April 24, 2025 • 14 mins
Ever wonder why we “bite the bullet,” “spill the beans,” or “break the ice”? In this episode, we take a deep dive into the fascinating history behind the common phrases we use every day. From ancient rituals to quirky historical moments, you’ll be amazed at the stories hidden in plain sight. Tune in to discover how language evolves and the surprising ways history influences the words we speak!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi, I'm Robin and I'm Chris together. We're the Gen X couple
(00:23):
Hey guys take one hello everyone
We got it on the first take last week too. Let's see. I hope I didn't just jinx us
Hey, welcome back to the Gen X couple and today we're gonna talk about things you didn't know you wanted to know
Well, that's right
Have you ever wondered why we let the cat out of the bag or what we mean when we say something costs an arm and a leg?
(00:45):
Well, we're gonna uncover the fascinating funny and downright bizarre origins of common phrases that you use every day
Yeah, you might not know it but your vocabulary is full of history mystery and a little bit of absurdity
So buckle up because we're gonna drive down the rabbit hole of the meaning of everyday phrases
See what I did there. No because you said drive down the rabbit hole
(01:09):
But I think you meant dive down the rabbit which well, maybe driving down could be a new phrase
Maybe I did right here, but well anyway since you brought up the phrase down the rabbit hole
See, I just omitted the diving and driving part completely
So the phrase down the rabbit hole we might as well just start with that one, right?
(01:30):
So the phrase down the rabbit hole comes from Lewis Carroll's
1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Yeah, you know that story in the story
Alice follows the white rabbit and falls into a deep rabbit hole
Which leads her to the bizarre and surreal world of Wonderland
Originally the phrase simply referred to entering a strange or unexpected situation and over time
(01:52):
It's evolved especially with the internet to describe getting deeply absorbed in something like watching hours of conspiracy theory videos
Or researching random topics way longer than you intended to and the next phrase
Don't look a gift horse of the mouth
Comes from the practice of examining a horse's teeth to determine its age and overall health
(02:15):
When someone gifted you a horse in the past it was considered rude or
Ungrateful to inspect its mouth to check the quality of the gift after all you weren't paying for it
The phrase likely originated in the fourth or fifth century and is attributed to
I just stumbled over my words it's attributed to Saint Jerome who used a similar Latin expression in one of his letters. I
(02:42):
Wasn't gonna I don't know if I should even pronounce this no Lee equi
Denties
Inspiracy denati. I hope I didn't just summon a demon and that roughly translates to never inspect the teeth of a given horse
It became part of English usage later solidifying its place in idiomatic history
Today it's a way of saying be thankful for what you're given without questioning its value
(03:07):
So next time someone gives you a gift maybe skip the quality check even if it's not a horse
Hmm I
Just lost my place in my notes, but no I found it. I found it. I found it this next phrase sounds
Painful bite the bullet you guys have heard that if someone tells you to bite the bullet
They're basically saying suck it up and deal with it
(03:29):
But why a bullet couldn't it be like bite the cupcake or something a little bit less terrifying?
Well back in the day like the really old days of battlefield surgeries anesthesia wasn't always available
So soldiers were told to literally bite down on a bullet during surgery to deal with the pain
Yes, the alternative to pain killers was dental work
Now the next time someone tells you to bite the bullet you can say no thanks. I'll take Advil
(03:55):
Luckily today. We don't have to resort to chewing on ammunition to get through tough situations
Imagine showing up to a dentist office and they're like we're out of no no became but here's a bullet. Good luck. Oh my god
And how about the phrase break the ice when you hear you someone say say let's break the ice
It's usually in the context of an awkward small talk, right?
