Have u ever pondered at why is it called that....?

Tefila

Sun, Jun 11 2006, 3:57 pm

A man hole,

A chairman,

A Den, ( a room in a house)

I have to think of more things that makes one wonder who made up the language anyways Rolling Eyes

Crayon210

Sun, Jun 11 2006, 4:00 pm

Don't they send a man down the manhole to do work underground?

Maybe the chairman was traditionally in charge of setting up the chairs.

Den is like the lion's den, yeah?

Tefila

Sun, Jun 11 2006, 4:04 pm

lol crayon can you think of more. I mean come one someone should update the language no Tongue Out

And den is actually in canada a family room but also is a lions territory so unless they consider us lions why would it be called that Confused

MMEC123

Sun, Jun 11 2006, 4:08 pm

I actually was at some speech where the person was going through the origins of some strange English phrases. I don't remember most of them but I do remember "chairman of the board".

They didn't used to have tables but they wood take a board of wood and set it on a post. There also were not many chairs so when there was a big meeting, they usually got together one chair and everyone else stood around the board. The person running the meeting was the lucky one to get the chair, hence "chairman of the board".

supermom

Mon, Jun 12 2006, 6:15 am

interesting

brooklyn

Mon, Jun 12 2006, 7:37 am

DO YOU KNOW THIS????

In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are "limbs," therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, "Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg."
**************************************************************
As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October)! Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term "big wig." Today we often use the term "here comes the Big Wig" because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.
**************************************************************

In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the "chair man." Today in business, we use the expression or title "Chairman" or "Chairman of the Board."

**************************************************************
Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, "mind your own bee's wax." Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a smile." In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . therefore, the expression "losing face."
**************************************************************
Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified woman . . as in "straight laced"
. . . wore a tightly tied lace.

**************************************************************
Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the "Ace of Spades." To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full deck."
**************************************************************
Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars. They were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. "You go sip here" and "You go sip there." The two words "go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term "gossip."
**************************************************************

At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in "pints" and who was drinking in "quarts," hence the term "minding your "P's and Q's."

**************************************************************
One more: bet you didn't know this!
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a "Monkey" with 16 round indentations.
However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make "Brass Monkeys." Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." (All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you.)

queen

Mon, Jun 12 2006, 8:18 am

brooklyn- are those for real or made up by someone with an excellent imagination and creative?

happy2beme

Mon, Jun 12 2006, 8:49 am

gott aagree with queen- some of this sounds like a joke! especially this one:

Quote:

Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, "mind your own bee's wax." Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a smile." In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . therefore, the expression "losing face."

brooklyn

Mon, Jun 12 2006, 9:07 am

Someone sent me an email with those "facts". While I'm sure that it it somewhat based on the truth, I am not stating that they are 100% truthful, I just found them humorous.

amother

Mon, Jun 12 2006, 9:50 am

Why do we park in a driveway and drive on a parkway? What

brooklyn

Mon, Jun 12 2006, 10:05 am

Here are a few more, enjoy.

A FEW QUESTIONS:
>
> 1. If you take an Oriental person and spin him
> around several times, does he become disoriented?
>
> 2. If people from Poland are called Poles, why
> aren't people from Holland called Holes?
>
> 3. Why do we say something is out of whack? What's
> a whack?
>
> 4. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy
> adultery?
>
> 5. If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?
>
> 6. If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
>
> 7. When someone asks you, "A penny for your
> thoughts"
> and you put your two cents in . . . what happens
> to the other penny?
>
> 8. Why is the man who invests all your money called
> a broker?
>
> 9. Why do croutons come in airtight packages?
> Aren't they just stale bread to begin with?
>
> 10. When cheese gets its picture taken, what does
> it say?
>
> 11. Why is a person who plays the piano called a
> pianist but a person who drives a race car not
> called a racist?
>
> 12. Why are a wise man and a wise guy opposites?
>
> 13.. Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite
> things?
>
> 14. Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety one?
>
> 15. "I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in
> the English language. Could it be that "I do" is
> the longest sentence?
>
> 16. If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen
> defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can
> be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged,
> models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry
> cleaners depressed?
>
> 17. If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they
> call it Fed UP?
>
> 18. Do Lipton Tea employees take coffee breaks?
>
> 19. What hair color do they put on the driver's
> licenses of bald men?
>
> 20. I was thinking about how people seem to read
> the Bible a whole lot more as they get older; then
> it dawned on me .. ... they're cramming for their
> final exam.
>
> 21. I thought about how mothers feed their babies
> with tiny little spoons and forks, so I wondered
> what do Chinese mothers use? Toothpicks?
>
> 22. Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the
> Post Office? What are we supposed to do, write to
> them? Why don't they just put their pictures on the
> postage stamps so the mailmen can look for them
> while they deliver the mail?
>
> 23. If it's true that we are here to help others,
> then what exactly are the others here for?
>
> 24. You never really learn to swear until you learn
> to drive.
>
> 25. No one ever says, "It's only a game" when their
> team is winning.
>
> 26. Ever wonder what the speed of lightning would
> be if it didn't zigzag?
>
> 27. Last night I played a blank tape at full blast.
> The mime next door went nuts.
>
> 28. If a cow laughed, would milk come out of her
> nose?
>
> 29. Whatever happened to Preparations A through G?
>

Tefila

Mon, Jun 12 2006, 4:58 pm

Great post there brooklyn Very Happy

will have to print it out.