May 8, 2025 • 38 mins
Words can be strange little time capsules. Take idioms - those peculiar phrases we use without questioning how bizarre they actually sound. "Jump the shark"? "Close to the chest"? "More than one way to skin a cat"? Who came up with these, and why do we still use them?
In this linguistic adventure, we unpack the historical origins behind common expressions that have survived centuries despite their increasingly disconnected contexts. Did you know "jump the shark" comes from a specific 1977 Happy Days episode where Fonzie literally jumps over a shark while water skiing (leather jacket and all)? Or that "close to the chest" originated from poker players physically holding cards against their bodies to prevent opponents from seeing their hands?
Some origins surprise with their practicality - "rule of thumb" refers to carpenters using their thumbs as measuring tools, not the wife-beating myth many believe. Others shock with their unexpected twists - "there's more than one way to skin a cat" likely referred to catfish preparation techniques, not feline cruelty. We even explore why "rode hard and put away wet" transitioned from horse care advice to a description of exhausted humans.
Through rapid-fire explanations, role-playing scenarios, and etymology deep dives, we celebrate how these linguistic fossils continue thriving in our everyday speech while preserving echoes of history. These phrases function as what we've come to call "history's inside jokes" - strange expressions that made perfect sense centuries ago but sound ridiculous today.
Have a favorite idiom with a mysterious past? Send it our way through social media or email. We'll continue exploring these verbal time travelers in future episodes, proving that language itself might be humanity's most enduring artifact.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
oh, hey, there, oh, hey, there, I'm kate, and I'm
bradley this is the history ofmy food, and what did you say?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
you're not prepared.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I'm not prepared because I don't have a story.
And it's really weird.
My computer's not up.
It's sitting next to me butit's not up.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
It's sitting next to you because we're going to do
something a little differenttoday.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I feel like my hands need something to do.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Would you like to knit?
No, so this is a special originof weird and this is going to
be interesting because I'venever really done this before,
because usually I'm the one thatinteracts with kate's story
stories and, um, well, I thoughtto try something different.
(00:58):
So I am gonna try somethinghere and I hope this doesn't
suck, okay, so we like to throwidioms in from time to time.
Yes, yes.
Oh, I'm sorry, you can tell I'mnot used to driving this ship.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I held up our unopened beers as in don't
forget that we have a beer.
Stupid, this is so backwards Ifeel like this is never gonna
see the light of day.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
So I have, um the three sheeps, pineapple fresh
coast, because you've had theregular fresh coast and I loved
it yeah and this is a juicy paleale with pineapple I guess I
didn't realize there's a pale,ale same is that.
What all fresh?
Speaker 1 (01:49):
coasts are?
No, I don't think so oh,interesting.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
I guess I haven't had enough of their beers to know
what they are but uh, this oneis so three sheeps is in
sheboygan correct in wisconsin.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
yeah, I've been there , it's fun.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
And I have a pet skull brewing company.
And you said these are fromManitowoc, right yeah, I have a
Reducinate New England IPA.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
What's the difference between new?
What is it?
Indian IPA.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
No, it's not new Indian.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
New was just a misstep, but Indian Pale Ale, so
an IPA is a India pale ale.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
A new England one is just literally from, like our
new England area, okay, the Eastcoast.
Basically there's American paleales.
There's lots of variations.
So typically, if I'm notmistaken, if I'm remembering my
beer knowledge correctly, newengland ipas are a little more
on the juicier side, if I'm notmistaken, hence the name
(02:51):
reducinate correct.
Um.
So let's uh crack them open andsee what we got here.
Mine was a little sloppy you'regonna jump out you a little bit
cheers, cheers.
Oh, that's not bad.
That is on the juicier side Ithink I taste pineapple I mean,
I hope so.
(03:12):
It's a pineapple fresh coast.
It's super subtle is it really?
But it tastes really delicious,I say that's probably not a bad
thing.
I like, I love pineapple it'son the back end okay, sure, I
can see that like when I breathe, stop breathing like when I
allow it to like the leftoversto like sit in my mouth.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Sure, I guess the aroma, I don't know you give you
pick up the effervescence, noit's definitely on the back end,
but it's really good.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
I like it good I'm, I like it.
Good, I'm glad you like it.
Mine's rather quite tasty, somuch I'm going to take another
sip.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I might actually get to finish a beer.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
I was going to ask do you need a backup beer?
I don't know.
I mean, we can always clap itout.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
I have that Modelo over there.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Why is it over there?
All right, all right, so umfrom time to time I burped
that's got to be not a first onthis podcast.
When we do our episodes,sometimes we like to throw in
idioms yes, yes, so um, I mighthave exhausted my entire list on
(04:21):
this episode seriously but Ithink it was worth it, oh my god
so what's our backup?
plan, look up more idioms ohokay, I'll get to that later too
kind of um, I thought it'd bekind of fun just to do a little
uh, I don't want to say a deeperdive because like so, basically
, I kind of broke it up into acouple sections for this episode
(04:43):
and I'm going to do a littledeep dive on a few of them.
I got another couple things todo with it and I thought it'd be
kind of fun to learn some moreidioms.
Basically, okay, and kind ofjust, I don't know, do something
a little different than whatwe're used to.
And I know you're thrown off asfuck right now.
I am and so am I because Ireally hope this isn't a shitty
(05:03):
episode as fuck right now, andso am I because I really hope
this isn't a shitty episodeanyways.
So both, basically, uh, mostidioms are quite ridiculous if
you think about it right.
So again, just for anyone whodoesn't know what an idiom is
idioms are those weird littlephrases that sound completely
normal until you stop and thinkabout them for five seconds.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Basically, they just make no sense, and like don't
put the the horse before thecart.
Yeah, don't put the cart beforethe horse.
I mean, usually you want thehorse before the cart but yes,
correct, but like, uh.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
So, for example, like like why are we letting cats
out of the bag?
Right, you know um who put themin there the first place
anyways, let the dogs sorry Like.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Why are we letting cats out?
Of the bag Right.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
You know, yeah, who put them in there in the first
place?
Who let the dogs in?
Sorry, that's part of it, I'llget to that.
Or why would you ever, you know, bite a bullet?
Basically?
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Bite the bullet Yep, yep, yep.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Yep, yep.
So I was kind of looking aroundstuff and I saw this kind of
quote thing and it says idiomsare like histories inside jokes.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
I like it, so do I.
I like it a lot.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
That's why I had to put that in there.
But some do have realhistorical roots.
Some are, you know, a completemystery where they came from,
basically, and pretty muchthey're all quite strange when
you actually look at what theyare.
They're all quite strange whenyou actually look at what they
(06:29):
are, um, so we're going to do alittle, a little deep dive and
see see, uh, how some make senseand some are just completely
weird.
Okay, so, uh, anyways, so theseare all ones that I haven't
done on the podcast before.
I believe, um, I'm pretty sureI haven't.
I have marked most of them, soif I do cover something that
(06:50):
we've done, I apologize, but andI know some of these, you've
given me some Nathan's given mesome, um, I've gotten some from
other people.
There's only two that I couldreally fully remember who I got
them from.
And the first one I literallygot and I was just talking to
you about this earlier somemovies I was watching and I I've
(07:11):
known of this, but I waswatching this movie the other
day and I'm like, and this kindof helped, you know, start off
this thought of doing thisepisode.
So I was watching the darknight and Bruce Wayne.
Uh, wayne is talking to LuciusFox and says I'm playing this
one close to the vest, oh yeah.
So the idiom and it varies isclose to the chest or close to
(07:33):
the vest, and I'll get into thata little bit.
But the idiom close to the chestagain also often said as close
to the vest, comes from theworld of card games.
Said is close to the best,comes from the world of card
games, particularly poker, and?
Uh has everything to do withstrategy, secrecy and not
tipping your hand.
Uh, literally and figuratively,basically.
But um, the origin of it isfrom, like I said, card games
(07:57):
and games like poker.
Keeping your cards hidden fromyour opponents is crucial.
If you hold them loosely oraway from your body, you risk
revealing your hand even if youdon't intend to.
