Where does that phrase come from?

“Close but No Cigar”

The phrase most likely originated in the 1920s when fairs, or carnivals, would hand out cigars as prizes. At that time, the games were targeted towards adults, not kids. Yes, even in the ’20s, most carnival games were impossible to win, which often led the game owner to say, “Close, but no cigar” when the player failed to get enough rings around bottles or was just shy of hitting the target. As fairs started to travel around the United States, the saying spread and became well-known.

“Piqued my Interest”

The word “pique” dates back to the 1500s. If you thought that maybe the word sounded or looked French because of the “QU” pronounced like a “K,” you’d be right! It comes from the Middle French verb piquer, which means “to prick.” So, there’s a direct connection between harm and injury, leading to the word’s modern-day connection with emotional harm.  And, as Merriam-Webster points out, the more common, positive definition, as in “piqued my interest,” is still tangentially related to the piquer (“to prick”) word. While it may not be painful, arousing your interest or curiosity is still an abrupt emotional response to a stimulus.

“Break a Leg”

The phrase is believed to be rooted in the theatre community, which is known to be a bit superstitious. Performers believed saying “good luck” would bring bad luck on stage, so they’d tell one another to “break a leg” instead. That way, the opposite would happen. Instead of breaking a leg, the performer would put on a flawless performance. It’s believed to have originated in the American theatre scene in the early 20th century. Some believe it was adapted from the German saying “Hals-und Beinbruch,” which means “neck and leg break.” That phrase may also be derived from the Hebrew blessing “hatzlakha u-brakha,” which means “success and blessing.”

“Kill Two Birds with One Stone”

If you say that doing something will kill two birds with one stone, you mean that it will enable you to achieve two things that you want to achieve, rather than just one. 

In its present form, the earliest printed record of the idiom was found in 1656.

Prior to that, some believe it originated from the story of Daedalus and Icarus. This doesn’t mean the words can be found verbatim in the story, but that the story itself (or plot points within it) might be the first most concrete use of the metaphor for accomplishing two things with one action.  1 – Daedalus kills two birds with one stone to get the feathers of the birds and make the wings. 2 – Father and son escape from the Labyrinth by making wings and flying out.  Two birds. One action. Twice.

“Bite the Bullet”

The idiom “bite the bullet” likely originates from battlefield surgeries where patients were given a bullet to bite down on during painful procedures without anesthesia. This practice was a way to distract them from the pain and keep them from clenching their jaws too tightly, potentially breaking their teeth. The soft lead bullets were readily available and malleable, making them suitable for this purpose.

“What does the o in o’clock stand for?”

Though some folks think that the o in o’clock stands for “on the,” it actually comes from the phrase of the clock. When we use the word o’clock, we’re saying that it’s a particular hour “according to the clock.” For example, “it’s almost 4 o’clock” means the same thing as “it is almost 4 according to the clock.”

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the phrase of the clock can trace its origin back to 1384. This coincides with the growing popularity of mechanical clocks in Europe, the first of which were thought to have been built between 1270 and 1300 in northern Italy and southern Germany. Before this, time was often measured by sundials or shadow clocks. As clocks became more prevalent, of the clock became a standard way to indicate time.

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

The saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a popular 19th-century proverb that encourages eating apples for overall health and well-being, but it’s not scientifically supported. While apples do offer some health benefits, there’s no evidence that eating them regularly significantly reduces the need for doctor visits. 

“SOS”

The term SOS is a Morse code sequence, deliberately introduced by the German government in a 1905 set of radio regulations to stand out from less important telegraph transmissions. Unlike acronyms, where each letter represents a specific word, SOS doesn’t stand for anything. Still, because the term is so prevalent in marine contexts, people often confuse it for an abbreviation or acronym for phrases like “save our souls” and “save our ship.”  Three dots, three dashes, three dots. At a time when international ships increasingly filled the seas and Morse code was the only way to communicate instantaneously between them, vessels needed a quick and unmistakable way to signal that trouble was afoot. SOS is a palindrome (a word that reads the same backward and forward) and an ambigram (a word that looks identical whether read upside down or right side up).

“Strike while the iron is hot.“

The idiom “strike while the iron is hot” originates from the practice of blacksmithing. It refers to the need for a blacksmith to shape iron quickly when it’s red hot and malleable, before it cools and becomes difficult to work with. This metaphor translates to seizing opportunities and acting decisively before they pass.

“Curiosity killed the cat.“

“Curiosity killed the cat” is a proverb used to warn of the dangers of unnecessary investigation or experimentation. The original form of the proverb, now rarely used, was “care killed the cat”. The modern version dates from at least the 19th century.

The origin of “curiosity killed the cat” is debated, but the phrase’s earliest known usage in a play by Ben Jonson in 1598 was “care will kill a cat”. Shakespeare later used this in his play, “Much Ado About Nothing”. Over time, “care” evolved to “curiosity,” with the modern form appearing in a compendium of proverbs in 1873.