a friend calls to tell me he has tickets.

Origin:

On a 12-hour clock (rather than the 24-hour clock used by scientists, the military, et al) the hours of 12 noon and 12 midnight seem to hold special significance.   De-marking the transition from morning to afternoon and the end of the day, they are often used as deadlines (high noon, the stroke of midnight). 

To come at "the eleventh hour" implies that it comes in the last hour before the deadline.  The choice of "the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" as the time to end W.W.I was quite apt. 

Thanks to Laurie Atwater

Meaning:

A compliment that also insults or puts down at the same time.

Example:

They gave me a backhanded compliment when they said I was smart for a girl.

Origin:

Back-handed is synonymous with left-handed.  For example in tennis, a backhand stroke is a strike by a right-handed player from the left side of the body. 

The left side of the body has always been deemed sinister.  The Latin word for left is sinestra.  Hence, back-handed means round-about, indirect, or devious. 

Thanks to Audra Hammer 

In America, left handed people were once considered suspect and untrustworthy.   Until the 1960's many people who were naturally left handed were encouraged as children to use their right hand for tasks and were taught to be right handed.

Meaning:

To bleed heavily.

Example:

Handle that straight razor carefully.  If you cut yourself, you will bleed like a stuck pig.

Origin:

The throat of a pig set for slaughter is cut or opened with a sharp spike or knife.   Because the cut severs the jugular vein, the pig bleeds rapidly.   See the related phrase "kick the bucket". 

Thanks to Kensmark

Meaning:

To enjoy oneself by relaxing normal formalities.

Example:

He is a true workaholic who has misguided priorities, when he wants to blow off some steam he comes to work on Saturday wearing blue jeans.

Origin:

Boilers are commonly used in steam heating systems and steam engines such as those used in a steam locomotive.   The boilers contain water that is heated by burning some fuel such as oil.   The heated water turns to steam, which is then sent through a system of radiators (in the case of heating systems) or harnessed by a steam engine. 

The steam creates considerable pressure in the boiler.   If the pressure becomes too great, there is a danger of the boiler exploding.   Hence boilers are equipped with safety valves called blow off valves that open if the pressure becomes to great. 

"Blowing off steam" prevents explosions by relieving the pressure in a boiler by venting excess steam and pressure. 

Thanks to Barry Molitch

Meaning:

To be boasting without being able to back it up, talking about action without intent to follow through.

Example:

Do you really want to buy this car or are you just blowing smoke?

Origin:

Magicians often use smoke in their performance to obscure your view and conceal a bit of trickery. 

A person who is "blowing smoke" is tricking you and attempting to cover it up. 

See the related phrase "smoke and mirrors". 

Thanks to John Gold

Meaning:

New and unused.

Example:

What you really need is a brand spanking new Porsche turbo.

Origin:

Doctors have traditionally spanked babies immediately after delivery to start them crying, and breathing.

Meaning:

A wish of good luck, do well.

Example:

Break a leg in your game today.

Origin:

"Break a leg" is sourced in superstition. It is a wish of good luck, but the words wish just the opposite.

It was once common for people to believe in Sprites. Sprites are actually spirits or ghosts that were believed to enjoy wreaking havoc and causing trouble. 

If the Sprites heard you ask for something, they were reputed to try to make the opposite happen. Telling someone to "break a leg" is an attempt to outsmart the Sprites and in fact make something good happen. Sort of a medieval reverse psychology.

Of course it has became a popular wish of luck for theater performers.

Meaning:

To harass with the intent to break one's spirit.

Example:

When I ask you if you settled that dispute with the IRS, I am not just trying to bust your balls. I am trying to help.

Origin:

There is a way to castrate a calf, instead of cutting off the Testicles you break them. To "bust your balls" is to turn them from a bull into a steer. Properly directed harassment can have a similar effect on humans.

Thanks to Radar 

Meaning:

To gain approval from another, usually a superior.

Example:

Bringing home flowers is a good way to win brownie points with the wife.

Origin:

Browine is a house spirit in Scottish superstition. In England he is called Robin Goodfellow. His favorite abodes are farms, and at night he is said to busy himself doing little jobs for the family over which he presides. Although he was never seen, families often left offerings to show their thanks. 

Browine points refers to a person who does good deed for another and is looked upon favorably...gaining "bonus points". 

Thanks to Kymberli Drummond 

Brownies is club for young girls, not yet old enough to be Girl Scouts or Girl Guides in England.   Brownies are awarded points for good behavior and achievements. 

Thanks to Toby O'Connor Morse

Meaning:

A highly advantaged position, to have it all.

Example:

Some might describe Bill Gates as sitting in the cat bird seat.

Origin:

Mocking birds are sometimes referred to as cat birds. Mocking birds typically sit at the top of a tree. Hence the cat bird seat is at the top. 

Thanks to R.B. Stevenson

Meaning:

To talk about unimportant things.

Example:

Sit down, have a beer, and let's chew the fat.

Origin:

The Inuit (different from Eskimos) used to chew on pieces of whale blubber almost like chewing gum. The blubber took quite a while to dissolve, so it just sort of helped pass the time while they were doing something else. 

Some other cultures may have used bacon fat in a similar way.

Thanks to Neuticals and Julie

Meaning:

To quit something abruptly.

Example:

You will not lose weight until you give up chocolate, and I suggest you go cold turkey.

Origin:

The expression originates from the goose bumps and palor which accompany withdrawal from narcotics or tobacco.  One's skin resembles that of a plucked, cold turkey.... 