Basically, so skilled playerswere advised to hold their cards
close to their vest or chest toavoid giving away any clues
about their strategy, look oremotions.
Vest was the more common termin the 19th century american
(08:22):
english and over time chessbecame an interchangeable and
slightly more modern soundingversion.
So bottom line is basicallyholding cards close to your body
equals keeping your intentionssecret and maintaining control.
Uh, the idiom evolved to applybeyond poker, uh, table.
The poker table, I should saysorry and now means to keep
(08:43):
information, plans or feelingssecret, revealing little to
others.
So, in like business, the CEOplayed it close to the chest
during negotiations inrelationships.
This is a quote when I foundactually I thought it was funny.
She's nice but she plays heremotions close to the chest,
hard to tell what she's reallythinking.
I thought that was funny so Ihad to include that one, um, or
(09:07):
in strategy.
You know he's got a plan buthe's keeping it close to the
chest for now.
So, uh, basically like why thisidiom kind of works in this
whole world is it comes from avisual, it is very visual.
If you think about a cardplayer holding his cards close
to his chest, you can literallypicture that in your brain.
(09:27):
It taps into the humanpsychology.
So the tension between sharingand withholding and applies
broadly between, like I said,business, politics, personal
life, sports, pretty much anytype of strategy, setting,
basically setting.
(09:48):
Basically.
So, like I said, vest versuschest, um, people always wonder
which one is correct.
Close to the vest istechnically the original, more
traditional phrasing, especiallyin american english.
Close to the chest is now justjust as common, if not more so
in casual.
So when I grew up grew up I'mstill growing up I always
thought it was close to thechest.
I never, and so the first timeI ever heard close to the vest,
(10:11):
I'm like did he say that wrong?
But no, it's.
They're interchangeable thesedays, but the original
apparently was best.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
It's like coming down the pike.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
People think it's pipe.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Correct, but it does say I did see language purists
might prefer vest, as it's theoriginal word used in the idiom,
but in modern conversation bothare widely accepted.
So first interactive part here.
Okay, I have a little rope,it's not, I guess, role play um.
(10:44):
So open your computer andobviously you'll read the red
parts okay all right, so I'mgonna set the mood here.
It was a smoky tuesday night inthe back room of club buffoons.
Hey, the stakes were high andeveryone at the table was
playing their cards close to thechest you gonna play?
Speaker 1 (11:04):
play that hand tough guy, or are you just here to
babysit your chips?
Speaker 2 (11:12):
I play when the time's right, not before, not
after.
Timing is everything.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
That's so, because from where I'm sitting, you're
all mystery and no action.
You've been sitting on thathand so long.
It's growing roots.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I keep it close to the chest like a secret or a
disappointing Christmas gift.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Disappointing Christmas gift.
You mean close to the vest.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Vest chest depends on if you're playing cards or
dressing for a 1920s gala.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
But eventually someone's got to lay their cards
on the table.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Not me, not today, anyway, so yeah.
So next time someone's notsharing much.
They're not being rude, they'rejust playing it close to the
chest, All right.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
So the next one I have comes from you, which is
jump the shark.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
All right.
So the idiom jump the shark hasone of the most specific and
pop culture based origins of anymodern expression.
It literally comes from aspecific episode of a TV show
and has since taken a life ofits own.
Um, so the origin is actuallyfrom.
Do you know where it came from?
Speaker 1 (12:25):
tv, like you said which show it does?
Is there a shark involved?
Yes, literally, literally is ashark involved and it's from a
show or a movie, tv show.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Oh flipper I mean, I like the guess um because that
was an old show, right?
Speaker 1 (12:48):
I think that was an old show.
Was that a TV show?
I?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
think so.
I think you're right.
I guess I don't recall.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
I don't know, I'm making that up Maybe A shark in
a TV show?
Yep.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Ugh, it's quite ridiculous, honestly, and that's
why this whole thing kind ofstuck.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
It's older than Sharknado.
That's a movie, I guess.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Isn't there like 12 Sharknados by?
Speaker 1 (13:17):
now Did Jaws become a TV show that I don't know about
?
Nope.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Nope, I want to say it's around a similar time frame
, but no, it's not because ofJaws.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Happy Days.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Oh, I've never seen it.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
You've never seen Happy.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Days?
No, there's a shark.
Happy Days.
Oh, I've never seen it.
You've never seen Happy Days.
No, there's a shark in HappyDays.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
You'll learn that, but you've never seen Happy Days
.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Not really.
I mean, I know who HenryWinkler is, who's.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Henry Winkler.
What's his character's name?
There is literally a statue ofhim in.
Milwaukee Happy, no, he wasDays.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
What, what, what.
What's his character?
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Fonzie.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Arthur Fonzarelli.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Sure sure, the Fonz, the Fonz yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
If you ever had a jukebox that stopped playing.
He fucking hits it and itstarts playing Magic.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
No, I've never watched it.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Alright.
So this phrase comes from theamerican sitcom happy days,
specifically season five,episode three, titled hollywood
part three.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
So great there it's called hollywood part three okay
, it aired in september of 1977.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Okay, so a short synopsis of it is.
In this episode, fonzie, playedby henryler who you just said.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
He's in Scream.
That's why I know him I wasjust going to say.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
That's why you know him.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
I love Scream.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
The super cool leather jacket wearing character
jumps over a shark on waterskis while still wearing his
leather jacket.
The show was trying to keepthings exciting and edgy but the
stunt came off as silly anddesperate even by late 70s TV
standards.
(15:10):
So the coining of the phrase,the actual idiom, his roommate
Sean Connolly, were talkingabout TV shows that had passed
their prime and Hine referred tothe shark jumping episode of
Happy Days as the exact momentthe show started its decline.
So they ran with that in thelate 1990s, which cataloged the
(15:30):
moments when TV shows supposedlybegan to go downhill.
The site became so popular thatit was sold to TV Guide in 2006
.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
So the modern meaning .
So today, jump the Shark meansthe moment when something that
was once popular or high qualitystarts to decline in quality,
often because it's trying toohard to stay relevant.
Yeah, so most notably for uh tvshows or franchises that
outlive their welcome and resortto gimmicks like sharknado 23
(16:03):
or whatever the fuck numberthey're at or mission impossible
for 45.
So I I disagree with that one.
They're pretty good.
You just aren't a huge TomCruise fan.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Yeah, I could take them or leave them.
I know Really leave them.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Or basically brands, artists or trends that do
something over the top or out ofcharacter for them, that
clearly signals it's past theirprime, basically.
So some examples the showreally jumped the shark when
they introduced the talking dog.
You know something stupid likethat, or whatever.
Or that band jumped the sharkafter their fourth album when
(16:38):
they started doing EDM remixesof polka songs.
Why it's stuck, though, and whypeople think it's such a
perfect idiom, is because it'svivid.
You can literally imagine a guyon water skis jumping over a
shark.
Even if you haven't seen theshow, you can now picture
something stupid.
Take a figure jump over a sharkon skis in a leather jacket.
(16:59):
It's tied to a real, traceablecultural moment, which Happy
Days was fucking huge back inthe day.
Pretty much, it describes aphenomenon that most everyone
recognizes, even if they don'thave a name for it.
Yeah, so that is Jump the Sharkwhich you I think mentioned to
me in like the last week or so,Something like that.
(17:21):
All right In, the.
Was it part one?
I think right, yeah, it waspart one of Lizzie.
I mentioned Road Hard and PutAway Wet.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Yeah, the Lizzie Sear episode yep, part one.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
So, uh, that idiom comes from the world of horse
riding, which I've told youabout a little bit, um, and
horse care, and, like manyidioms, it evolved from a
literal practice to ametaphorical meaning over time.
So, in its original context,rode hard and put away wet
referred to poor treatment ofthe horse.
Basically, when a horse isridden hard, it sweats heavily
(18:00):
and becomes hot.
If the horse is put away wet,meaning pretty much you put it
in a stable without cleaning it,watering it down, whatever it
might be properly cooled down,basically it can become sick or
injured, and that's actually areal thing me having a horse
before, but yeah.
