August 5, 2025 • 9 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, Andrew Thompson shares another slice of his guide to understanding the baffling mini-mysteries of the English language. The book is Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions and Fun Phrases.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib with our American Stories, and we
tell stories about everything here on this show, including your stories.
Send them to our American Stories. There are some of
our favorites. Up next, we continue with our recurring series
about the curious origins of everyday scenes. Here to join
us again is Andrew Thompson as he continues to share
another slaves from his Ultimate Guide to understanding these mini
(00:33):
mysteries of the language we all speak.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
A long shot is an attempt that has little chance
of success, and it owes its origins to naval warfare.
In the eighteen hundreds, battleships carry cannons as their major weapons,
and though very effective when they hit their targets, the
cannons were inaccurate and cannon balls could only travel relatively
short distances. For this reason, most battles took place in
(00:57):
fairly close quarters. Any shot was fired at a ship
outside of the normal range was considered a long shot
and unlikely to succeed. If you call someone a loose cannon,
you mean they're unpredictable or out of control, and it's
yet another sailing related phrase. From as early as the
sixteen hundreds, cannons were mounted onto the decks of sailing
(01:18):
ships and were used as the primary.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Weapon in battles.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
As though were very heavy, it was essential for the
cannons to be firmly secured. This was often done by
mounting the cannons on rollers and fastening them down with ropes,
but in times of rough seas or as the result
of a violent recall caused by firing the cannons, sometimes
a cannon would break free of its restraints. The loose
cannons would roll dangerously around the deck, causing damage to
(01:44):
the ship and injury to the sailors. The saying as
mad as a hatter, which means crazy or completely mad,
is the first phrase that I wrote when I did
this book, and it stems from the eighteenth century practice
of using mercury nitrate in the making of felt hats.
Mercury nitrate is a highly toxic chemical and exposure to
it often affects the nervous system, causing the person to
(02:07):
tremble in jitter. This led many to believe that hatters
were crazy, so the expression mad as a hat had developed,
and in fact, mercury poisoning today is still known as
mad hatter disease. While not being the origin of the phrase.
It was popularized by the eccentric mad Hatter character in
Lewis Carroll's eighteen sixty five work Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
(02:29):
To make a bee line for something means to go
directly towards it using the fastest route, and this originates
from the animal kingdom, and as the phrase suggests the bee.
Once a bee discovers a nectar source, it will return
to the hive, where it performs a peculiar figure of
eight dance to communicate the location of the sauce to
the other bees. After watching this dance, which includes zig
(02:52):
zags using its rear facing the bees, the other bees
will then make their way directly to the food sauce
in a straight line. Experts believe the bees use the
sun to navigate, and the dance performed by the forager
bee indicates the angle relative to the sun that the
bee should follow, as well as the distance they should
go to ensure they fly in.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
A bee line. To make ends.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Meat means to live just within your means on a
low salary, and it has origins in the world of accountancy.
From the seventeenth century, meat was an accounting term meaning
match or balance. A bookkeeper's ledger contained two columns, one
for expenditure and one for income. The ends were the
bottom figures of these two columns, so to make ends
(03:35):
meat was to match the expenditure and income figures so
that the books were balanced. The expression makes your hair
stand on end means something has frightened you, and it's
sometimes done as goosebumps because the skin contracts and makes
a person's hair stand upright. The expression is actually has
biblical origins and derives from the Book of Job in
(03:55):
the Old Testament, where there is a passage that reads,
a spirit light and passed my face, and the hair
and my body stood on end. The phrase became wide
spread in sixteen oh three with Shakespeare's play Hamlet. To
mind your p's and ques means to be on your
best behavior, and it's an expression with many possible origins
that are often disputed. The most compelling of these is
(04:19):
its association with drinking. It stems from the English taverns
of the seventeenth century, when publicans would chalk up when
people were drinking either a pint or a court on
a tally slate. At the end of the night, the
patron would pay for the number and type of drinks
on the slate. Because a court was larger and much
more costly measure than a pint. Patrons would advise the
(04:39):
bartender to mind his p's and cues to ensure the
correct drinks are being chalked up so they weren't being overcharged.