Thanks to Nina Zhito

Meaning:

Pretending to cry in an attempt to manipulate or exploit, phony tears.

Example:

OJ gave his testimony through crocodile tears.

Origin:

It was often thought that crocodiles shed tears that slid down into their mouths, moistening their food and making it easier for them to swallow.  Hence the tears appear to be an expression of emotion but are in fact a means to make it easier to swallow (possibly the observer). 

Thanks to Kensmark 

Alternatively,

When at rest basking in the sun crocodiles have their mouths open, this position of the jaw puts pressure on the tear glands and causes them to shed tears.  Hence crocodile tears are not real since they are a physical response, not an emotional one. 

Thanks to Jim Hardie

Meaning:

To be similar, usually in terms of behavior.

Example:

You and your father are cut from the same cloth; fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life son.

Origin:

If you're making a suit, the jacket and trousers should be cut from the same piece of cloth to ensure a perfect match, since there may be differences in color, weave etc. between batches of fabric.   Only if the whole suite is cut from the same piece of cloth can we be sure of the match. 

Thanks to Toby O'Connor Morse

Meaning:

Do not be critical of a gift.

Example:

Okay, so the '72 Gremlin grandma gave you is not your idea of a babe magnet, but it was free - so don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Origin:

Horses have gum lines that recede with age.   Hence older horses have longer teeth than young horses. 

To "look a horse in the mouth" is to examine the horse's mouth closely to determine its age (and therefore its usefulness and/or worth).  To immediately judge a gift based on its worth or usefulness rather than the "thought" behind it considered rude, and ungrateful (it is a gift after all, and didn't cost the receiver anything). 

The phrase is apparently quite old, a Latin version of it appeared in a work by St. Jerome in 420 AD, and it also exists in many languages.  An Early english version (1510 AD) appears in John Standbridge's "Vulgari Standbrigi": "A gyuen hors may not (be) loked in the tethe." 

Thanks to Ron Akers

Similarly, 

An older horse's teeth would be ground down from all the chewing. If the teeth were ground down, the animal would be less likely to be able to ingest enough food. In the wild, for many older herbivores death comes from malnutrition due to this inability to chew enough food. A person would look in the horse's mouth to see the amount of wear, and the subsequent age.

Apparently, there are also several other things that happen. One is that younger horses actually have more teeth. Another is that there is a certain age range (like 6-10 years) where the teeth actually have some circular bands. After this age range, the bands are worn away.

Hence you can tell a lot about a horse from inspection of the teeth.

Thanks to Neuticals

See the related phrase "Long in the tooth". 

Meaning:

To accept the truth.

Example:

It's time to face the music on your donut addiction.

Origin:

Comes from the British military. When someone was court marshaled, there would be a military drum squad playing, hence face the music. The term drummed out of the military came from this practice....

Thanks to Robert Weir

Meaning:

A long and frustrating trip.

Example:

I looked all over hell's half acre trying to find a left handed monkey wrench.

Origin:

Hell's half acre is a lava flow about 15 miles west of Idaho Falls, Idaho.  It is 4.5 miles of rough, irregular terrain that is very difficult to navigate.  It is so named because its cracks, holes, and crags give the area an otherworldly, surreal, and perhaps hellish appearance.  A search of Hell's half acre would indeed be a long and difficult task. 

Many of the scenes in the 1997 film "Starship Troopers" (based on Robert Heinlein's novel of the same name) in which the characters were on an alien planet, were filmed at Hell's half acre. 

Thanks to Ron Akers

Meaning:

Extravagantly.

Example:

If you choose to live high on the hog, you will be low in the wallet.

Origin:

The best meat is on the upper portion of the pig.  Rich people have always been afforded this luxury while the servants, slaves and poor have always had to eat pig's feet, chitterlings, cracklings, etc. - low on the hog. 

Thanks to Amory National Guard

Meaning:

Unlike the subject at hand.

Example:

Bush and Reagan are both credible, but Clinton is a horse of a different color.

Origin:

Horses are registered at birth and the registration includes a record of their color. When a horse trades hands due to sale, the registration is also transferred. Sometimes the color recorded on the registration may not match the actual color of the horse leading one to suspect the horse is not the one in the registration. 

Horses sometimes change color as they age, just as some people's hair changes color. More likely the horse is not the one represented on the registration but is actually an entirely different horse.

Thanks to Radar

Meaning:

Common sense, able to stand the test of reasonableness.

Example:

If your going to spend your time working anyway, it only makes horse sense to get a high paying job.

Origin:

Horses are intelligent animals.   They demonstrate the ability act sensibly and to avoid situations that might cause them harm such as taking a fall, hence good common sense. 

Thanks to Janna

Meaning:

To be making money.

Example:

Live below your means and you will always be running in the black.

Origin:

Standard practice for accounting is to record positive numbers in black ink and negative numbers in red ink. Operating "in the black" is to record positive numbers, that is to say earnings.

See the related phrase "in the red".

Meaning:

To be losing money.

Example:

Putting kids through college is sure to put you in the red.

Origin:

Standard practice for accounting is to record positive numbers in black ink and negative numbers in red ink. Operating "in the red" is to record negative numbers, that is to say losses.

No doubt red ink was chosen because it is a clear contrast for black and is not easily mistaken. However there is a bit more history to the red ink.

In medieval times the church, being the only center of literacy and learning in the west, maintained meticulous accounting records. Ink was rare and expensive. When monasteries and far-flung churches had little money and they could not afford ink, domesticated animals were bled to provide a substitute in the dipping wells. As a result, poor financial records were usually written "in the red."

See the related phrase "in the black".