So basically, proper horse carerequires walking the horse
(18:22):
after a hard ride, allowing thehorse to cool down from very
vigorous activity, basicallyOver time.
Though this phrase was adoptedmetaphorically to describe a
person who appears exhausted,worn out or used up, kind of
like Lizzie Seard looked likeshe was what 29.
I think he said she lookedreally really old for 29,.
(18:45):
But basically, uh, you know, helooked like he'd been road hard
and put away wet.
Yeah, that's pretty much what Isaid about her too.
Basically, rode hard and putaway wet.
Yeah, that's pretty much what Isaid about her too.
Basically, it's mostly a jokeabout someone's appearance these
days and, uh, a lot of people,uh, just use it for I don't know
, not an attractive person kindof thing.
Good old horse riding.
(19:05):
So have you ever heard theidiom?
I kind of picked this onespecifically for you because of
your five cats.
Oh, okay, and I have cats too,but there's more than one way to
skin a cat.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah, I've heard that .
You've heard that before.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Yeah, Hold on while I sip my beer.
You maul that one over.
So the idiom there's more thanone way to skin a cat means that
there's more than one way toaccomplish a task or solve a
problem.
It's about flexibility, problemsolving and the idea that if
one method doesn't work, you cantry another.
That phrase sounds prettygrisly at face value, so let's
(19:43):
break it down, break it down.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
No, keep going.
No, thanks, no, keep going.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
No thanks, no keep going, no thanks.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
No, keep going, no thanks.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
No, keep going.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
No thanks.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Oh my God, that was fucking masterpiece.
All right, so the phrase isn'treally about cats, okay,
apparently.
So the cat part isn't literal,it's a metaphor.
Right In early centuries catsand other animals were sometimes
using, uh, used in idioms,because they were familiar to
(20:18):
everyone and people were waymore comfortable referencing
violent imagery than we are now,which sometimes I disagree with
that.
But either way, uh, it likelynever had anything to do with
people routinely skinning cats,but rather was an evocative way
of saying there are multipletechniques.
So early versions use differentwording.
(20:39):
Uh, the earliest known version,uh, doesn't even mention cats.
It's from 1678.
Wow, uh, john Ray, an Englishnaturalist I don't know what a
naturalist is, but anyways andcompiler of Proverbs wrote there
are more ways to kill a dogthan hanging.
So dogs were the first one,apparently, or at least the
(21:02):
first thing they can kind ofassociate with that.
Um, it wasn't until the 19thcentury that skin, skin a cat
version became widespread.
Century that skin, skin a catversion became widespread.
One of the earliest known usescomes from an 1840 work by
american humorist, sebastian gdoyle.
There are more ways than one toskin a cat, so he's the first
(21:24):
one that said it.
Basically, this version seemedto catch on, likely because of
its vivid and memorable phrasing.
People tend to remember weirdor striking impressions.
Like you talk about skinningone of your cats, you're like
what the fuck?
Yeah, you'd remember that,right.
So I thought this was kind ofweird.
But, um, it may have roots infishing or trapping terminology.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Yeah, I didn't really I'll tell you, there's more
than one way to scale a fish orto trap a fish.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Uh, some reachers, wow.
Some researchers speculate thatskinning a cat might refer to
catfish.
Oh, you like catfish?
I really do, I know which wereand are commonly eaten.
Catfish are notoriously hard toclean and prepare because of
their tough skin, and fishermendeveloped a number of techniques
(22:17):
to skin them.
So the phrase may have startedamong fishers as a literal
comment and evolved into ametaphor.
So this is kind of why theidiom stuck.
It's got graphic imagery Suredoes, sure does.
So that kind of makes itmemorable, right.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Our brains remember things that are shocking, gross
or dramatic.
It's flexible.
You can use it in almost anyproblem-solving context Makes
sense, and I like this one,though it's got rhythm.
It's got rhythm.
The phrase is a nice flow andbalance that helps it endure.
I'm like all right.
I thought this was also funnyin some of my looking at this up
(22:59):
, modern sensitivities.
Nowadays people are more awareof animal cruelty and might find
the phrase off-putting, andbecause of that there's
alternatives.
Like this is so lame.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
There's more than one way to do it no you don't say I
was actually gonna say thatthere's more than one way to do
this more than one way to cracka nut.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
That sounds painful, and different strokes for
different folks.
Sometimes those are useddepending on your audience.
Basically All right, so I havewrote a scene.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Do I get to open my computer again?
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Yeah, and you got to click on the part three one and
I'll set the scene when you'reready.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Ready.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
So I even gave you a name.
It's not just kate, you'replaying a character okay so to
set the scene, we're in a dark1800s parlor room.
Two people in waistcoatspercival and emma.
You're emma, I'm percival nothank you sit drinking tea.
Papers and diagrams are spreadout on the table.
A taxidermied cat sitsominously on a shelf, so I'll be
(24:18):
Percival here.
Now hear me out, emma.
What if we skin it from thetail up?
Speaker 1 (24:24):
Tail up.
Are you mad, Percival?
That's how my cousin lost athumb.
The tension builds near thehaunches.
It's madness.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Madness.
No, no, it's innovation.
Look if we don't find a new wayto skin a cat.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
The Royal Efficiency Society is going to reject our
grand proposal again.
Why can't we just inventsomething practical like a
steam-powered muffin warmer?
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Because, Emma, everyone is doing muffins, but
cat skinning Untapped market.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
You know, the idiom never said we had to actually
skin a cat.
It's metaphorical Percival Likedon't count your chickens.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
So I'm not supposed to count the chickens either,
and this is why the phrase stuck, because no matter what you're
doing, there's always anotherterrible way to go about it.
Wow, so that's the end of ourrole playing.
Thank you for participating.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Absolutely, it's fun.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
So, anywho, that's the end of the deep diver, deep
diver, the deep dive on thoseparticular idioms.
So and I do even mention thisat the end, but I'll even say it
now we have another sectionhere and this is another
interactive part.
Okay, the ones I'm about to do,I may do a deeper dive on
(25:49):
episodes down the road, okay Ijust want to say that, so we are
going to do rapid fire idiomsoh, all, right, okay.
So I'll say the idiom Okay,kate, you will guess the meaning
.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
All right, I'll let you know if you're correct and
then I'll give a very, very,like I said, short explanation
to each one that came from thebowels.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
That came from the depths, someone behind me I
don't see anyone scott free isit scott free or scotch free?
Speaker 2 (26:23):
scott, I was wondering scotch free is a
non-alcoholic drink scott freelike literally you got away with
something, um, withoutconsequences.
Evading punishment uh, comesfrom scott, meaning a tax, not
(26:44):
the country.
A what tax tax?
Yeah, all right, grasping atstraws um.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
The thing is, I know all these.
Maybe, Trying to come up withsomething when it's not super
easy to do.
Desperate, yeah, desperate.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Desperately trying something unlikely to work.
Yeah, you're grasping outstraws.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Nip it in the bud stop it before it starts
stopping a problem early, liketrimming a flower before it
blooms, which I thought that wasfunny, that that was the one of
the examples I found.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Uh, rhyme and reason there's no rhyme or reason.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
There's, there's no well, if you say no, then you
make it negative, but there'salso another way to look at it.
But it's clear logic orjustification.
Yeah, rhyme and reason.
So there's a rhyme and reasonto this, or there's no rhyme and
reason, obviously turning itaround.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Yeah, there's justification and a reasoning.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Yep, yeah, wet my whistle.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
What I'm doing right now with my beer.
Have a drink.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
Whistle a slang for mouth, which I can't do, my
six-year-old son can.
Are you calling the birds?
No, okay, I like the cut ofyour jib.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Is jib in reference to a dance.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
No.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
Or your outfit.
No personality.
No, because I would think likeI like the cut of your jib.
I like what you do, I like whoyou are, I like what you
represent I mean that that's.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
That's ultimately what it means yeah, yeah uh, but
it refers to the shape of aship's sail used to judge it
from afar.
So, like you could see a ship,you could see its jib and you
could tell what it is basicallyor who it was or whatever it was
.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
I like that.
I like that from afar, yeah,but not up close, head over
heels, you love, or?
