You’ve no doubt heard them all before, but have you ever stopped to ask yourself what does it really mean, and where did it come from?
Well, you can now rest easy, where going on a voyage of discovery to publish on a regular basis some of the more popular of all sayings, what they mean and where they herald from. Let’s start with this oldie.
‘One For The Road’. Where Did It Come From?
‘One for the road’ sounds as though it might be a ‘ye olde’ expression used by medieval travellers when leaving an inn or by a Dickensian character taking a swig of grog before disappearing into a London fog. It does have a more sinister past. This phrase derives from the practice of offering condemned felons a final drink or tot of rum to steel them on the way to the place of public execution in London – The Tyburn Tree.
Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone.
The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman Roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern Oxford Street), the junction of these was the site of the famous Tyburn Gallows (known colloquially as the “Tyburn Tree”), the site is now occupied by Marble Arch. For this reason, for many centuries, the name Tyburn was synonymous with capital punishment, it having been the principal place for execution of London criminals, convicted traitors, and many religious martyrs. It was also known as ‘God’s Tribunal’, in the 18th century.
‘Not Enough Room To Swing A Cat’. Where Did It Come From?
Whether the ‘cat’ was a real moggy or most likely flail-like whip used to punish sailors in the British Navy isn’t completely clear. Many reports claim that the cat in question is the ‘cat o’nine tails’. As so often though, they don’t supply evidence, just certainty. As a candidate for folk etymology goes the ‘cat o’ nine tails’ story has it all – plausibility, a strong storyline and a nautical origin. That’s enough to convince most people. The phrase itself dates from at least the 17th century. Richard Kephale’s Medela Pestilentiae, 1665:
“They had not space enough (according to the vulgar saying) to swing a Cat in.”
‘A Bird In The Hand Is Worth Two In The Bush’. Where Did It Come From?
The proverb ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’ means that it’s better to hold onto something you have rather than take the risk of getting something better which may come to nothing.
Where Did It Came From?
This proverb, like many others, warns against taking risks. It suggests that you should keep what you have and not risk losing it by going after more.
The allusion may be to falconry where a bird in the hand (the falcon) was a valuable asset and certainly worth more than two in the bush (the prey).
This proverbial saying is first found in English in John Capgrave’s The Life of St Katharine of Alexandria, 1450:
“It is more sekyr [certain] a byrd in your fest, Than to haue three in the sky a‐boue.”
John Heywood’s 1546 glossary “A Dialogue Conteinyng the number in effect of all the prouerbes in the Englishe togue” also includes a variant of the proverb:
“Better one byrde in hande than ten in the wood”.
The Bird in Hand was adopted as a pub name in England in the Middle Ages and many with this name still survive.
English migrants to America took the expression with them and ‘bird in hand’ must have been known there by 1734 as this was the year in which a small town in Pennsylvania was founded with that name.
‘What is Davy Jones’ Locker’? Where Did It Come From?
The bottom of the sea; the mythical resting place of drowned mariners.
Where Did It Come From?
Davy Jones is the evil spirit of the sea. There are various possible attempts to explain the name by associating it with someone of a similar name:
Jones may be a corruption of name of the biblical seaman Jonah. Jonah denoted bad luck on to seamen.
Davy Jones was a 16th century publican who imprisoned drunken sailors in a locker and press-ganged them to serve on ships.
The name comes from the patron saint of sailors – St. David.
None of these is supported by any evidence – they are little more than guesses.
The first source of the use of the name comes from Tobias Smollett’s The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle1751:
“‘By the Lord! Jack, you may say what you wool; but I’ll be damned if it was not Davy Jones himself. I know him by his saucer eyes, his three rows of teeth, his horns and tail, and the blue smoke that came out of his nostrils. What does the blackguard hell’s baby want with me? I’m sure I never committed murder, except in the way of my profession, nor wronged any man whatsomever since I first went to sea.’ This same Davy Jones, according to the mythology of sailors, is the fiend that presides over all the evil spirits of the deep, and is often seen in various shapes, perching among the rigging on the eve of hurricanes, shipwrecks, and other disasters, to which a seafaring life is exposed; warning the devoted wretch of death and woe.”
The first source that mentions Jones’ locker is the 1803 Naval Chronicle:
“…seamen would have met a watery grave; or, to use a seaman’s phrase, gone to Davy Jones’s locker.”
‘Mothers Ruin’. Where Did It Come From?
Gin wasn’t always Britain’s favourite tipple. The nation was partial to brandy for a long time, importing vast quantities of French brandy during the early to mid-1600s. People started to wake up to the wonders of gin in 1689, when Prince William of Orange took over the British throne.
The public were allowed to produce gin in their own home providing they passed a 10-day public notice. Between 1720 and 1757, thousands of distilleries began to emerge all over England. This infectious ‘Gin Craze’ was thanks to a new act titled the Mutiny Act, which specified that if you were distilling alcohol in your home, you wouldn’t be asked to house soldiers. Back then, gin was made with grape rather than grain.
By 1730, gin was cheap and easily accessible to the masses. London gin production had reached 10 million gallons, and there were over 7,000 gin shops. The peak was in 1743, when the average person consumed 14 gallons of gin every year!
The ‘Gin Craze’ led to the nickname ‘Opium of the people’ after a rise in crime, death rates and prostitution.
Despite this, England could not get enough of the juniper-based spirit. Extreme measures were taken to get hold of it, such as selling children, furnishings and even pawning off family members!
The government intervened and decided to increase the tax rate on gin to reduce consumption. The Gin Act was introduced in 1736. It prevented the public selling distilled spirits unless they purchased a licence costing £50 (the equivalent of £100,000 today). This forced the sale of gin underground, putting reputable sellers out of business and causing a rise in bootleggers. Only three licences were acquired to sell gin between 1736 and 1743!
As more women became hooked on gin between 1720 and 1757, this led to the mistreatment of their children and a rise in prostitution. Women became more addicted to gin than their male counterparts – gaining the juniper-based spirit the nickname ‘Mother’s Ruin’.