Thanks to Richard Livingston

Meaning:

Something that is a precursor to failure, that will lead to future failure.

Example:

Even a hint by Greenspan that interest rates may rise is like a kiss of death to the stock market.

Origin:

From the fabled Mafia practice.   A kiss from the Don meant curtains for the receiver. 

Thanks to R.B. Stevenson 

No doubt popularized in this country by Mafia movies, but the practice goes back much, much further, at least to Roman days.  And let's not forget Judas kissing Jesus's cheek to identify him to the guards. 

Thanks to Kensmark

Meaning:

To be getting old.

Example:

Daddy needs a new Porsche.  The old one is getting a bit long in the tooth.

Origin:

Strange as it may seem this phrase's origin is closely related to the origin of the phrase "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth". 

The age of a horse can be roughly determined by examining its teeth, since a horse's gums recede as they age.  The longer the teeth of a horse appear to be, the older the horse. 

Thanks to Ron Akers 

This expression derives from veterinary medicine -- some animals have teeth that continue to grow much like fingernails.   For example rabbits and rats need to gnaw hard objects to wear down their growing teeth. 

Thanks to Nina Zhito

Meaning:

To party and celebrate with enthusiasm in bars and restaurants.

Example:

At the end of final exams college students have traditionally gone out to paint the town red.   College students traditionally also do this at the throughout the semester.

Origin:

This phrase originated with the Roman Empire. Roman soldiers used to wash the walls of a newly-conquered town or city with the blood of the vanquished. This was usually accomplished with a great degree of gusto, hence the term being applied to a great night on the town.

Thanks to Gregory Pius 

Alternatively,

"Paint the town red" is a reference to the money spent in the process. The party goer ends up in the red paying for the celebration. See the related phrase "in the red".

Alternatively,

A joke that the resulting blood-shot eyes resulting from partying and drinking might actually color one's field of vision red.

Thanks to Ron Akers

Interestingly the movie "High Plains Drifter" starring Clint Eastwood actually had a scene in which the entire town was painted red, literally. In this Western, Clint played a tough character who sought revenge on the town folk that had wronged him. 

Clint basically manhandled and had his way with the entire town. In a dramatic scene he had them paint all the buildings red - and change the name of the town to Hell. 

Meaning:

Excuse my foul language.

Example:

Pardon my French, but if the neighbors don't like the lovely purple color I painted the house, they can kiss my ass.

Origin:

The French have been enemies of Britain for the past thousand years (on and off), and are even today thought of with some suspicion by a lot of British people.

Perhaps because of this, the British (a very polite society) have considered the French to be vulgar and rude. To say "pardon my French" is to say that you are about to behave as a Frenchman would, i.e. you are about to say something vulgar.

Thanks to Ron Akers 

Other examples of the British perspective on the behavior of the French have also found there way into the English language.

French Kissing includes the tongues.

French Lessons is a euphamism for prostitution.

French Polishing is a euphamism for oral sex.

Thanks to Gareth Williams

Meaning:

To happen only on rare occasions.

Example:

The Post Office regularly fails to deliver checks sent in payment to me, but bills sent to me fail to be delivered only once in a blue moon.

Origin:

Two full moons in the same month are extremely rare, though they do happen.  A second full moon has come to be called a blue moon.  This is apparently because the Maine Farmers Almanac used to list the date of first moon in red text, and the second moon in blue. 

Thanks to Charlie Moreland 

The first published use of the phrase was in the 1600's, "Rede Me and Be Not Wrothe"  and English poem by Roy and Barlow that in part says "If they say the moon is blue, we must believe it is true" the "they" in this poem referring to English nobility. 

Also, the moon on rare occasions actually appears to be blue.  For example, if there was a volcanic eruption somewhere, suspended ashes in the atmosphere can make the moon appear bluish. 

Thanks to Rob Lent

Meaning:

An urgent need to urinate.

Example:

Stop the car at the next tree, I have to piss like a racehorse.

Origin:

Horses, it turns out, don't always feel comfortable urinating just anywhere. Show horses and racehorses spend a great deal of time in their pens and come to feel safe and secure there. They don't like to urinate outside of those pens and in many cases won't.

In fact show and racehorses are frequently returned to their pens to allow them to urinate. Hence racehorses are often walking around outside of their pens with an urgent need to urinate.

Thanks to Neuticals

Alternatively, this phrase originated in the practice (currently illegal, I believe) of giving diuretics to racehorses. The horse would then urinate substantially and drop a few pounds in the process. 

Voila! A lighter, faster, somewhat dehydrated horse.

Steve Lawler & Joy Riggs

Meaning:

Complaining pointlessly.

Example:

Stop your pissing and moaning and go to school.

Origin:

Gonorrhea is common venereal disease that causes a burning sensation while urinating.   There are plenty of stories and jokes about the "clap", as it is called, and moaning from the pain caused by the burn. 

Thanks to John Gold

Meaning:

To make every effort, to use all advantages.

Example:

You have been out of work for over a year. It is time for you to pull out all the stops and actually start applying for a few jobs.

Origin:

This phrase comes from the pipe organs in churches and classical music. Each pipe has a "stop" that acts as a baffle that controls the amount of airflow. The volume of the organ can be adjusted by adding or removing the stops.

By pulling out all the stops, all pipes are playing at their loudest.

Thanks to Merrill Tritt

Meaning:

A very hard rain.

Example:

We decided to cancel our trip, it was raining cats and dogs that day.