Speaker 2 (29:00):
enjoy something so much, yeah, that your head over
heels you're it's supposed tomean falling in love?
Speaker 1 (29:03):
yeah, but originally described doing a somersault why
, like, I, get the somersault,but why did it change into?
Speaker 2 (29:11):
I've known of this one for obviously a long time.
I'm fucking old, like you liketo tell people.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Cause there's, like there's something referencing
like a tea kettle too.
That's similar.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Is there.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Head over heels.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
I did not see that.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Something over spout or something I don't know.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Ass over tea kettle.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Yeah, that's it.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Is that?
Speaker 1 (29:31):
it Maybe.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
I've never Heard the it was originally do doing a
somersault.
I'd never heard that before Ilooked this up.
Um, but I always thought likehead over heels was stupid,
because yeah, it's calledstanding up, but I never really
understood that.
But I knew what it meant, but Ijust like, let's, that's kind
of dumb.
But anyways.
So now you'll have to do adeeper dive on that one.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
We'll do a deeper dive on that one compared to the
tea kettle over ass over teakettle.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
Yeah yeah, Uh, dollars to donuts Um like a even
exchange of something.
Uh not quite.
Betting something valuableagainst something nearly
worthless a very confident wager.
So if you were going to like,if you knew for sure that
(30:25):
whatever was going to win youwould bet a thousand dollars,
but you you would only bet, theperson you're betting against
would only have to bet a dollar,kind of thing, cause you knew
you were going to fucking win,kind of scenario, something like
that, down to brass tacks.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Oh, I don't know that one.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Getting to the core of a matter, the origin is
unclear, possibly furniturerelated.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
French related.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
Furniture, furniture, yeah, not French.
In a nutshell, that's fromnathan in a nutshell um,
basically something, a largeconcept kind of broken down into
like a quick yeah, a very briefsummary, summary it goes back
to ancient texts said to fitentire stories in tiny
(31:10):
containers, and it's funnybecause when nathan sent me that
one, I send him back the back,the Austin Powers gift.
That is him, in a nutshell,like I don't know if you
remember that movie, but anyways, all right, pleased as punch.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
I mean that kind of speaks for itself, does it
though?
Yeah, you're so happy aboutsomething, yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
I don't know what punch and judy is, but
apparently it's something and itrefers to punch from punch and
judy.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
It's some kind of doll, is that?
What it is um, I only know itin reference to the movie gone
girl which was that in there?
I don't remember that it waspart of like their scavenger
hunt.
There there was a Punch andJudy doll.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Oh shit, I didn't put that together.
But I don't know if they'redolls or, like their characters,
that in the movie they had themrepresented as dolls, I don't
know, I'm not sure, butbasically it refers to Punch,
from Punch and Judy, who wasconstantly violent, yet always
delighted, unhinged and happyenergy.
Yeah Is basically what it'ssaying so all right, so that is
(32:17):
a.
That concludes our rapid fire.
Wonderful, now I have one morefor you.
Okay.
One truth, two lies.
We've done this once before ohman I know, so I'm gonna give
you the idiom okay and I'm gonnagive you three options.
Okay, you have to guess whichone's right.
Done, all right, so, but yeah,so we've done one of these
(32:38):
before.
I thought it'd be fun to doanother rule of thumb.
Have you heard this before?
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
Do you know the answer?
Speaker 1 (32:46):
I think so.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Well, let's see if you do.
Okay.
Option A In medieval England itwas legal for a man to beat his
wife with a stick no thickerthan his thumb, hence the rule
of thumb Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Option B Carpenters often usedtheir thumbs to estimate inches.
Before precise rulers werewidely available, it became a
(33:08):
rough measuring standard.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Option C Scottish judges in the 1500s used thumbs
as units to measure the distancea criminal had to walk as
punishment Yikes Leading to theterm.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Which one do you got I'm?
Speaker 2 (33:28):
going to say A, a, huh, yes.
Well, you would be wrong.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
You know why I would say A.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Because man beat his wife.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Because there is a reference to it in Boondock
Saints at the very beginning.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
When they said rule, they were the brothers were
teaching a new hire how to workthe meat plant of some kind.
Yeah, and he said, well, ruleof thumb, and she's like.
Men weren't supposed to beattheir wives with more than the
thickness of their thumb, that'swhere I got that.
That's wrong.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
It is wrong and it's funny.
You mentioned that.
I totally forgot about that.
But the funny thing is A it's amyth, a persistent myth that
basically people think iscorrect for that.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Do you think that's a what's that called Mandela
effect?
Speaker 2 (34:23):
No, it's literally a myth that people think that's
what rule of thumb means.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
I wonder where that came from History?
I'm not sure.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
Okay, so the other one was basically using using
your thumb as a ruler, which iscorrect.
That's the correct one yesthat's, that was going to be my
next right, yeah, my next answerI mean, the third one I came up
with was kind of ridiculous,because who's gonna measure how
many thumbs you're gonna walk toyour punishment?
Speaker 1 (34:52):
but I don't know, get your thumbs out to unit of
measure get your thumbs outeverybody.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
We got this, okay?
No, maybe not, but uh.
So those are the idioms I havefor you today.
Thank, you I hope you enjoyedsome of them I did um.
But if there's anything welearned today, that idioms are
completely absurd I mean, mostof them are, uh, but somehow
they're still around, uh,they're passed down like weird
(35:22):
hand-me-downs from history, evenif we've all forgotten where
they came from, because andthat's why we do these, because
we don't know, I don't knowwhere fucking most of these come
from and that's kind of why Ilike looking them up.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
I feel like I was bamboozled, Not an idiom but a
great word Bamboozled.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
I think we need to come up with something for that,
but that's probably what makesthem.
Last, though, is theirhistorical nonsense.
That we've just agreed makessense for the most part, but I
would like to say hopefully,anyone who gets it this far um,
if you have a favorite idiom youwant us to explore, or ruin,
for that matter, um, please sendit our way.
(36:09):
Uh, I like to, you know,sprinkle these in our episodes
from time to time.
Uh, and I, if I get enough ofthem again, um, cause I, like I
said, I exhausted most of mylist of them again, um, because
I, like I said, I exhausted mostof my list, so, which means I
have to fill up our episode.
Yes, so don't suck um, but if weget enough of them again, maybe
we'll do a part two.
Uh, similar to this um, downthe road, so perfect, um.
(36:29):
But like I said though, some ofthe ones I did in the rapid
fire because they were veryquick, brief explanations I
might do a little bit of adeeper dive into them in future
episodes, just to kind of learna little more about them,
because it was just a quicklittle thing for it, like who
Punch and Judy are.
Yeah, no, I totally forgot aboutthat, about Gone Girl, I do not
(36:52):
recall that at all, but nowthat you bring it up I'm like oh
yeah, that is, that is a thing.
So I don't know though, I'm notfamiliar and I'm old, so you
would think I would.
But uh, how was your beer?
Speaker 1 (37:07):
so good, I really like it.
It's not like a heavy ipa and,like I said, the the pineapple
is not strong, but it's on theback end good, yeah, and I
officially drank it all that'simpressive because normally you
don't get to.
Speaker 2 (37:22):
There's been like one or two that you have.
Glad I could help you finishyour beer, yes, so I hope you
had a little fun doing this.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
I did.
It was fun not having to domuch, particularly like the role
playing.
You had a little fun doing this.
I did it was fun Not having todo much.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Particularly liked the role playing.
Did you like those?
Yeah, it was fun.
Okay, good, I thought you mightenjoy those, especially because
you had me do a role play notthat long ago for Lizzie.
So I'm like that would be kindof fun to do again.
But obviously I wanted toinclude you on it, not just, you
know, tell you stuff.
Speaker 1 (37:57):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Yeah, so Anyways, welp, I suppose.
All right, buffoons, that's itfor today's episode.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
Buckle up, because we've got another historical
adventure waiting for you.
Next time Feeling hungry formore buffoonery, or maybe you
have a burning question or awild historical theory for us to
explore hit us up on socialmedia.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
We're history buffoons podcast on youtube x,
instagram and facebook.
You can also email us athistory buffoons podcast at
gmailcom.
