Category
Things We Say
The curious stories behind everyday expressions. Discover how familiar sayings took shape, why they endured, and where the evidence parts company with a good story.
Why Do We Call Something We Cannot Have 'Sour Grapes'?
Why do we say sour grapes? Discover Aesop's ancient fox fable, the history of the expression and why we dismiss things we cannot have.
6 minutes · WELL SUPPORTEDWhy Is Sudden Fear Called Panic?
Why do we call sudden fear panic? Discover the Greek god Pan, his terrifying reputation, the Battle of Marathon and the ancient origins of an everyday word.
6 minutes · WELL SUPPORTEDWhy Was the Day After Christmas Called Boxing Day?
Why is it called Boxing Day? Discover the Christmas tips, servants’ gifts and early records behind the name—and why the familiar leftovers story is incomplete.
6 min read · WELL SUPPORTED — Christmas-box connection documented; deeper origins complexDid “Mind Your P’s and Q’s” Really Come From Drinking Punch?
Did “mind your P’s and Q’s” begin with punch bowls, pub accounts or learning letters? Follow the early evidence behind a saying whose origin remains uncertain.
4 min read · UNKNOWN — early uses documented; the punch connection is unprovedWhy Is an Unmarried Woman Called a “Spinster”?
Why is an unmarried woman called a spinster? Trace the word from spinning thread to legal status, and discover how an occupation acquired a social judgement.
4 min read · WELL SUPPORTED — occupational origin documented; meanings overlappedWhy Is a Londoner Called a “Cockney” — and What Do Bow Bells Have to Do With It?
Why is a Londoner called a Cockney? Trace the medieval insult, disputed cock’s egg origin and the documented connection with Bow Bells by 1600.
4 min read · DISPUTED — the earliest derivation is debated; the Bow Bells connection is documented by 1600Why Do We Call Spending Money “Pin Money”?
Why is spending money called pin money? Explore handmade pins, Tudor rules and the substantial personal allowances behind this deceptively small phrase.
5 min read · WELL SUPPORTED — personal allowances documented; the precise New Year origin is uncertainWhy Do We Say “Sent to Coventry”?
Why does being ignored mean being sent to Coventry? Explore Royalist prisoners, military silence and an eighteenth-century dispute settled with claret.
5 min read · DISPUTEDWho Was Hobson — and Why Didn’t He Give You a Choice?
Who was Hobson, and why does his choice mean take it or leave it? Explore the Cambridge horse story and the early letters that complicate its origins.
6 min read · DISPUTEDDoes “Give Someone the Cold Shoulder” Really Come From Serving Unwanted Guests Cold Meat?
Does giving someone the cold shoulder come from serving cold meat? Explore Walter Scott, an earlier newspaper clue and the disputed history of the phrase.
4 min read · DISPUTEDWhy Is a Time Limit Called a Deadline?
Why is a time limit called a deadline? Trace Civil War prison boundaries, early newspaper usage and the evidence behind the word's unsettling history.
4 min read · WELL SUPPORTED — prison and newspaper uses documented; exact transfer uncertainWhy Is It Called a Caesarean Section?
Was Caesarean section named after Julius Caesar, a Roman law or the Latin word for cutting? Explore the evidence behind a familiar but disputed name.
4 min read · DISPUTED — the naming tradition is documented; the precise derivation remains debatedWhy Do Actors Say “Break a Leg”?
Telling someone to “break a leg” moments before they walk on stage sounds spectacularly unhelpful. Yet generations of actors have understood it as precisely the opposite: a wish for a successful performance.
4 min read · DISPUTEDWhere Did “Bite the Bullet” Come From?
The military history is real, but the familiar battlefield story needs correcting.
4 min read · WELL SUPPORTED — with an important correctionWhy Do We Say “Cat Got Your Tongue?”
The evidence points away from the gruesome explanations people repeat.
4 min read · UNKNOWNWhere Did “Spill the Beans” Come From?
An ancient voting story meets a much later American expression.
4 min read · UNKNOWNWhy Does “Under the Weather” Mean Feeling Ill?
The nautical connection is genuine, though the famous sailor story probably is not.
4 min read · WELL SUPPORTEDWhere Did “Rule of Thumb” Really Come From?
A practical expression burdened with a later and unsupported origin story.
4 min read · WELL SUPPORTEDDoes “Saved by the Bell” Really Come From Coffins?
Safety coffins existed, but boxing supplied the phrase.
4 min read · DOCUMENTEDWhy Do We Say “Mad as a Hatter”?
Mercury poisoning was real; the exact origin of the expression is less certain.
4 min read · PLAUSIBLEWhere Did “The Whole Nine Yards” Come From?
Machine-gun ammunition. Scottish kilts. Concrete mixers. Sailing ships. Burial shrouds.
4 min read · WELL SUPPORTED — but not from the thing you’ve probably heardWhy Do We Say “Bob’s Your Uncle”?
Follow the instructions, tighten the screw, press the button — and Bob’s your uncle.
4 min read · UNKNOWNWhy Do We Say “Raining Cats and Dogs”?
Heavy rain has produced plenty of colourful expressions, but few are stranger than claiming that household pets are falling from the sky.
4 min read · UNKNOWNWhere Did “Kick the Bucket” Come From?
English has dozens of euphemisms for dying.
4 min read · DISPUTEDWhy Do We Say “Close, But No Cigar”?
Why does a near miss mean “close, but no cigar”? Follow the evidence from fairground cigar prizes to the phrase’s documented appearances in the 1920s.
4 min read · PLAUSIBLEWhy Do We Say “Steal Someone’s Thunder”?
Why do we say someone “stole your thunder”? The trail leads to playwright John Dennis, a failed 1709 production and a very successful stage effect.
4 min read · WELL SUPPORTEDWhy Do We Say “Go Cold Turkey”?
Why does stopping something suddenly mean going “cold turkey”? Early evidence complicates the familiar story about withdrawal, goosebumps and plucked poultry.
4 min read · DISPUTED