A Molotov cocktail is a handheld firebomb, and that expression
began during World War II. The phrase was actually invented
by the Finish, who were referring to the Soviet foreign
minister of the time whose life was Molotov. He was
(05:02):
responsible for partitioning of Finland under a packwa Nazi Germany,
and many believed he was also responsible for the subsequent
invasion of Finland in nineteen thirty nine. There was much
propaganda associated with the invasion, including the ludicrous claim by
Molotov that the bombing missions were actually humanitarian food deliveries
for the starving Fins. In response to this, the Finns
(05:26):
referred to the Soviet cluster bombs as Molotov bread baskets,
and when they developed a handheld petrol bomb to throw
the Soviet tanks, they called them Molotov cocktails. As a
drink to go with the food. Money for old rope
means a quick and easy way to earn money, and
that expression has nautical origins. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century,
(05:49):
when sailing ships returned to port, the sailors would assess
all the rigging to ensure it was still seaworthy. Any
rigging that had been damaged during the voyage would be removed,
and while unsuitable for sales, some for would still be
in pretty good condition and able to be sold on shore.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
The more senior members of the crew were.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Given authority by the captain to claim the discarded rope,
and they were able to profit from its sale, literally
making money for old rope. More bang for your buck
means better value for money, and it originated with the U.
S National Security policy in the nineteen fifties under the
administration of President Eisenhower, known as the New Look. The
(06:28):
policy increased the military stocks of comparatively inexpensive nuclear weapons
in order to reduce the number of army personnel and costs.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
In nineteen fifty four, the U.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
S Secretary of Defense, Charles ow and Wilson, coined the
phrase more bang for buck when he used it to
refer to the policy of using nuclear weapons instead of
a large army to suppress the threat that the Soviet
Union posed to democracy. Is actually thought that the expression
was an adaptation of Pepsi's advertising slogan more bounced to
the ounce, which was introduced in nineteen fifty. Mumbo jumbo
(07:02):
means nonsense or meaningless speech or writing, and it's an
expression that began with the early explorers of Africa in
the eighteenth century. Francis Moore was one of the first
Englishmen to travel into the interior of the continent, and
in seventeen thirty eight he wrote a book called Travels
into the Inland Parts of Africa.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
In the book, he describes how he.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Met men of one tribe, the Mundingoes, and they employed
a legendary spirit to keep obedience in their women. In
his book, he wrote that the women are kept in
the greatest subjection, and then he went on to explain
how this happened. He said, for this purpose, the Mundingoes
have a kind of image eight or nine feet high,
made of the bark of trees, dressed in a long
(07:44):
coat and crowned with a wisp of straw. This is
called mumbo jumbo, And whenever the men have any dispute
with the women, this is sent for to determine the contest,
which is almost always done.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
In favor of the men.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
It was this passage that brought the term mumbo jumbo
to the masses, and by the mid eighteen hundreds the
phrase had come to mean any meaningless rantings.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
To know your.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Colors to the mast means to display one's beliefs defiantly,
and it derives from naval warfare in the early eighteenth century.
A ship's captain would enter battle with his flag or
colors flying proudly from the main mast, but if he
wished to surrender, he would lower his colors to announce
his position to the enemy. Sailors are also able to
(08:28):
lower the flag in times of troubles, so if a
captain was determined not to surrender, he would literally nail
the flag to the mast so that none of the
sailors could lower it and offer a sign of defeat.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
And a special thanks to Greg Hengler. What a delightful segment.
I mean, we're just learning and laughing right here in
the studio as we listened to this, Because my goodness,
who knew about loose cannon's man as a hadd that
just killed me. And my goodness, they used mercury natrate
while making hats.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
We've come a long way, folks.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
The workplace is a lot safer than it used to do.
No matter what you're doing for a living, mercury nitrate,
you can't make it up. Make ends meet Molotov cocktail.
I think the favorite here in this studio, uproar of
laughter coming out at the derivation of that great phrase.
And so many people in this country populated by so
(09:20):
many different ethnicities, and these words coming from so many sources,
from Greek sources to English sources, to German and Finnish sources.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
The list goes on and on. What a delight.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
And by the way, a special thanks to Andrew Thompson.
His book Hair of the Dog To Paint the Town
Read The Curious Origins of everyday sayings and fun Phrases
is available on Amazon dot Com and the usual Suspects,
The Story of our language, A great story, a fun story.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
Here on our American stories
This is Lee Habib with our American Stories, and we
tell stories about everything here on this show, including your stories.