Origin:

When the bubonic plague was rampant in London, humans where apparently not the only victims of the plague.   Cats and dogs were also afflicted, many died in the streets.  After a particularly hard rain, street gutters could be awash in the bodies of cats and dogs. 

Another theory suggests that thunder and lightning represent a cat and dog fight. 

Yet another traces the origin of the phrase to ideas in ancient mythology that cats could influence the weather, and that dogs were a symbol of the wind. 

Thanks to Ron Akers 

This phrase goes back many hundreds of years to the Dark Ages.  The cat was thought by sailors to have a lot to do with storms.   Witches that were believed to ride in the storms were often pictured as black cats. 

Dogs and wolves were symbols of winds and the Norse storm god Odin was frequently shown surrounded by dogs and wolves.  In the phrase "raining cats and dogs", cats symbolize the rain and dogs represent the wind of the storm. 

Thanks to Betty Ann Masuno

Meaning:

Listen to what is implied, not what is explicitly stated.

Example:

If your girlfriend told you that you are a good friend, you need to read between the lines.  It's over. 

Origin:

Early in the days of sending secret messages people would write in substances that would only be revealed on plain paper with the use of a re-agent. For instance, lemon juice is normally transparent on paper, but when heated (say over a candle flame) it becomes discolored. Many people will probably remember the "Secret Agent" pens, which had a writing tip at one end and a revealer at the other. 

Obviously a courier delivering a blank piece of paper was a bit of a give-away, so the author of the message would write a seemingly innocuous letter in ink and then write the secret message in the spaces in between. The recipient would then have to treat the letter and read between the lines of the letter to get to the real message.

Thanks to Matthew Bragg

Meaning:

A holiday, cause for celebration.

Example:

When world hunger is solved it will be a red letter day.

Origin:

Calendars typically have holidays marked in red ink. All other days are in black ink. Hence "red letter days" are cause for celebration.

Thanks to Dan

Meaning:

A district in which houses of prostitution are numerous.

Example:

Like a salmon swimming upstream to spawn, Tad makes his annual visit to the red-light district in Amsterdam.

Origin:

The phrase red-light district is no doubt because of the fact that at least in the most famous of these, Amsterdam, they do in fact have red lights in the windows.   This to let prospective customers know that it is a house of prostitution. 

The term originated around 1900 and seems to have come about from visiting railroaders leaving their lanterns on the porch of the cat house while conducting business inside. 

Red lanterns where required equipment for all railroad crew members, with the possible exception of the engineer. Prior to 1900, a train would likely have an engineer, conductor, fireman, and two or more brakemen (brakes being manually applied on a car by car basis).  They were used for signaling as well as lighting, since red light does not affect night vision as much as white. 

A train being brought into a yard would have its crew surrounding it, most carrying red lanterns to signal the engineer that all was well. They would then use these same lanterns to illuminate their path to wherever they chose to go. 

Strangely enough, red lights were also used to identify the homes of spiritualists of that era.  I don't know why, since I would not equate a seance with sex, but . . . 

Thanks to Jeff Olsenholler 

And the question is why did the railroaders leave the lanterns on the porch?   Apparently to indicate to other prospective visitors that the venue was in use.

Meaning:

Having a lack of confidence in ones own abilities.

Example:

Don't sell yourself short, you are a good dancer.

Origin:

Comes from short selling of stocks. To sell a stock short is to sell shares that you don't own. These shares must be bought at a future time to complete the transaction. Selling short is used when investors believe the price of the stock is going down, and they wish to profit from that drop in price. They can sell a stock at today's price in anticipation of acquiring the stock at a lower future price. 

Selling a stock short is a bet that the value of the stock is going down. Hence selling yourself short is an expectation that you are on the decline.

Meaning:

Not getting a fair share.

Example:

Since the introduction of Windows 95, Apple Computer has been sucking hind tit.

Origin:

Many female mammals have multiple rows of breasts, for example dogs.   Typically the rear most pair of breasts is smaller and less developed than the rest.   Hence a pup nursing from the rear most breast is likely to receive less milk than other nursing pups.   Hind means rear most.  Tit is slang for breast.

Meaning:

The end result or conclusion.

Example:

I don't want to hear about how this is a great place to work. I just want the bottom line. How much does the job pay?

Origin:

This might seem like a reference to the shape of ones pants, but it is not that interesting.

A reference to the standard accounting reports. These include the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows. In each of these multi-line reports, a variety of financial figures are provided. Some are positive and some are negative. But "the bottom line" of each report provides the net of all the figures. 

In that sense the bottom line of each report is generally the most important indicator of the financial position. Anyone wanting the quick story would look first to the bottom line of each report.

Meaning:

An unfriendly reception.

Example:

I asked my friends to loan me money but was met with the cold shoulder.

Origin:

The shoulder of beef is a less desirable cut.   Serving a cold piece of beef shoulder to your guests is a not so subtle message that they are not welcome in your home.

Meaning:

Lengthy and pointed questioning.

Example:

When I come home late my wife gives me the third degree.

Origin:

"The third degree" evokes images of lengthy police interrogation under bright lights, rubber hoses, and without the benefits of counsel. 

This phrase origin can be found within the Masonic Lodge. Within the lodge there are 3 degrees; the Entered Apprentice, the Fellowcraft and the Master Mason. To become a Third-Degree or Master Mason, the highest rank, one must submit to questioning.  The Mason's questioning for the third-degree was known to be an intense ordeal, frightening and unpleasant.  Additionally, it is more physically challenging that the first two  degrees.  The term has come to be used for any long an arduous questioning or interrogation. 

Thanks to Nathan Thomas, Toby O'Connor Morse, and Kymberli Drummond

Meaning:

To be naive and inexperienced.