(04:19):
Like at a network event where anyone's clinging to the coffee cups like life rafts
Yeah, that sounds like my worst nightmare
But the friends actually comes from shipping and the old days ships stuck in frozen waters
Would need ice breakers to well break the ice so that they could move forward
So in a way breaking the ice at a party is like getting past the frosty small talk to make some actual connections
(04:43):
Unless of course someone tells a really bad joke and then the ice just gets
If you ever stayed up late cramming for a test or binge watching your favorite show you've burned the midnight oil
Mm-hmm, and this phrase dates back to the days when people used oil lamps for light
Burning the oil meant working late into the night today. We don't need oil lamps
(05:06):
We have Netflix and energy drinks. Thank God, but that the idea is the same staying up late doing something important
Or let's be honest completely unnecessary. Yeah, that's more like it
Have you ever spilled a secret? That's letting the cat out of the bag
This phrase actually dates back to medieval markets
(05:26):
Vendors would often sell live pigs in sacks
But some sneaky sellers would swap out the pigs for a much less valuable and much more disgruntled cat
When the buyer opened the bag and let the cat out the scam was revealed
So today when we accidentally reveal a secret we say we've let the cat out of the bag
I'm just imagining those poor medieval cats thinking I didn't sign up for this
(05:49):
So the next time you blurt out a surprise party plan that just blame the sneaky medieval farmers
Now how about raining cats and dogs?
Spoiler alert it has nothing to do with pets falling from the sky
This one sounds like something straight of a dr. Seuss book, doesn't it?
One popular theory is that the phrase originated in
(06:12):
17th century England where poorly designed roofs could not could one stand heavy rain and during storms stray animals
Taken shelter and the rafters would sometimes fall through making it literally rain cats and dogs
But another theory ties it to the north Norse mythology
(06:32):
Where cats symbolize storms and dogs symbolize when?
Either way it makes our weather reports sound a lot more dramatic today's forecast
Partly cloudy with a 70% chance of Labanors. I could have it rain Marsh though
Yeah, I would okay if it rain cats and dogs. I mean that sounds like a dream to me
(06:56):
I imagine all those little cute babies you get to pet
Anyway, let's move on before we get on the topic of Marsh
How about the bees knees the bees knees which what do you call it the bees geez you say something weird?
I don't even know why I love that phrase though. Well, you never even say it correctly
You say the bees geez and it's really the bees knees and that's a phrase that means something is excellent
(07:22):
Outstanding or of very high quality, but why bees do they even have knees?
This phrase comes this phrase became popular in the 1920s during the jazz age along with other whimsical expressions like the cats
pajamas and the elephant's eyebrows
This the origin is unclear
But it may have been inspired by the idea that the bees collected the best nectar on their knees
(07:45):
Even though they actually stored in their bodies
It could also just be a fun nonsense phrase that caught on and really have you ever seen a sad bee? No, nope
Now here's a phrase you probably used all the time rule of thumb
It means a general guideline, right?
But its origins are
Controversal one theory suggests it comes from an old law
(08:08):
They allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Yeah, Yikes, really
Thankfully that's been debunked the phrase likely comes from carpenters who use their thumbs for rough measurements
Let's stick with that explanation. It's way less horrifying. Yeah way less horrifying
(08:29):
Now here's one I say sometimes
Close but no cigar and this one takes us back to the carnival back in the day
Cigars were given as prizes for carnival games if you didn't quite hit the target you'd hear close
But no cigar today. We've swapped cigars for giant teddy bears
But the phrase has stuck around and honestly who wants a cigar over a giant stuffed panda really or seriously? Now
(08:53):
You've all heard the phrase saved by the bell
Mm-hmm. We all know that TV show too. I
have never seen an episode of saved by the bell and
I
Purposely didn't watch it in protest because that was the beginning of the end of Saturday morning cartoons
Yeah, that was like the first live
Action show that they put on a Saturday morning and I was infuriated so I've
(09:18):
Boy caught it have boy caught it. I will never see it the end of rent
I did not know that about you told you that
So if you if you ever escaped a tough situation just in time
You've been saved by the bell
But did you know this phrase might come from the Victorian England?
