Historical Facts

[Bill HH]

Rule of Thumb.

In the 17th century Judge Francis Buller ruled that is was lawful for a husband to beat his wife with a stick, providing the stick was no thicker than his thumb.

Potty

I am wondering if that law is still on the satute books? might come in handy.

[Martin H]

I am wondering if that law is still on the satute books? might come in handy.

If you tell her that it is, using your best confident and authoritative voice, I'm sure the little lady will believe you.

[Jeanied]

Gentlemen!! Please!!! Far too early in the day to be fantasizing.

[chris]

Cue the sexist police. ...

Interesting thread though! More please


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[Hazel at the Hill]

I'm lovin' this thread too! Back with you, Shen...

[julesapple]

Here's one for you, Hazel;

Fag End?

Nothing to with smoking. In the textiles trade, the last part of the piece of loomed cloth was made of coarser material than the rest and left hanging loose. It came to be known as the fag end, possibly as a corruption of ‘flag’, meaning ‘hang down’.

[Bill HH]

A saying from Birmingham, It looks black over Bills mothers, meaning there is rain coming from the distance. (Confusing as a child if your name is Bill and your mother is stood right next to you.

This has many claimed derivations but the main one seems to be that Stratford on avon is South west of Birmingham and consequently where the prevailing winds come from.The Bill they are refering to is William Shakespeare.

[RedThorn]

Cold enough to freeze the brass balls off a monkey

Cannon balls on a ships deck used to be placed on a dimpled brass plate to stop the cannon balls rolling around. The brass contracts quicker than the metal the balls were made of and when it was cold enough the cannon balls were too big to stay on the brass monkey

[Sheneval]

Her's another - excuse the language

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive you were, "Piss Poor", but worse than that, were the really poor folk, who couldn't even afford to buy a pot, they "Didn't have a pot to Piss in" & were the lowest of the low.

[Potstubsdustbins]

When explained the 'rule of thumb' to SWMBO she just waggled her rolling pin at me.

Potty

[Jeanied]

When explained the 'rule of thumb' to SWMBO she just waggled her rolling pin at me. Potty

Quite right too, Potty. We all know it is a miller's term.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Historical court records prove that to be just another source, it don't help with the rolling pin though.

Mind your Ps & Qs.

In the 17th century ale would be served in pints and quarts. If the tavern was becoming rowdy the bartender would shout 'Mind your Ps & Qs'

Potty

[Sheneval]

and another:

Because of the thatched roofs there was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom, where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top, afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

[Sheneval]

One more:

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, "Dirt Poor." The wealthy had slate floors, that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing.
As the winter wore on, they added more thresh, until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.

[Sheneval]

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle, that always hung over the fire. Every day, they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight, then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: ''Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot, nine days old''.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon, to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "Bring home the Bacon." They would cut off a little, to share with guests and would all sit around talking and ''Chew the fat''.