Wild Goose Chase” & “Wrong End of the Stick” and the Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions

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. His book is Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Curious Origins of Everyday Sayings and Fun Phrases. This time, Andrew explores the backstories of phrases like “wild goose chase” and “wrong end of the stick,” among others.

Support the show (https://www.ouramericanstories.com/donate)

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
And we continue with our American stories. Up next, we
continue with our recurring series about the curious origins of
everyday scenes. You're to join us again is Andrew Thompson
as he continues to share another slaves from his Ultimate
Guide to Understanding the stories the mysteries of the English language.

(00:33):
Take it away, Andrew.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
The whole nine yards means the entire amount, or as
far as much as possible, and that's a phrase with
disputed origins. It's similar to the expression dressed to the nines,
and some say it relates to the best suits being
made from nine yards of fabric, but the more likely
origin is actually military based. During World War II, the
American fighter planes used fifty caliber machine guns that were

(00:56):
fired from the doors by the gunners. The ammunition used
by these guns were linked together on belts that were
exactly nine yards long, so if a target was shot
at with the full belt of ammunition, it was said
that they were being given the whole nine yards. A
wild goose chase is a fruitless chase for something, or
a hopeless quest, and it has its origins in early

(01:17):
horse racing. The sport developed in England in the sixteenth
century and its earliest form was much different to what
we see today, because a race began with a lead
horse being set off, the rider taking any direction he chose,
and then the other riders were sent off in pursuit,
leaving at precise regular intervals. The pursuing horses and riders
didn't know exactly which route the lead rider had taken,

(01:39):
so they all set off in different directions, like wild
geese trying to follow their leader. Shakespeare then used the
expression in his play Romeo and Juliet, and that popularized it.
To win hands down means to win easily with little effort,
and it's another phrase that comes from horse racing. When riding,
a jockey needs to keep a tight rain on his
horse to encourage it to rine. But when a jockey

(02:01):
so far ahead of the competition that he can loosen
the rain and still win without needing his whip, he
can place both hands back on the reins and wrest
them down comfortably. He can then canter to the fringish
line and win hands down without batting. An eyelid means
to take a situation in your stride or not show
any emotional response, and it's always used in the negative

(02:23):
and It's another expression that derives from the linguistic world.
The world bat comes from bait, an obsolete English word
which comes from the old French word butcher, meaning to
beat the wings or flutter. So when a person reacted
to something of note without showing any surprise or motion
to the extent that they didn't even blink or flutter
an eyelid, it was said that they didn't bat an eyelid.

(02:46):
To wreak havoc means to cause major destruction or confusion,
and it began in thirteenth century France, where the expression
cry a havot was a military call that battlefield generals
would yell have it, meaning plunder, so to cry a
habit meant the battle was won and the soldiers could
begin looting. The phrase then reached England by the fourteenth century,

(03:07):
where it evolved to cry havoc, and then the expression
was used by Shakespeare in a number of his plays,
which brought it to the mainstream, where it was adapted
to rekavoc. The wrong end of the stick means to
misunderstanders situation entirely, and it's got pretty disgusting origins. It
began with the toilet habits of ancient Rome. The Romans

(03:28):
used communal toilets, where people sat side by side to
discuss the day's events. Toilet paper hadn't been invented, so
to address personal hygiene issues, a cloth or sponge was
tied to one end of a short stick, which was
passed from person to person. It was obviously important to
pay close attention when picking up or being past the stick,
because nobody wanted to get the wrong end of the stick.

(03:51):
To get out of the wrong side of the bed
means that someone's in a bad mood, and it's an
expression that began ancient Rome, and it's very similar to
the saying to set off on the wrong foot, where
the Romans believed that anything on the left was evil,
including the bed. They had a real superstition that nefarious
spirits lay on the left hand side of the bed
during the night, and if someone was to get out

(04:11):
on that side, they would be forced to pass through
those spirits, whose sinister ways would influence the person during
the day, affecting their judgment and putting them in a
bad mood. This negative influence would continue until the next
morning when the person got out of the bed on
the right you can run, but your car'd hide means
you can try to escape something, but you'll eventually be caught,

(04:33):
and it owes its origins to the great heavyweight boxer
Joe Lewis, known as the Brown Bomber. In nineteen forty one,
he fought Billy Conn, a much lighter and faster boxer,
and behind on the scorecard. Lewis eventually knocked Conn out
in the thirteenth round. Then still champion, in nineteen forty six,
Lewis fought a rematch with Con. Remembering how close Lewis

(04:53):
had come to losing his belt in the first bout,
boxing writers asked Lewis how he could combat CON's fast
hit and run stratage. Lewis responded, he can run, but
he can't hide, and Lewis won the fight by knockout
in the eighth round. You scratch my back and old
scratch yours means to do someone a favor if they
do one for you, and it has its origins with

(05:14):
the British Navy. During the seventeenth century. The punishments meeted
out to sailors for being drunk, grabs and or disobedient
was severe and one of the main forms of punishment
was the lashing with the cat of nine tails whip,
which had multiple strands that caused severe pain. The common
practice was to tie the offender to the ship's mast
in full view and have him flogged by another crew member.

(05:36):
The crew members came to an understanding that they would
only deliver light lashes and merely scratch the other's back,
knowing that they would receive similar leniency if their turn
came to be flogged later in the voyage. Your name
is Mud means a person who is unpopular or out
of favor, and it began in eighteen sixty five when
John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln by shooting him

(05:58):
in the Ford Theater in Washington. Booth broke his leg
while escaping and managed to ride his horse to the
house of doctor Samuel Mudd. That's Mud. Mud was ignorant
of the grave events that had just unfolded, and provided
Booth with the medical assistance he needed. Mud learned of
the shooting the next day in contacted the police, but
he was arrested, convicted of conspiracy to murder, and sentenced

(06:21):
to life in jail. He was parved and released in
eighteen sixty nine, but the public never forgave him, and
his name was forever tarnished. To say your ship has
come in means you become rich and successful, and it
dates from the mid eighteen hundreds and as a seafaring expression.
As the expression suggests, a man might spend all his

(06:41):
money in building a ship, fitting it out, and hiring
a crew. The ship would then set sail for a
long voyage in the hope of recouping the money. It
may be away for years at a time, and the investor,
unable to communicate with the captain, would never be sure
if he'd seize money again, or even the ship again.
It would only be when the ship reappeared that he
would know the outcome. If laden with cargo valuables from

(07:03):
far away places, it would be said that his ship
had come in.

Speaker 1 (07:07):
And a terrific job on the production and editing by
our own Greg Hangler, and a special thanks to Andrew
Thompson his book Hair of the Dog to Paint the
Town Red. Get it at Amazon or the usual suspects.
You won't put it down. You can open it up
to almost any letter in the alphabet and you'll just
start laughing. The story of the origins of everyday sayings.

(07:28):
Here on Our American Stories lie Hibib here, the host
of Our American Stories. Every day on this show, we're
bringing inspiring stories from across this great country, stories from
our big cities and small towns, but we truly can't
do the show without you. Our stories are free to
listen to, but they're not free to make. If you

(07:49):
love what you hear, go to Ouramerican Stories dot com
and click the donate button. Give a little, give a lot.
Go to Ouramerican Stories dot com and give