The steering oar on the rafts was called a riff and this transposed into riff-raff, meaning low-class. COBWEB The Old English word for spider was cob. SHIP STATEROOMS Traveling by steamboat was considered the height of comfort. Passenger cabins on the boats were not numbered. Instead they were named after states. To this day cabins on ships are called staterooms. SLEEP TIGHT Early beds were made with a wooden frame. Ropes were tied across the frame in a crisscross pattern. A straw mattress was placed on top of the ropes. Over time the ropes stretched, causing the bed to sag. The owner would then tighten the ropes to get a better nights sleep. SHOWBOATING These were floating theaters built on a barge pushed by a steamboat. These played small towns along the Mississippi River. Unlike the boat shown in the movie Showboat , these did not have engines. They were gaudy and attention-grabbing, which is why we say someone who is the life of the party is showboating. OVER A BARREL In the days before CPR a drowning victim would be placed face-down over a barrel and the barrel would be rolled back and forth in a effort to empty the lungs of water. It was rarely effective, hence, if you are over a barrel you are in deep trouble. BARGE IN Heavy freight was moved along the Mississippi in large barges pushed by steamboats. T hey were hard to control and would sometimes swing into piers or other boats. People would say they barged in. HOGWASH Steamboats carried both people and animals. Since pigs smelled so bad they would be washed before being put on board. The mud and other filth that was washed off was considered useless hogwash. CURFEW The word curfew comes from the French phrase couvre-feu, which means cover the fire. It was used to describe the time of blowing out all lamps and candles. It was later adopted into Middle English as curfeu, which later became the modern curfew. In the early American colonies, homes had no real fireplaces, so a fire was built in the center of the room. In order to make sure it did not get out of control during the night it was required that, by an agreed-upon time, all fires would be covered with a clay pot called-a curfew. BARRELS OF OIL When the first oil wells were drilled they had made no provision for storing the liquid so they used water barrels. To this day, we speak of barrels of oil rather than gallons . HOT OFF THE PRESS As the paper goes through the rotary printing press friction causes it to heat. Therefore, if you grab the paper right off the press, it’s hot. The expression means: to get immediate information.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 09:21:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015