Send them to our American Stories. There are some of
our favorites. Up next, we continue with our recurring series
about the curious origins of everyday scenes. Here to join
us again is Andrew Thompson as he continues to share
another slaves from his Ultimate Guide to understanding these mini
(00:33):
mysteries of the language we all speak.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
A long shot is an attempt that has little chance
of success, and it owes its origins to naval warfare.
In the eighteen hundreds, battleships carry cannons as their major weapons,
and though very effective when they hit their targets, the
cannons were inaccurate and cannon balls could only travel relatively
short distances. For this reason, most battles took place in
(00:57):
fairly close quarters. Any shot was fired at a ship
outside of the normal range was considered a long shot
and unlikely to succeed. If you call someone a loose cannon,
you mean they're unpredictable or out of control, and it's
yet another sailing related phrase. From as early as the
sixteen hundreds, cannons were mounted onto the decks of sailing
(01:18):
ships and were used as the primary.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Weapon in battles.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
As though were very heavy, it was essential for the
cannons to be firmly secured. This was often done by
mounting the cannons on rollers and fastening them down with ropes,
but in times of rough seas or as the result
of a violent recall caused by firing the cannons, sometimes
a cannon would break free of its restraints. The loose
cannons would roll dangerously around the deck, causing damage to
(01:44):
the ship and injury to the sailors. The saying as
mad as a hatter, which means crazy or completely mad,
is the first phrase that I wrote when I did
this book, and it stems from the eighteenth century practice
of using mercury nitrate in the making of felt hats.
Mercury nitrate is a highly toxic chemical and exposure to
it often affects the nervous system, causing the person to
(02:07):
tremble in jitter. This led many to believe that hatters
were crazy, so the expression mad as a hat had developed,
and in fact, mercury poisoning today is still known as
mad hatter disease. While not being the origin of the phrase.
It was popularized by the eccentric mad Hatter character in
Lewis Carroll's eighteen sixty five work Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
(02:29):
To make a bee line for something means to go
directly towards it using the fastest route, and this originates
from the animal kingdom, and as the phrase suggests the bee.
Once a bee discovers a nectar source, it will return
to the hive, where it performs a peculiar figure of
eight dance to communicate the location of the sauce to
the other bees. After watching this dance, which includes zig
(02:52):
zags using its rear facing the bees, the other bees
will then make their way directly to the food sauce
in a straight line. Experts believe the bees use the
sun to navigate, and the dance performed by the forager
bee indicates the angle relative to the sun that the
bee should follow, as well as the distance they should
go to ensure they fly in.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
A bee line. To make ends.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Meat means to live just within your means on a
low salary, and it has origins in the world of accountancy.
From the seventeenth century, meat was an accounting term meaning
match or balance. A bookkeeper's ledger contained two columns, one
for expenditure and one for income. The ends were the
bottom figures of these two columns, so to make ends
(03:35):
meat was to match the expenditure and income figures so
that the books were balanced. The expression makes your hair
stand on end means something has frightened you, and it's
sometimes done as goosebumps because the skin contracts and makes
a person's hair stand upright. The expression is actually has
biblical origins and derives from the Book of Job in
(03:55):
the Old Testament, where there is a passage that reads,
a spirit light and passed my face, and the hair
and my body stood on end. The phrase became wide
spread in sixteen oh three with Shakespeare's play Hamlet. To
mind your p's and ques means to be on your
best behavior, and it's an expression with many possible origins
that are often disputed. The most compelling of these is
(04:19):
its association with drinking. It stems from the English taverns
of the seventeenth century, when publicans would chalk up when
people were drinking either a pint or a court on
a tally slate. At the end of the night, the
patron would pay for the number and type of drinks
on the slate. Because a court was larger and much
more costly measure than a pint. Patrons would advise the
(04:39):
bartender to mind his p's and cues to ensure the
correct drinks are being chalked up so they weren't being overcharged.