Example:

Typically, first time car buyers are wet behind the ears when it comes to negotiating with car salesmen.

Origin:

When a baby is born, it is covered with mucous and fluid.  It takes a little while for the baby to dry off.   Protected areas, such as the area behind the ears, take a bit longer. 

"Wet behind the ears" refers to a time shortly after birth before being completely dry.   Hence unworldly, naive, and inexperienced.

Meaning:

A V shaped hairline.

Example:

When I was a young man my hairline formed a widow's peak, now it is more like a divorcee's horseshoe.

Origin:

The hair of a person laying on their back in an open coffin would tend to fall back over the head, thereby exposing the hairline and making evident the peak. 

Meaning:

Burdened by stigma or shame from a past deed.

Example:

Your choice, you can put that job firing behind you or wear it like an albatross around your neck.

Origin:

From Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner". An albatross, a symbol of good luck, landed on the ship and was killed by the captain while the ship was becalmed. The killing was thought to be the reason for a prolonged becalming.  The Captain was forced to wear the albatross as a reminder of the wrong he had done. 

Thanks to Charlene E. Fairchild and R.B. Stevenson

Meaning:

Fighting pointless battles or imaginary enemies, with conviction.

Example:

She wastes her efforts battling windmills, trying to get her husband to put the cap on the toothpaste, and put the seat down.

Origin:

A reference to the book "Don Quixote", in which the hero delusionally thinks that windmills are dragons that he must slay.   Sometimes heard as "tilting at windmills".

Meaning:

To have no good alternatives.

Example:

He is caught between a rock and a hard place.  He can stay in a bad marriage, or pay alimony.

Origin:

A reference to Odysseus' dilemma of passing between Scylla and Charybdis (figuratively a rock and a hard place). Scylla was a monster on the cliffs and Charydbis was a dangerous whirlpool. Neither fate was more attractive as both were difficult to overcome. 

Thanks to Kymberli Drummond

Meaning:

A person or place that has the potential to enrich.

Example:

When her boss says jump, she says "how high", only because she knows where her bread is buttered.

Origin:

The actual phrase is "knows which side her bread is buttered on." It is a reference to a Yiddish folk tale of the Wise men of Chelm. 

In the tale, Chelm was a city in Poland where the people were incredibly stupid.  One day someone dropped a piece of bread; it landed butter side up!  Experience and Murphy's law tells us bread always falls buttered side down, the wise men of Chelm gathered to ponder why the bread landed buttered side up. 

After a week the verdict was that the bread had been buttered on the wrong side. 

Thank to Barry Molitch 

Alternatively,

Dry bread can be pretty boring to eat.   Bread is much tastier with some kind of spread - butter, jam, etc.  Hence the person or place that provides your spread can enrich the bread eating experience.

Meaning:

Define a threshold that can't be crossed without action or retaliation.

Example:

Smoking is okay if you are outside, but I draw the line at smoking in public places.

Origin:

Comes from one of the Psalms which contains a reference about "drawing a line in the sand" meaning to "proceed no further."  It has been shortened to "draw the line." 

Thanks to RB Stevenson

Meaning:

To find value or good where none is evident.

Example:

Okay, so we are out of work, have a big mortgage, and no job prospects in site.   Things don't look good but what we need to do find the pony in all this.

Origin:

From an old joke about two brothers, one an optimist, the other a pessimist.  One Christmas the boy's parents set out to get presents.  Knowing the pessimist son was hard to please the parents first tried to find him a present, but each idea considered was rejected because the parents were sure the boy would be dissatisfied.   Finally they decided to get the boy a shiny new bicycle. 

Unfortunately they spent so much time trying to pick the present for the pessimist son that they had little time left for the optimist son.  Not to worry they reasoned, he is easy to please.  So they collected some horse droppings from the barn, put them in a box, and gift wrapped the package. 

On Christmas day the pessimistic son opened his present first.   Predictably he was unhappy with the bicycle being certain he would fall and injure himself. 

The optimistic son then opened his package.  With great enthusiasm he began to empty the horse droppings from the box as he exclaimed "I know there is a pony in here somewhere". 

The phrase "find the pony" was popularized by President Ronald Reagan who used it in a press conference. 

Interestingly this phrase has a very different meaning to Brits.  The problem of horse droppings accumulating in the streets in the days of horse and buggy prompted the use of a trap.  The trap is a bag suspended behind the horse to catch the droppings.   The phrase "Trap and pony" came to mean horse droppings.   In time the phrase has been shortened to just pony". 

Hence in England "Find the pony" would mean to find the horse droppings.

Meaning:

Someone who missed out on an opportunity for success.

Example:

He had a chance to by Microsoft stock at 50 cents a share in 1980, he has been the fifth beatle his whole life.

Origin:

The original "Fifth Beatle" was Brian Epstein (1934-67), the manager of the Beatles, so dubbed, much to his annoyance, by Murray the K, an American disc jockey, in 1964. 

More fitting of the title is Pete Best, an original member of the band who was replaced by Ringo Starr shortly before the band's arrival in the US.   The Beatles of course went on to be fabulously successful, and Pete Best a footnote in history.

Some think Pete Best was pretty badly treated as he was dumped from the group. The Beatles and their publishers hid this fact as they managed their press like no previous musical group in history. He was apparently very talented.

Meaning:

To express disbelief or skepticism at an idea, or surprise when you find something unexpected to be true.

Example:

If Bill Clinton gets remains in office, I'll be a monkey's uncle.

