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Where does that come from?-Origins of popular phrases   Add to wiki
INFORMATIVE Wiki List

Tags: words, history, sayings, phrases, origins

Ever wonder where a phrase or saying came from? The things we say that really don't make sense, but we say them because we hear them? Here's where they started!

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  • Skeletons in the closet. Means to have secrets. Origin: Comes from the fairy tale of Blue Beard and his closet. He gave all the keys of the house to his wife when he left on business, forbidding her access to only one room, a closet at the end of a long corridor. She opened it, of course, and there she found the dead bodies of his previous wives.
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  • Mind your own Bee's Wax. Means to mind your own business. Origin: This came from the days when smallpox was a common disease that caused disfigurement. Those who survived the disease were left with pock marks on their body and face. Ladies would fill in the pock marks 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 was melting.
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  • It's a Doozy. Means an extraordinary accomplishment. Origin: The Deusenburg automobile in its day was one of the biggest and most impressive cars on the road. Doozy is short for Deusenburg.
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  • Bought the farm. Means to die. Origin: It comes from W.W.I. When a US soldier was killed in combat his family was given a "death benefit" that amounted to a enough money to buy a parcel of farm land in the mid west.
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  • Close but no cigar. Means not quite, but almost. Origin: Carnival games of skill, particularly shooting games, once gave out cigars as a prize. A contestant that did not quite hit the target was close, but did not get a cigar.
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  • Piss like a racehorse. Means having to urinate urgently. Origin: Horses, it turns out, don't always feel comfortable urinating just anywhere. Show horses and racehorses spend a great deal of time in their pens and come to feel safe and secure there. They don't like to urinate outside of those pens and in many cases won't. In fact show and racehorses are frequently returned to their pens to allow them to urinate. Hence racehorses are often walking around outside of their pens with an urgent need to urinate.
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  • Sucking hind tit. Means falling behind. Origin: Many female mammals have multiple rows of breasts, for example dogs. Typically the rear most pair of breasts is smaller and less developed than the rest. Hence a pup nursing from the rear most breast is likely to receive less milk than other nursing pups. Hind means rear most. Tit is slang for breast.

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    Comments:

    These were hilarious... and certainly answered a few questions!
    Comment by: berthablue



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