We are bradley and kate.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
Music by cory acres follow us wherever you get your
podcasts and turn thosenotifications on to stay in the
loop until next time, staycurious and don't forget to rate
and review us.
Remember, the buffoonery neverstops.
oh, hey, there, oh, hey, there, I'm kate, and I'm
bradley this is the history ofmy food, and what did you say?
Speaker 2 (00:24):
you're not prepared.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
I'm not prepared because I don't have a story.
And it's really weird.
My computer's not up.
It's sitting next to me butit's not up.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
It's sitting next to you because we're going to do
something a little differenttoday.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I feel like my hands need something to do.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Would you like to knit?
No, so this is a special originof weird and this is going to
be interesting because I'venever really done this before,
because usually I'm the one thatinteracts with kate's story
stories and, um, well, I thoughtto try something different.
(00:58):
So I am gonna try somethinghere and I hope this doesn't
suck, okay, so we like to throwidioms in from time to time.
Yes, yes.
Oh, I'm sorry, you can tell I'mnot used to driving this ship.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I held up our unopened beers as in don't
forget that we have a beer.
Stupid, this is so backwards Ifeel like this is never gonna
see the light of day.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
So I have, um the three sheeps, pineapple fresh
coast, because you've had theregular fresh coast and I loved
it yeah and this is a juicy paleale with pineapple I guess I
didn't realize there's a pale,ale same is that.
What all fresh?
Speaker 1 (01:49):
coasts are?
No, I don't think so oh,interesting.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
I guess I haven't had enough of their beers to know
what they are but uh, this oneis so three sheeps is in
sheboygan correct in wisconsin.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
yeah, I've been there , it's fun.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
And I have a pet skull brewing company.
And you said these are fromManitowoc, right yeah, I have a
Reducinate New England IPA.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
What's the difference between new?
What is it?
Indian IPA.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
No, it's not new Indian.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
New was just a misstep, but Indian Pale Ale, so
an IPA is a India pale ale.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
A new England one is just literally from, like our
new England area, okay, the Eastcoast.
Basically there's American paleales.
There's lots of variations.
So typically, if I'm notmistaken, if I'm remembering my
beer knowledge correctly, newengland ipas are a little more
on the juicier side, if I'm notmistaken, hence the name
(02:51):
reducinate correct.
Um.
So let's uh crack them open andsee what we got here.
Mine was a little sloppy you'regonna jump out you a little bit
cheers, cheers.
Oh, that's not bad.
That is on the juicier side Ithink I taste pineapple I mean,
I hope so.
(03:12):
It's a pineapple fresh coast.
It's super subtle is it really?
But it tastes really delicious,I say that's probably not a bad
thing.
I like, I love pineapple it'son the back end okay, sure, I
can see that like when I breathe, stop breathing like when I
allow it to like the leftoversto like sit in my mouth.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Sure, I guess the aroma, I don't know you give you
pick up the effervescence, noit's definitely on the back end,
but it's really good.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
I like it good I'm, I like it.
Good, I'm glad you like it.
Mine's rather quite tasty, somuch I'm going to take another
sip.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
I might actually get to finish a beer.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
I was going to ask do you need a backup beer?
I don't know.
I mean, we can always clap itout.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
I have that Modelo over there.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Why is it over there?
All right, all right, so umfrom time to time I burped
that's got to be not a first onthis podcast.
When we do our episodes,sometimes we like to throw in
idioms yes, yes, so um, I mighthave exhausted my entire list on
(04:21):
this episode seriously but Ithink it was worth it, oh my god
so what's our backup?
plan, look up more idioms ohokay, I'll get to that later too
kind of um, I thought it'd bekind of fun just to do a little
uh, I don't want to say a deeperdive because like so, basically
, I kind of broke it up into acouple sections for this episode
(04:43):
and I'm going to do a littledeep dive on a few of them.
I got another couple things todo with it and I thought it'd be
kind of fun to learn some moreidioms.
Basically, okay, and kind ofjust, I don't know, do something
a little different than whatwe're used to.
And I know you're thrown off asfuck right now.
I am and so am I because Ireally hope this isn't a shitty
(05:03):
episode as fuck right now, andso am I because I really hope
this isn't a shitty episodeanyways.
So both, basically, uh, mostidioms are quite ridiculous if
you think about it right.
So again, just for anyone whodoesn't know what an idiom is
idioms are those weird littlephrases that sound completely
normal until you stop and thinkabout them for five seconds.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Basically, they just make no sense, and like don't
put the the horse before thecart.
Yeah, don't put the cart beforethe horse.
I mean, usually you want thehorse before the cart but yes,
correct, but like, uh.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
So, for example, like like why are we letting cats
out of the bag?
Right, you know um who put themin there the first place
anyways, let the dogs sorry Like.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Why are we letting cats out?
Of the bag Right.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
You know, yeah, who put them in there in the first
place?
Who let the dogs in?
Sorry, that's part of it, I'llget to that.
Or why would you ever, you know, bite a bullet?
Basically?
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Bite the bullet Yep, yep, yep.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Yep, yep.
So I was kind of looking aroundstuff and I saw this kind of
quote thing and it says idiomsare like histories inside jokes.
Speaker 1 (06:07):
I like it, so do I.
I like it a lot.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
That's why I had to put that in there.
But some do have realhistorical roots.
Some are, you know, a completemystery where they came from,
basically, and pretty muchthey're all quite strange when
you actually look at what theyare.
They're all quite strange whenyou actually look at what they
(06:29):
are, um, so we're going to do alittle, a little deep dive and
see see, uh, how some make senseand some are just completely
weird.
Okay, so, uh, anyways, so theseare all ones that I haven't
done on the podcast before.
I believe, um, I'm pretty sureI haven't.
I have marked most of them, soif I do cover something that
(06:50):
we've done, I apologize, but andI know some of these, you've
given me some Nathan's given mesome, um, I've gotten some from
other people.
There's only two that I couldreally fully remember who I got
them from.
And the first one I literallygot and I was just talking to
you about this earlier somemovies I was watching and I I've
(07:11):
known of this, but I waswatching this movie the other
day and I'm like, and this kindof helped, you know, start off
this thought of doing thisepisode.
So I was watching the darknight and Bruce Wayne.
Uh, wayne is talking to LuciusFox and says I'm playing this
one close to the vest, oh yeah.
So the idiom and it varies isclose to the chest or close to
(07:33):
the vest, and I'll get into thata little bit.
But the idiom close to the chestagain also often said as close
to the vest, comes from theworld of card games.
Said is close to the best,comes from the world of card
games, particularly poker, and?
Uh has everything to do withstrategy, secrecy and not
tipping your hand.
Uh, literally and figuratively,basically.
But um, the origin of it isfrom, like I said, card games
(07:57):
and games like poker.
Keeping your cards hidden fromyour opponents is crucial.
If you hold them loosely oraway from your body, you risk
revealing your hand even if youdon't intend to.
Basically, so skilled playerswere advised to hold their cards
close to their vest or chest toavoid giving away any clues
about their strategy, look oremotions.
Vest was the more common termin the 19th century american
(08:22):
english and over time chessbecame an interchangeable and
slightly more modern soundingversion.
So bottom line is basicallyholding cards close to your body
equals keeping your intentionssecret and maintaining control.
Uh, the idiom evolved to applybeyond poker, uh, table.
The poker table, I should saysorry and now means to keep
(08:43):
information, plans or feelingssecret, revealing little to
others.
So, in like business, the CEOplayed it close to the chest
during negotiations inrelationships.
This is a quote when I foundactually I thought it was funny.
She's nice but she plays heremotions close to the chest,
hard to tell what she's reallythinking.
I thought that was funny so Ihad to include that one, um, or
(09:07):
in strategy.
You know he's got a plan buthe's keeping it close to the
chest for now.
So, uh, basically like why thisidiom kind of works in this
whole world is it comes from avisual, it is very visual.
If you think about a cardplayer holding his cards close
to his chest, you can literallypicture that in your brain.
(09:27):
It taps into the humanpsychology.
