Common Terms and Phrases Part Two

I did a similar post a couple of years back and always meant to do another..

Close But No Cigar
There was a time in history where the carnival was the center of entertainment. Games in particular gave out prizes to shooting marksmen or those with a keen eye. Cigars were often given as the prize. If a man (or woman) made a clean shot that came close to the target, but not exactly on target, they were praised for being close – but not actually getting the cigar.

One Red Cent
In 1852 pennies were made of a copper-nickel alloy that changed color through the passing of hands. Furthermore, the front was stamped with an Indian in headdress. We all know that the slang term for Indians was redskins. Between the slang and the worn color of the penny, they became known as red cents.

RULE OF THUMB
An old English law declared that a man could not beat his wife with a stick any larger than the diameter of his thumb.

Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

"goodnight, sleep tight."
In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on.

GETTING THE SHORT END OF THE STICK
Candles were expensive to make, so often reeds were dipped in tallow and burned instead. When visitors came, it was the custom for guests to make their exit by the time the lights went out. Therefore, if your host didn't want you to stay very long, he would give you a "short stick."

MIND YOUR OWN BEESWAX This came from the days when smallpox was a regular disfigurement. Fine ladies would fill in the pocks 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 needed attention. Hence the sharp rebuke to "mind your own beeswax!"

HONEYMOON It was the accepted practice in Babylonia 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer, and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the "honey month" or what we know today as the "honeymoon".