The "There's An Old Saying That Goes Like This...!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading an email sent to me from The Brickerville House Restaurant and The Silver Springs Restaurant.  I get emails from both of these local restaurants once a week where they advertise their menu items and post something unusual to their message.  This month's message was rather unusual and caught my attention.  They listed well-known sayings you hear from time to time and told what they really mean.  Sayings such as "The third degree" and "Resting on your laurels" were listed with the meaning of each one.  I learned so much from the email and thought I would pass it on to you so you too may know why and from where these statements or sayings originated and their backgrounds.  Follow along as I share a few sayings with you.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

"Turn a blind eye"

This phrase is often used to refer to a willful refusal to acknow- ledge a particular reality.  The saying dates back to 1801 during the Battle of Copenhagen.  Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson was a naval officer who's ships were pitted against a large Danis-Norwegian fleet.  His very conservative superior officer "flagged" a message to him to withdraw from battle.  Nelson had only one eye and he supposedly brought his telescope to his bad eye and proclaimed to his shipmates, "I really don't see the signal."  This gave him an alleged reason to continue to fight and he went on to score a decisive victory.  To this day the phrase "turn a blind eye" is credited to Horatio Nelson.

"Running amok"

This saying is commonly used to describe wild or erratic behavior, but at one time was a medical term.  The word amok was derived from "Amuco" which is a band of Javanese and Malay warriors who were known for their liking of indiscriminate violence and who had a morbid fascination for Westerners.  The saying began in the 18th and 19th centuries, when European visitors to Malaysia learned of a peculiar mental affliction that caused otherwise normal tribesmen to go on brutal and seemingly random killing sprees.  In 1772 Captain James Cook noted that "to run amok is to ... hurry from the house and kill the person that attempts to impede his passage."  It was once thought to be the result of being under the spell of evil spirits and today is still a diagnosable mental condition.

"The Third Degree"

This saying is commonly used for long and arduous interro- gations.  It can be argued that the phrase relates to the various degrees of murder in the criminal code.  But, another argument says that a NY City Policeman describes his hard-nosed questioning style as "the third degree".  But, the most likely reason for the saying is the one derived from the Freemasons fraternal organization whose members underwent rigorous questioning and examinations before becoming "third degree" members or "master masons." 

"White elephant"

A white elephant is said to be a possession which its owner cannot dispose of and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness.  It goes back to when elephants were considered highly sacred creatures in Thailand, but were also considered a subtle form of punishment.  Legend has it that if an underling or rival angered a Siamese king, the king might present the unfortunate man with the gift of a white elephant.  Even though it seemed to be a reward, the creature was so expensive to feed and house and care for that it sent the recipient into financial ruin.  Today the term is said refer to any burdensome possession.

"Resting on your laurels"

This saying dates back to the leaders and athletic stars of Ancient Greece.  During Hellenic times, laurel leaves were considered tied to Apollo, the god of music, prophecy and poetry.  Apollo was usually depicted with a crown of laurel leaves which led to its importance.  Victorious athletes became a symbol of status and achievement.  Eventually the Romans presented wreaths to generals who won important battles.  These Greeks and Romans were thus able to "rest on their laurels, by basking in the glory of past achievements. 

"Read the riot act"

Did your parents ever get mad at you and threaten to "read the riot act" to you?  In 18th-century England the Riot Act was a real document that was read to angry mobs.  It began in 1715 when the British Government was given the authority to label any group of 12 people or more as a threat to the peace and were read the Riot Act.  You had to disperse after one hour or go to the jail.  Even though we have no idea what is in the Riot Act, we still are threatened with it, or threaten others that we will read the Riot Act to them.  But, does anyone ever listen to you?

"Die Hard"

This refers to someone with a strong dedication to a particular set of beliefs.  It at one time was a tern that had a literal meaning.  In the early 1700s, the expression described condemned men who struggled the longest when they were executed by hanging.  Then in the Battle of Albuera of 1811, during the Napoleonic War, in the midst of the fight a wounded British officer urged his unit forward by bellowing "Stand your ground and die hard...making the enemy pay dear for each of us!"  The officer's regiment suffered 75% casualties during battle and went on to earn the nickname "the Die Hards."

My final phrase is one I have never heard before.  

"Crocodile Tears"

Modern English speakers use the phrase "crocodile tears" to describe a display of superficial or false sorrow, but the saying actually derives from a medieval belief that crocodiles shed tears of sadness while they killed and consumed their prey.  Weeping reptiles can be found in Shakespeare, and "crocodile tears" became an idiom as early as the 16th century.