Origin:

The publication of Darwin's theory of evolution in the "Decent of Man" was greeted with derision and a great deal of skepticism. The idea that man is related by a common ancestor to apes and monkeys was considered the most outrageous of the claims. 

"I'll be a monkey's uncle" was originally a sarcastic remark by a non-believer of Darwin's theory and was intended to ridicule the theory of evolution. 

Thanks to Barry Molitch and videono1

Meaning:

To be accepted by the group without question, to have a sure thing.

Example:

Don't worry about being accepted as a member at the country club.  If you pay the membership fee you will be in like Flynn.

Origin:

"In Like Flynn" comes from Errol Flynn's acquittal on statutory rape charges.

Wildly popular, Flynn was a phenomenally successful movie star/sex symbol of the 30's and 40's. His defining role was in "The Adventures of Robin Hood."

Other notable roles include: "Captain Blood", "They Died with Their Boots On", and "The Sun Also Rises." 

Flynn was involved in a sensational trial, in which he was accused of having sex with two underage girls on a boat. When Flynn was found not guilty, the phrase "In like Flynn" became a part of the popular vocabulary. The phrase suggests that his acquittal was based on his popularity and celebrity.

Thanks to Scott Smith

The phrase "In Like Flynn" also came to refer to the legendary sexual prowess of Eroll Flynn. Flynn was known to be self indulgent and irreverent. He reportedly had the letters I.G.M.F.Y. on the side of his boat, which stood for "I got mine, F you". When Flynn died, at age 50, he was said to have the body of a 70 year old man. 

Thus, if you were sure to get some action, you too were going to be "in like Flynn."

"In Like Flint" is the title of one of the James Bond parody movies starring James Coburn and is an obvious play on the original expression. The other movie in the series was called "Our man Flint". Derek Flint (played by Coburn) was also irresistible to the ladies

Meaning:

Quickly lock the door before something unwanted gets in (or out).

Example:

When the tax man comes to call it's Katy bar the door.

Origin:

From a book of poems called "King's Tragedy" by D. G. Rossetti published in 1881. It tells of an attempt by one Catherine to save the life of Scotland's James I by throwing her arm across a doorway to bar his enemies 

Thanks to Ron Akers 

The phrase was further popularized in a 1980s Miller Lite Beer commercial featuring ex-baseball player Bob Eucker.

Meaning:

Maintaining an appearance of affluence and wealth for the benefit of others.

Example:

In this world people don't respect you for accumulating wealth, they respect you for spending it.  Most people who seem rich have very little wealth, they spend it all keeping up with the Jones's.

Origin:

Jones is an extremely common surname in the United States and in this phrase is meant to be a generic term for the neighbors. The phrase makes much more sense when you say "keeping up with the neighbors". 

It is a common practice in suburbia for neighbors to be fiercely competitive, and to continually try to have the nicest house, lawn etc. in the neighborhood.

"Keeping up with the Joneses" was the title of a comic strip that ran in many US newspapers from 1914 to 1958 by Arthur R. ("Pop") Morand. The strip chronicled his experiences living in suburbia.

Thanks to Jim Hubbell and Ron Akers

Meaning:

Living easily without having to work hard, to have an easy life.

Example:

While I'm out working hard all day, you are home living the life of Riley.

Origin:

"Living the life of Riley" was popularized by a radio show of the 1940s, which spawned a television program in 1948 that originally starred Jackie Gleason but later starred William Bendix as the lead character.

Chester A. Riley was a sort of layabout, working class Brooklyn riveter who always managed to do everything with the minimum of effort, just getting by. The show was very funny and very popular. 

"What a revoltin' development this is," was the catch phrase sweeping the country in the summer of 1943. This expression of Riley was a big part of this "typical" family man. 

Riley managed to change any ant-hill of a problem into a Grade-A disaster! For 8 years, Riley's weekly mishaps included his wife, their two kids, co-worker Gillis, and the friendly undertaker Digby "Digger" O'Dell. The funeral director ended each appearance with a "Cheerio, I'd better be shoveling off." 

"Living the life of Riley" came into the language to indicate a state of being to wished for but, probably, never to be attained. 

In fact the phrase pre-dated the radio program.

Thanks to Bill Brayman, V.V. Williams, and Jim 

Meaning:

Reputation will be ruined.

Example:

If word gets out that you are a peeping tom, your name will be mudd.

Origin:

A reference to Dr. Mudd, the Physician that set the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth. 

Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln by shooting him in the balcony of the Ford Theater. After the shooting, Booth leapt from the balcony, breaking his leg. 

Dr. Mudd claimed that he had no idea Booth had just shot President Lincoln, however the government sent him away to prison anyway off the coast of Key West.

Thanks to Andrew Fraser

Meaning:

An un-achievable dream, a fantasy.

Example:

I am saving my virginity for Michelle Pfiefer, but when I tell this to people they say it's pie in the sky.

Origin:

Derived from a parody circulated in a Trade Union song book of a classic Ira Sankey hymn.  The parody reads: "You will eat by and by/ In that glorious land in the sky / Work and pray, live and hay, / There will be pie in the sky by and by." 

Mocking the belief that all our earthly sufferings will be rewarded in Heaven when we die. 

Thanks to Toby O'Connor Morse 

Apparently our just reward is .... pie!

Meaning:

Youthful inexperience, a time of early success and promise.

Example:

The salad days for Apple computer are over.

Origin:

Popularized in Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra," Act 1, scene 5, written in 1606. Cleopatra, at one point, is lavishing praise on her new love, Antony.  One of Cleo's female attendants reminds her that she (Cleo) once felt the same passion about Caesar. 