So the tension between sharingand withholding and applies
broadly between, like I said,business, politics, personal
life, sports, pretty much anytype of strategy, setting,
basically setting.
(09:48):
Basically.
So, like I said, vest versuschest, um, people always wonder
which one is correct.
Close to the vest istechnically the original, more
traditional phrasing, especiallyin american english.
Close to the chest is now justjust as common, if not more so
in casual.
So when I grew up grew up I'mstill growing up I always
thought it was close to thechest.
I never, and so the first timeI ever heard close to the vest,
(10:11):
I'm like did he say that wrong?
But no, it's.
They're interchangeable thesedays, but the original
apparently was best.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
It's like coming down the pike.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
People think it's pipe.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Correct, but it does say I did see language purists
might prefer vest, as it's theoriginal word used in the idiom,
but in modern conversation bothare widely accepted.
So first interactive part here.
Okay, I have a little rope,it's not, I guess, role play um.
(10:44):
So open your computer andobviously you'll read the red
parts okay all right, so I'mgonna set the mood here.
It was a smoky tuesday night inthe back room of club buffoons.
Hey, the stakes were high andeveryone at the table was
playing their cards close to thechest you gonna play?
Speaker 1 (11:04):
play that hand tough guy, or are you just here to
babysit your chips?
Speaker 2 (11:12):
I play when the time's right, not before, not
after.
Timing is everything.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
That's so, because from where I'm sitting, you're
all mystery and no action.
You've been sitting on thathand so long.
It's growing roots.
Speaker 2 (11:25):
I keep it close to the chest like a secret or a
disappointing Christmas gift.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Disappointing Christmas gift.
You mean close to the vest.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
Vest chest depends on if you're playing cards or
dressing for a 1920s gala.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
But eventually someone's got to lay their cards
on the table.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Not me, not today, anyway, so yeah.
So next time someone's notsharing much.
They're not being rude, they'rejust playing it close to the
chest, All right.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
So the next one I have comes from you, which is
jump the shark.
Speaker 1 (12:04):
Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:05):
All right.
So the idiom jump the shark hasone of the most specific and
pop culture based origins of anymodern expression.
It literally comes from aspecific episode of a TV show
and has since taken a life ofits own.
Um, so the origin is actuallyfrom.
Do you know where it came from?
Speaker 1 (12:25):
tv, like you said which show it does?
Is there a shark involved?
Yes, literally, literally is ashark involved and it's from a
show or a movie, tv show.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Oh flipper I mean, I like the guess um because that
was an old show, right?
Speaker 1 (12:48):
I think that was an old show.
Was that a TV show?
I?
Speaker 2 (12:50):
think so.
I think you're right.
I guess I don't recall.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
I don't know, I'm making that up Maybe A shark in
a TV show?
Yep.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
Ugh, it's quite ridiculous, honestly, and that's
why this whole thing kind ofstuck.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
It's older than Sharknado.
That's a movie, I guess.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Isn't there like 12 Sharknados by?
Speaker 1 (13:17):
now Did Jaws become a TV show that I don't know about
?
Nope.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Nope, I want to say it's around a similar time frame
, but no, it's not because ofJaws.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
Happy Days.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Oh, I've never seen it.
Speaker 2 (13:32):
You've never seen Happy.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Days?
No, there's a shark.
Happy Days.
Oh, I've never seen it.
You've never seen Happy Days.
No, there's a shark in HappyDays.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
You'll learn that, but you've never seen Happy Days
.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Not really.
I mean, I know who HenryWinkler is, who's.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Henry Winkler.
What's his character's name?
There is literally a statue ofhim in.
Milwaukee Happy, no, he wasDays.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
What, what, what.
What's his character?
Speaker 2 (13:59):
Fonzie.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:01):
Arthur Fonzarelli.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Sure sure, the Fonz, the Fonz yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
If you ever had a jukebox that stopped playing.
He fucking hits it and itstarts playing Magic.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
No, I've never watched it.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Alright.
So this phrase comes from theamerican sitcom happy days,
specifically season five,episode three, titled hollywood
part three.
Speaker 1 (14:21):
So great there it's called hollywood part three okay
, it aired in september of 1977.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Okay, so a short synopsis of it is.
In this episode, fonzie, playedby henryler who you just said.
Speaker 1 (14:34):
He's in Scream.
That's why I know him I wasjust going to say.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
That's why you know him.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
I love Scream.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
The super cool leather jacket wearing character
jumps over a shark on waterskis while still wearing his
leather jacket.
The show was trying to keepthings exciting and edgy but the
stunt came off as silly anddesperate even by late 70s TV
standards.
(15:10):
So the coining of the phrase,the actual idiom, his roommate
Sean Connolly, were talkingabout TV shows that had passed
their prime and Hine referred tothe shark jumping episode of
Happy Days as the exact momentthe show started its decline.
So they ran with that in thelate 1990s, which cataloged the
(15:30):
moments when TV shows supposedlybegan to go downhill.
The site became so popular thatit was sold to TV Guide in 2006
.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
That's awesome.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
So the modern meaning .
So today, jump the Shark meansthe moment when something that
was once popular or high qualitystarts to decline in quality,
often because it's trying toohard to stay relevant.
Yeah, so most notably for uh tvshows or franchises that
outlive their welcome and resortto gimmicks like sharknado 23
(16:03):
or whatever the fuck numberthey're at or mission impossible
for 45.
So I I disagree with that one.
They're pretty good.
You just aren't a huge TomCruise fan.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Yeah, I could take them or leave them.
I know Really leave them.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Or basically brands, artists or trends that do
something over the top or out ofcharacter for them, that
clearly signals it's past theirprime, basically.
So some examples the showreally jumped the shark when
they introduced the talking dog.
You know something stupid likethat, or whatever.
Or that band jumped the sharkafter their fourth album when
(16:38):
they started doing EDM remixesof polka songs.
Why it's stuck, though, and whypeople think it's such a
perfect idiom, is because it'svivid.
You can literally imagine a guyon water skis jumping over a
shark.
Even if you haven't seen theshow, you can now picture
something stupid.
Take a figure jump over a sharkon skis in a leather jacket.
(16:59):
It's tied to a real, traceablecultural moment, which Happy
Days was fucking huge back inthe day.
Pretty much, it describes aphenomenon that most everyone
recognizes, even if they don'thave a name for it.
Yeah, so that is Jump the Sharkwhich you I think mentioned to
me in like the last week or so,Something like that.
(17:21):
All right In, the.
Was it part one?
I think right, yeah, it waspart one of Lizzie.
I mentioned Road Hard and PutAway Wet.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
Yeah, the Lizzie Sear episode yep, part one.
Speaker 2 (17:37):
So, uh, that idiom comes from the world of horse
riding, which I've told youabout a little bit, um, and
horse care, and, like manyidioms, it evolved from a
literal practice to ametaphorical meaning over time.
So, in its original context,rode hard and put away wet
referred to poor treatment ofthe horse.
Basically, when a horse isridden hard, it sweats heavily
(18:00):
and becomes hot.
If the horse is put away wet,meaning pretty much you put it
in a stable without cleaning it,watering it down, whatever it
might be properly cooled down,basically it can become sick or
injured, and that's actually areal thing me having a horse
before, but yeah.
So basically, proper horse carerequires walking the horse
(18:22):
after a hard ride, allowing thehorse to cool down from very
vigorous activity, basicallyOver time.
Though this phrase was adoptedmetaphorically to describe a
person who appears exhausted,worn out or used up, kind of
like Lizzie Seard looked likeshe was what 29.
I think he said she lookedreally really old for 29,.
(18:45):
But basically, uh, you know, helooked like he'd been road hard
and put away wet.
Yeah, that's pretty much what Isaid about her too.
Basically, rode hard and putaway wet.
Yeah, that's pretty much what Isaid about her too.
Basically, it's mostly a jokeabout someone's appearance these
days and, uh, a lot of people,uh, just use it for I don't know
, not an attractive person kindof thing.
Good old horse riding.
(19:05):
So have you ever heard theidiom?
I kind of picked this onespecifically for you because of
your five cats.
Oh, okay, and I have cats too,but there's more than one way to
skin a cat.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
Yeah, I've heard that .