A Molotov cocktail is a handheld firebomb, and that expression
began during World War II. The phrase was actually invented
by the Finish, who were referring to the Soviet foreign
minister of the time whose life was Molotov. He was
(05:02):
responsible for partitioning of Finland under a packwa Nazi Germany,
and many believed he was also responsible for the subsequent
invasion of Finland in nineteen thirty nine. There was much
propaganda associated with the invasion, including the ludicrous claim by
Molotov that the bombing missions were actually humanitarian food deliveries
for the starving Fins. In response to this, the Finns
(05:26):
referred to the Soviet cluster bombs as Molotov bread baskets,
and when they developed a handheld petrol bomb to throw
the Soviet tanks, they called them Molotov cocktails. As a
drink to go with the food. Money for old rope
means a quick and easy way to earn money, and
that expression has nautical origins. In the seventeenth and eighteenth century,
(05:49):
when sailing ships returned to port, the sailors would assess
all the rigging to ensure it was still seaworthy. Any
rigging that had been damaged during the voyage would be removed,
and while unsuitable for sales, some for would still be
in pretty good condition and able to be sold on shore.
Speaker 3 (06:04):
The more senior members of the crew were.
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Given authority by the captain to claim the discarded rope,
and they were able to profit from its sale, literally
making money for old rope. More bang for your buck
means better value for money, and it originated with the U.
S National Security policy in the nineteen fifties under the
administration of President Eisenhower, known as the New Look. The
(06:28):
policy increased the military stocks of comparatively inexpensive nuclear weapons
in order to reduce the number of army personnel and costs.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
In nineteen fifty four, the U.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
S Secretary of Defense, Charles ow and Wilson, coined the
phrase more bang for buck when he used it to
refer to the policy of using nuclear weapons instead of
a large army to suppress the threat that the Soviet
Union posed to democracy. Is actually thought that the expression
was an adaptation of Pepsi's advertising slogan more bounced to
the ounce, which was introduced in nineteen fifty. Mumbo jumbo
(07:02):
means nonsense or meaningless speech or writing, and it's an
expression that began with the early explorers of Africa in
the eighteenth century. Francis Moore was one of the first
Englishmen to travel into the interior of the continent, and
in seventeen thirty eight he wrote a book called Travels
into the Inland Parts of Africa.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
In the book, he describes how he.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Met men of one tribe, the Mundingoes, and they employed
a legendary spirit to keep obedience in their women. In
his book, he wrote that the women are kept in
the greatest subjection, and then he went on to explain
how this happened. He said, for this purpose, the Mundingoes
have a kind of image eight or nine feet high,
made of the bark of trees, dressed in a long
(07:44):
coat and crowned with a wisp of straw. This is
called mumbo jumbo, And whenever the men have any dispute
with the women, this is sent for to determine the contest,
which is almost always done.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
In favor of the men.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
It was this passage that brought the term mumbo jumbo
to the masses, and by the mid eighteen hundreds the
phrase had come to mean any meaningless rantings.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
To know your.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
Colors to the mast means to display one's beliefs defiantly,
and it derives from naval warfare in the early eighteenth century.
A ship's captain would enter battle with his flag or
colors flying proudly from the main mast, but if he
wished to surrender, he would lower his colors to announce
his position to the enemy. Sailors are also able to
(08:28):
lower the flag in times of troubles, so if a
captain was determined not to surrender, he would literally nail
the flag to the mast so that none of the
sailors could lower it and offer a sign of defeat.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
And a special thanks to Greg Hengler. What a delightful segment.
I mean, we're just learning and laughing right here in
the studio as we listened to this, Because my goodness,
who knew about loose cannon's man as a hadd that
just killed me. And my goodness, they used mercury natrate
while making hats.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
We've come a long way, folks.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
The workplace is a lot safer than it used to do.
No matter what you're doing for a living, mercury nitrate,
you can't make it up. Make ends meet Molotov cocktail.
I think the favorite here in this studio, uproar of
laughter coming out at the derivation of that great phrase.
And so many people in this country populated by so
(09:20):
many different ethnicities, and these words coming from so many sources,
from Greek sources to English sources, to German and Finnish sources.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
The list goes on and on. What a delight.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
And by the way, a special thanks to Andrew Thompson.
His book Hair of the Dog To Paint the Town
Read The Curious Origins of everyday sayings and fun Phrases
is available on Amazon dot Com and the usual Suspects,
The Story of our language, A great story, a fun story.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
Here on our American stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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