Cleopatra retorts that was in her "salad days, when I was green in judgment: cold in blood".  In this specific context, the phrase means "naive," but it also has the sense of  "in one's youth," a time of blooming health and infinite prospect. 

Thanks to Dennis Reed Jr. 

One might wonder if those were Cleo's "Caesar salad days"! 

Perhaps Shakespeare's statement was a reference to green being the color of salad, and cold the temperature of said salad.  Green is frequently used to describe youth or inexperience.  Of course salad refers to many dishes (potato salad, egg salad, pasta salad) not just the lettuce based salad so popular today.

Meaning:

To have something to hide about ones past.

Example:

Kennedy has more than a few skeletons in the closet.

Origin:

Comes from the fairy tale of Blue Beard and his closet.  He gave all the keys of the house to his wife when he left on business, forbidding her access to only one room, a closet at the end of a long corridor.  She opened it, of course, and there she found the dead bodies of his previous wives. 

Thanks to Mireille Crossley

Meaning:

Someone who makes wisecrack comments.

Example:

Listen smart Alec; my toupee is none of your business.

Origin:

Dr. Smart-Allick was a character in 'The new boy at Narkover', by J.B. Morton. Morton was a British humorist and writer.

Thanks to Jim Hubbell

Meaning:

To show all your emotions and feelings.

Example:

Some occasions call for you to be wearing your heart on you sleeve, and for other occasions you need to clam up.

Origin:

The heart is often used as a symbol of ones feelings of love and passion. To fully display the heart in a conspicuous place like the sleeve is to make ones feelings clearly visible. Why the sleeve is chosen as the place to display the emotions is unclear.

The phrase is used in Shakespeare's Othello, in a line spoken by Iago: "I will wear my heart upon my sleeve" (1.1.65). Iago's plan, in context, is to feign openness and vulnerability in order to gain the trust of Othello, psychologically a powerful move on Iago's part, then use this trust to destroy Othello.

Iago's usage is consistent with the modern usage, except that Iago's intent was to deceive.

Thanks to Angelia sharp

Alternatively,

This phrase originating from the middle ages. When a king's court would hold a jousting match, and a knight was dedicating his performance that day to a woman in the court, he would be given her colors, or a kerchief or something to tie around his arm, to show he was representing her.

Hence the term wearing one's heart on one's sleeve, because knights would joust to defend the honor of a woman they loved or cared for.

Thanks to Irene Gawel

Meaning:

Very cool, relaxed and in control.

Example:

The trick to handling a job interview is to walk in cool as a cucumber and pretend you know what you are talking about.

Origin:

"Cool as a cumber" is an alliteration.

Alternatively,

A cut cucumber actually can feel cool to the touch. This is because they are very moist, evaporation of the moisture provides a cooling effect. 

The bizarre image of woman receiving facial treatments with slices of cucumber on each eye is brought to mind. It is precisely for this cooling effect that this is done.

Meaning:

An equitable distribution.

Example:

She thinks he doesn't do his share of the housework, while he says things are even steven.

Origin:

"Even steven" is merely modern rhyming slang (like "drop dead, fred", "see ya later alligator", or "know what I mean, jelly bean?"). 

Rhyming slang is common in many languages and dialects, and is particularly common in cockney English. Cockney rhyming slang takes the idea a bit farther actually substituting a rhyming word or phrase for common terms (e.g. "apple fritter" means "bitter (a type of beer)", "Johnie Horner" means "corner", "Rub-a-dub" means "Pub" and so on). 

Thanks to Ron Akers

Meaning:

To have luxuries.

Example:

When I land my movie contract we will be in fat city.

Origin:

This is a type of slang that adds city to a word to indicate a "location" of some condition -- "if you do that you'll end up in trouble city." And of course "fat" has been used for centuries as a synonym for rich and well-to-do people. From the fact that only the rich had the money to buy the food and the servants to do the work -- both things adding to their size. 

The idea that gout is a rich-man's disease is from the rich foods of the wealthy contributing to the medical condition.

Thanks to Jim Sears

Meaning:

Not true, a lie, a misperception, false.

Example:

Bill is a hard worker only in a pigs eye.

Origin:

This is an example of rhyming slang.   "Pigs eye" is a rhyme for "lie". 

Thanks to John Gold

Meaning:

The whole thing

Example:

His new job has all the perks, corner office, fat salary, pretty secretary, the whole kit and caboodle.

Origin:

Kit and caboodle is a phrase that evolved over time.   Most recently from the earlier phrase "kit and boodle". 

Boodle (or Buddle) is an old word, and probably evolved from the Dutch "boedel" meaning a crowd or bunch.  "The whole boodle" was heard as long ago as the early 19th century. 

Kit is also a time honored word with many meanings, one of which is a collection of tools or possessions that a person might carry with them.  "The whole kit" was used by 1785. 

Caboodle is essentially a nonsense word, and is perhaps a contraction or rhyme of "kit and boodle". 

Stephen Crane's "The Red Badge of Courage" contains it: "Of course it might happen that the hull (whole) kit and boodle might start and run, if any big fighting came first-off." 

Thanks to Ron Akers 

There you have it, the whole kit and caboodle.

Meaning:

Very cool, relaxed and in control.

Example:

If I have to lay it out in lavender for you, your relationship was over when she burned down your house.

Origin:

A practice used to make a word or words stand out in a printed page by printing them in a different color. Lavender being chosen because it is alliterative. 

Thanks to John Gold

Meaning:

Keep your opinions and comments to yourself.