You've heard that before.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
Yeah, Hold on while I sip my beer.
You maul that one over.
So the idiom there's more thanone way to skin a cat means that
there's more than one way toaccomplish a task or solve a
problem.
It's about flexibility, problemsolving and the idea that if
one method doesn't work, you cantry another.
That phrase sounds prettygrisly at face value, so let's
(19:43):
break it down, break it down.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
No, keep going.
No, thanks, no, keep going.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
No thanks, no keep going, no thanks.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
No, keep going, no thanks.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
No, keep going.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
No thanks.
Speaker 2 (19:57):
Oh my God, that was fucking masterpiece.
All right, so the phrase isn'treally about cats, okay,
apparently.
So the cat part isn't literal,it's a metaphor.
Right In early centuries catsand other animals were sometimes
using, uh, used in idioms,because they were familiar to
(20:18):
everyone and people were waymore comfortable referencing
violent imagery than we are now,which sometimes I disagree with
that.
But either way, uh, it likelynever had anything to do with
people routinely skinning cats,but rather was an evocative way
of saying there are multipletechniques.
So early versions use differentwording.
(20:39):
Uh, the earliest known version,uh, doesn't even mention cats.
It's from 1678.
Wow, uh, john Ray, an Englishnaturalist I don't know what a
naturalist is, but anyways andcompiler of Proverbs wrote there
are more ways to kill a dogthan hanging.
So dogs were the first one,apparently, or at least the
(21:02):
first thing they can kind ofassociate with that.
Um, it wasn't until the 19thcentury that skin, skin a cat
version became widespread.
Century that skin, skin a catversion became widespread.
One of the earliest known usescomes from an 1840 work by
american humorist, sebastian gdoyle.
There are more ways than one toskin a cat, so he's the first
(21:24):
one that said it.
Basically, this version seemedto catch on, likely because of
its vivid and memorable phrasing.
People tend to remember weirdor striking impressions.
Like you talk about skinningone of your cats, you're like
what the fuck?
Yeah, you'd remember that,right.
So I thought this was kind ofweird.
But, um, it may have roots infishing or trapping terminology.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Yeah, I didn't really I'll tell you, there's more
than one way to scale a fish orto trap a fish.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Uh, some reachers, wow.
Some researchers speculate thatskinning a cat might refer to
catfish.
Oh, you like catfish?
I really do, I know which wereand are commonly eaten.
Catfish are notoriously hard toclean and prepare because of
their tough skin, and fishermendeveloped a number of techniques
(22:17):
to skin them.
So the phrase may have startedamong fishers as a literal
comment and evolved into ametaphor.
So this is kind of why theidiom stuck.
It's got graphic imagery Suredoes, sure does.
So that kind of makes itmemorable, right.
Speaker 1 (22:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Our brains remember things that are shocking, gross
or dramatic.
It's flexible.
You can use it in almost anyproblem-solving context Makes
sense, and I like this one,though it's got rhythm.
It's got rhythm.
The phrase is a nice flow andbalance that helps it endure.
I'm like all right.
I thought this was also funnyin some of my looking at this up
(22:59):
, modern sensitivities.
Nowadays people are more awareof animal cruelty and might find
the phrase off-putting, andbecause of that there's
alternatives.
Like this is so lame.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
There's more than one way to do it no you don't say I
was actually gonna say thatthere's more than one way to do
this more than one way to cracka nut.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
That sounds painful, and different strokes for
different folks.
Sometimes those are useddepending on your audience.
Basically All right, so I havewrote a scene.
Speaker 1 (23:44):
Do I get to open my computer again?
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Yeah, and you got to click on the part three one and
I'll set the scene when you'reready.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Ready.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
So I even gave you a name.
It's not just kate, you'replaying a character okay so to
set the scene, we're in a dark1800s parlor room.
Two people in waistcoatspercival and emma.
You're emma, I'm percival nothank you sit drinking tea.
Papers and diagrams are spreadout on the table.
A taxidermied cat sitsominously on a shelf, so I'll be
(24:18):
Percival here.
Now hear me out, emma.
What if we skin it from thetail up?
Speaker 1 (24:24):
Tail up.
Are you mad, Percival?
That's how my cousin lost athumb.
The tension builds near thehaunches.
It's madness.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Madness.
No, no, it's innovation.
Look if we don't find a new wayto skin a cat.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
The Royal Efficiency Society is going to reject our
grand proposal again.
Why can't we just inventsomething practical like a
steam-powered muffin warmer?
Speaker 2 (24:50):
Because, Emma, everyone is doing muffins, but
cat skinning Untapped market.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
You know, the idiom never said we had to actually
skin a cat.
It's metaphorical Percival Likedon't count your chickens.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
So I'm not supposed to count the chickens either,
and this is why the phrase stuck, because no matter what you're
doing, there's always anotherterrible way to go about it.
Wow, so that's the end of ourrole playing.
Thank you for participating.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
Absolutely, it's fun.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
So, anywho, that's the end of the deep diver, deep
diver, the deep dive on thoseparticular idioms.
So and I do even mention thisat the end, but I'll even say it
now we have another sectionhere and this is another
interactive part.
Okay, the ones I'm about to do,I may do a deeper dive on
(25:49):
episodes down the road, okay Ijust want to say that, so we are
going to do rapid fire idiomsoh, all, right, okay.
So I'll say the idiom Okay,kate, you will guess the meaning
.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (26:03):
All right, I'll let you know if you're correct and
then I'll give a very, very,like I said, short explanation
to each one that came from thebowels.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
That came from the depths, someone behind me I
don't see anyone scott free isit scott free or scotch free?
Speaker 2 (26:23):
scott, I was wondering scotch free is a
non-alcoholic drink scott freelike literally you got away with
something, um, withoutconsequences.
Evading punishment uh, comesfrom scott, meaning a tax, not
(26:44):
the country.
A what tax tax?
Yeah, all right, grasping atstraws um.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
The thing is, I know all these.
Maybe, Trying to come up withsomething when it's not super
easy to do.
Desperate, yeah, desperate.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Desperately trying something unlikely to work.
Yeah, you're grasping outstraws.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Nip it in the bud stop it before it starts
stopping a problem early, liketrimming a flower before it
blooms, which I thought that wasfunny, that that was the one of
the examples I found.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Uh, rhyme and reason there's no rhyme or reason.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
There's, there's no well, if you say no, then you
make it negative, but there'salso another way to look at it.
But it's clear logic orjustification.
Yeah, rhyme and reason.
So there's a rhyme and reasonto this, or there's no rhyme and
reason, obviously turning itaround.
Speaker 1 (27:46):
Yeah, there's justification and a reasoning.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Yep, yeah, wet my whistle.
Speaker 1 (27:52):
What I'm doing right now with my beer.
Have a drink.
Speaker 2 (27:56):
Whistle a slang for mouth, which I can't do, my
six-year-old son can.
Are you calling the birds?
No, okay, I like the cut ofyour jib.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
Is jib in reference to a dance.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
No.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
Or your outfit.
No personality.
No, because I would think likeI like the cut of your jib.
I like what you do, I like whoyou are, I like what you
represent I mean that that's.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
That's ultimately what it means yeah, yeah uh, but
it refers to the shape of aship's sail used to judge it
from afar.
So, like you could see a ship,you could see its jib and you
could tell what it is basicallyor who it was or whatever it was
.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
I like that.
I like that from afar, yeah,but not up close, head over
heels, you love, or?
Speaker 2 (29:00):
enjoy something so much, yeah, that your head over
heels you're it's supposed tomean falling in love?
Speaker 1 (29:03):
yeah, but originally described doing a somersault why
, like, I, get the somersault,but why did it change into?
Speaker 2 (29:11):
I've known of this one for obviously a long time.
I'm fucking old, like you liketo tell people.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
Cause there's, like there's something referencing
like a tea kettle too.
That's similar.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Is there.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Head over heels.
Speaker 2 (29:24):
I did not see that.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Something over spout or something I don't know.
Speaker 2 (29:28):
Ass over tea kettle.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Yeah, that's it.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Is that?
Speaker 1 (29:31):
it Maybe.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
I've never Heard the it was originally do doing a
somersault.
I'd never heard that before Ilooked this up.
Um, but I always thought likehead over heels was stupid,
because yeah, it's calledstanding up, but I never really
understood that.
But I knew what it meant, but Ijust like, let's, that's kind
of dumb.
But anyways.
So now you'll have to do adeeper dive on that one.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
We'll do a deeper dive on that one compared to the
tea kettle over ass over teakettle.
Speaker 2 (30:03):
Yeah yeah, Uh, dollars to donuts Um like a even
exchange of something.
Uh not quite.
Betting something valuableagainst something nearly
worthless a very confident wager.
So if you were going to like,if you knew for sure that
(30:25):
whatever was going to win youwould bet a thousand dollars,
but you you would only bet, theperson you're betting against
would only have to bet a dollar,kind of thing, cause you knew
you were going to fucking win,kind of scenario, something like
that, down to brass tacks.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Oh, I don't know that one.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Getting to the core of a matter, the origin is
unclear, possibly furniturerelated.
Speaker 1 (30:48):
French related.
Speaker 2 (30:49):
Furniture, furniture, yeah, not French.
In a nutshell, that's fromnathan in a nutshell um,
basically something, a largeconcept kind of broken down into
like a quick yeah, a very briefsummary, summary it goes back
to ancient texts said to fitentire stories in tiny
(31:10):
containers, and it's funnybecause when nathan sent me that
one, I send him back the back,the Austin Powers gift.
That is him, in a nutshell,like I don't know if you
remember that movie, but anyways, all right, pleased as punch.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
I mean that kind of speaks for itself, does it
though?
Yeah, you're so happy aboutsomething, yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
I don't know what punch and judy is, but
apparently it's something and itrefers to punch from punch and
judy.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
It's some kind of doll, is that?
What it is um, I only know itin reference to the movie gone
girl which was that in there?
I don't remember that it waspart of like their scavenger
hunt.
There there was a Punch andJudy doll.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
Oh shit, I didn't put that together.
But I don't know if they'redolls or, like their characters,
that in the movie they had themrepresented as dolls, I don't
know, I'm not sure, butbasically it refers to Punch,
from Punch and Judy, who wasconstantly violent, yet always
delighted, unhinged and happyenergy.
Yeah Is basically what it'ssaying so all right, so that is
(32:17):
a.
That concludes our rapid fire.
Wonderful, now I have one morefor you.
Okay.
One truth, two lies.
We've done this once before ohman I know, so I'm gonna give
you the idiom okay and I'm gonnagive you three options.
Okay, you have to guess whichone's right.
Done, all right, so, but yeah,so we've done one of these
(32:38):
before.
I thought it'd be fun to doanother rule of thumb.
Have you heard this before?
Speaker 1 (32:44):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (32:45):
Do you know the answer?
Speaker 1 (32:46):
I think so.
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Well, let's see if you do.
Okay.
Option A In medieval England itwas legal for a man to beat his
wife with a stick no thickerthan his thumb, hence the rule
of thumb Mm-hmm.
Okay.
Option B Carpenters often usedtheir thumbs to estimate inches.
Before precise rulers werewidely available, it became a
(33:08):
rough measuring standard.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Option C Scottish judges in the 1500s used thumbs
as units to measure the distancea criminal had to walk as
punishment Yikes Leading to theterm.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Which one do you got I'm?
Speaker 2 (33:28):
going to say A, a, huh, yes.
Well, you would be wrong.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
You know why I would say A.
Speaker 2 (33:34):
Because man beat his wife.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Because there is a reference to it in Boondock
Saints at the very beginning.
Speaker 2 (33:44):
Oh.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
When they said rule, they were the brothers were
teaching a new hire how to workthe meat plant of some kind.
Yeah, and he said, well, ruleof thumb, and she's like.
Men weren't supposed to beattheir wives with more than the
thickness of their thumb, that'swhere I got that.
That's wrong.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
It is wrong and it's funny.
You mentioned that.
I totally forgot about that.
But the funny thing is A it's amyth, a persistent myth that
basically people think iscorrect for that.
Speaker 1 (34:20):
Do you think that's a what's that called Mandela
effect?
Speaker 2 (34:23):
No, it's literally a myth that people think that's
what rule of thumb means.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
I wonder where that came from History?
I'm not sure.
Speaker 2 (34:38):
Okay, so the other one was basically using using
your thumb as a ruler, which iscorrect.
That's the correct one yesthat's, that was going to be my
next right, yeah, my next answerI mean, the third one I came up
with was kind of ridiculous,because who's gonna measure how
many thumbs you're gonna walk toyour punishment?
Speaker 1 (34:52):
but I don't know, get your thumbs out to unit of
measure get your thumbs outeverybody.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
We got this, okay?
No, maybe not, but uh.
So those are the idioms I havefor you today.
Thank, you I hope you enjoyedsome of them I did um.
But if there's anything welearned today, that idioms are
completely absurd I mean, mostof them are, uh, but somehow
they're still around, uh,they're passed down like weird
(35:22):
hand-me-downs from history, evenif we've all forgotten where
they came from, because andthat's why we do these, because
we don't know, I don't knowwhere fucking most of these come
from and that's kind of why Ilike looking them up.
Speaker 1 (35:32):
I feel like I was bamboozled, Not an idiom but a
great word Bamboozled.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
I think we need to come up with something for that,
but that's probably what makesthem.
Last, though, is theirhistorical nonsense.
That we've just agreed makessense for the most part, but I
would like to say hopefully,anyone who gets it this far um,
if you have a favorite idiom youwant us to explore, or ruin,
for that matter, um, please sendit our way.
(36:09):
Uh, I like to, you know,sprinkle these in our episodes
from time to time.
Uh, and I, if I get enough ofthem again, um, cause I, like I
said, I exhausted most of mylist of them again, um, because
I, like I said, I exhausted mostof my list, so, which means I
have to fill up our episode.
Yes, so don't suck um, but if weget enough of them again, maybe
we'll do a part two.
Uh, similar to this um, downthe road, so perfect, um.
(36:29):
But like I said though, some ofthe ones I did in the rapid
fire because they were veryquick, brief explanations I
might do a little bit of adeeper dive into them in future
episodes, just to kind of learna little more about them,
because it was just a quicklittle thing for it, like who
Punch and Judy are.
Yeah, no, I totally forgot aboutthat, about Gone Girl, I do not
(36:52):
recall that at all, but nowthat you bring it up I'm like oh
yeah, that is, that is a thing.
So I don't know though, I'm notfamiliar and I'm old, so you
would think I would.
But uh, how was your beer?
Speaker 1 (37:07):
so good, I really like it.
It's not like a heavy ipa and,like I said, the the pineapple
is not strong, but it's on theback end good, yeah, and I
officially drank it all that'simpressive because normally you
don't get to.
Speaker 2 (37:22):
There's been like one or two that you have.
Glad I could help you finishyour beer, yes, so I hope you
had a little fun doing this.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
I did.
It was fun not having to domuch, particularly like the role
playing.
You had a little fun doing this.
I did it was fun Not having todo much.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Particularly liked the role playing.
Did you like those?
Yeah, it was fun.
Okay, good, I thought you mightenjoy those, especially because
you had me do a role play notthat long ago for Lizzie.
So I'm like that would be kindof fun to do again.
But obviously I wanted toinclude you on it, not just, you
know, tell you stuff.
Speaker 1 (37:57):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Yeah, so Anyways, welp, I suppose.
All right, buffoons, that's itfor today's episode.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
Buckle up, because we've got another historical
adventure waiting for you.
Next time Feeling hungry formore buffoonery, or maybe you
have a burning question or awild historical theory for us to
explore hit us up on socialmedia.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
We're history buffoons podcast on youtube x,
instagram and facebook.
You can also email us athistory buffoons podcast at
gmailcom.
We are bradley and kate.
Speaker 1 (38:28):
Music by cory acres follow us wherever you get your
podcasts and turn thosenotifications on to stay in the
loop until next time, staycurious and don't forget to rate
and review us.
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