Example:

If I want your opinion I'll beat it out of you, mind your own beeswax.

Origin:

This came from the days when smallpox was a common disease that caused disfigurement.  Those who survived the disease were left with pock marks on their body and face.   Ladies would fill in the pock marks with beeswax.   However when the weather was very warm the wax might melt.   But it was not the thing to do for one lady to tell another that her makeup was melting. 

Alternatively,

This may just be a childish rhyme to the phrase "mind you own business".   "Biz" is sometimes used as an abbreviation for "business" and rhymes with "bees".   "Biz" also sounds and is spelled similar to "buzz", the sound usually attributed to bees. 

Thanks to Kensmark and John Gold

Meaning:

Completely correct, proper, sound and healthy.

Example:

On the witness stand she appeared to be right as rain, but then she is an actress by profession. 

Origin:

This one is likely alliterative. The "R"'s in Right and Rain sound good together.

Thanks to John Gold

This comes from the idea of rainwater being pure and wholesome - well it was before pollution. 

Thanks to Ultreya

This may be reference to the value and goodness of rain which is critical to crops and farming. 

Meaning:

Situation falling apart, not going as planned or desired.

Example:

I ran into a bus, I wrecked my car and three people are suing me.  My life is going to hell in a hand basket.

Origin:

This one is likely alliterative. The "H"'s in "to hell in a hand basket" sound good together.

Thanks to John Gold

Meaning:

Unacceptable, outside agreed standards of decency.

Example:

Nixon's handling of the Watergate scandal was beyond the pale for a President.

Origin:

The "pale" derives from paling which means fence.  Fences are erected to define boundaries.  To be "beyond the pale" implies that one is outside of defined boundaries. 

Similar to fences are walls.  In the days when walled cities were common in Europe people who behaved unacceptably were sometimes exiled or banished from the community and sent to live outside the walls. 

More particularly, the "pale" was a fence around the English controlled part of Ireland around Dublin.  Beyond the Pale was how the English referred to the badlands outside English control. 

Thanks to Toby O'Connor Morse

Meaning:

To physically beat someone.

Example:

If you don't shut up, I'm going to box your ears.

Origin:

According to Webster, "box" is defined as a punch or slap.  Hence to "box your ears" is to slap someone upside the head. 

Makes one think of boxing (the sport) and the potential for damage to the ears - and other parts!

Meaning:

To accomplish something by whatever means necessary.

Example:

Don't worry, by hook or by crook we will get to the airport on time.

Origin:

Curiously Hook and Crook mean essentially the same thing. 

Hook is a curved or bent device for catching, holding, or pulling. Something intended to attract and ensnare.

Crook is an implement having a bent or hooked form.

Hence the "hook" is used to grab whatever it is you are trying to get, "crook" is just another way of saying hook.

I am reminded of "beg, borrow, and steal" which means the same thing. Note the "steal". "Crook" is also a thief. Hence "by hook or by crook" also impies you are willing to resort to theft.

Meaning:

To have flaw or problem preventing success.

Example:

This plan about retiring early has just one chink in the armor, we have no money.

Origin:

"Chink" is an obscure word meaning a slit, fissure, or weak spot that can leave one vulnerable. 

Hence "Chink in the armor" means a weak spot in ones protection or plan.

Meaning:

To be very full.

Example:

I like my cereal chock full of fruit.

Origin:

"Chock" has several definitions. One is "as close or as completely as possible".

Hence "Chock Full" means literally to be as close as possible to being full.

Meaning:

To be very good at something.

Example:

Don't worry about your DUI.  We will hire a cracker jack attorney and get you off.

Origin:

"Crack" means of superior excellence of ability as in "he's a crack shot" meaning excellent, superb.  "Jack" being like "Joe", a common man.   "Cracker jack" thus means a Superb man, any man. 

Thanks to John Gold 

Curiously "cracker" is defined as a bragging liar, which is very much in contrast to "cracker jack" which implies someone who delivers.

Meaning:

Get to the point.

Example:

I don't want to hear the story from the beginning.   Cut to the quick and tell me the trash.

Origin:

"Quick" is actually defined as meaning flesh or skin. 

That definition has survived in reference to the fingernail.  The "quick" is the part of finger, beneath the nail, that relies on the nail for protection.  If you cut your fingernail too short and (painfully) expose the tender flesh beneath, you have cut it to the quick.

In hand to hand duel or battle a combatant who wished to taunt his opponent, might intentionally cut through the clothes or armor "to the quick".  The act of cutting through clothes to the flesh is to cut through the insignificant to the substantial. 

If someone cuts you with a knife but it's a shallow wound and inconsequential, then you wouldn't use this phrase.  If they cut you deeply, or stabbed you, then you might say they'd cut you to the quick.  Again this is cutting though the inconsequential to the meaningful. 

This may also be related to the use of the word "quickening" to describe the hypothetical moment when a fetus becomes a baby.  This term and idea were once very common in both Anglophile Europe and the Americas. 

In either case, there is a clear meaning of penetrating the dead, dull stuff and getting to the live, important bits.  This translates very nicely to the most common use of the phrase today, to mean skipping to the important part of a story or explanation. 

Thanks to John Kensmark

Meaning:

Simple to accomplish, easy to do.

Example:

Spending money is as easy as pie, accumulating wealth is tough.

Origin:

Easy as pie (or apple pie) originated in Australia around 1920.   The Australian expression to be "pie at" or "pie on" something means to be very good at something (from the Maori word "pai" = good). 

If you are good at something it is easy.... as pie!. 

Thanks to John Gold