When people were terrified of being burned buried alive, they attached bells to coffins
(09:44):
So that if someone woke up they could ring it for help
Talk about a life and death situation. Yeah, we've heard that a few times on different ghost tours
We've gone on they've talked about how common it was for people to be buried alive
So they would attach bells
That like went down into the coffin that people could ring if they woke up. That's
Hardline very scary. Yeah, and do you want to talk about going on a wild goose chase? Sure
(10:11):
Shakespeare fans this one's for you
Wild goose chase first appeared in Romeo and Juliet it originally referred to a type of horse race where riders mimicked the
Unpredictable flight of a goose today
It's all about chasing something elusive or pointless like finding the TV remote when your shirts in the couch cushions
And there's then there's the phrase in a pickle
(10:34):
Which is another Shakespeare gym in the tempest being in a pickle referred to being in a difficult or confusing situation
And honestly pickles are kind of confusing are the cucumbers are the snacks are the side dishes
The answer is yes all of them above unless you're my youngest who hates pickles
(10:56):
He does hate pickles, but and yes was the correct answer pickles are delicious, and I will always take pickles always
Next up something that costs an arm and a leg is a term that we use to describe anything
That's ridiculously expensive like concert tickets
Avocado toast or let's be honest college tuition
(11:16):
One theory traces of this phrase back to the 18th century
Portrait painting back then it was common for artists to charge more for a full-body portrait
If you wanted your arms and legs included you were looking at a much heftier price tag
So leaving out those limbs wasn't just an artistic choice. It was a budget friendly one
Can you imagine commissioning a portrait and saying just head and shoulders, please? I got a safe for the groceries
(11:41):
Yeah
Here's a fun one the whole nine yards
It means going all out giving 100% but where does that number nine come in?
Is it football? No
Some say it originated during World War two where fighter pilots were given nine
Yard long ammunition belts if they used up the entire belt and battle they've given the whole nine yards
(12:07):
And another theory ties it to the fabric needed for custom-made Scottish kilt
Either way, I'll say the phrase delivers in style or firepower
The phrase don't spell the beans likely originated in ancient Greece and is thought to be tied to a voting system using beans
Kind of like that episode of the office where they were trying to decide who to
(12:31):
Oh, yes, raise to yes, and they put beans on the pictures. Anyways, I digress in some Greeks
city names members would I
I totally just messed that up. I had it in my outline and I read the wrong line
So let me start over and some Greek city states
Members would vote on important matters by placing a white bean which meant yes or a black bean which meant no into a jar
(12:56):
if someone accidentally or
Intentionally tipped over the jar revealing the beans the results of the vote would be prematurely disclosed essentially spilling the beans
Over time the phrase came to mean revealing a secret or letting out information before the appropriate time
While the exact historical connection is debated the Greek voting practice is most widely cited in
(13:17):
this origin story and
That's gonna do it for today folks
So the next time you spill the beans or find yourself on a wild goose chase
You'll know exactly where it came from and maybe impress a few friends along the way
So thanks for tuning in today, and we hope you enjoy these trivial facts
And don't forget to subscribe leave a review and tell your friends
(13:43):
Yeah, and if you have any that you're curious about be sure to send us an email
You know where to find us and we can include it maybe in a future episode
and
Next week we're gonna do part one of my favorite topic. You know how Chris gets so excited over marshmallow
I get so excited over Disney. So we've got a four-part series for
(14:08):
Disney for beginners
It's been very highly requested because most people who know what some real life know how into Disney we are
So we're gonna I broke it down. I have a very extensive bulleted
Outline to go over with you guys and we're looking forward to giving everyone our best tips to play in a Walt Disney World vacation
And until next time see you later alligator in a wild crocodile
Hi, I'm Robin and I'm Chris together. We're the Gen X couple
(00:23):
Hey guys take one hello everyone
We got it on the first take last week too. Let's see. I hope I didn't just jinx us
Hey, welcome back to the Gen X couple and today we're gonna talk about things you didn't know you wanted to know
Well, that's right
Have you ever wondered why we let the cat out of the bag or what we mean when we say something costs an arm and a leg?
(00:45):
Well, we're gonna uncover the fascinating funny and downright bizarre origins of common phrases that you use every day
Yeah, you might not know it but your vocabulary is full of history mystery and a little bit of absurdity
So buckle up because we're gonna drive down the rabbit hole of the meaning of everyday phrases
See what I did there. No because you said drive down the rabbit hole
(01:09):
But I think you meant dive down the rabbit which well, maybe driving down could be a new phrase
Maybe I did right here, but well anyway since you brought up the phrase down the rabbit hole
See, I just omitted the diving and driving part completely
So the phrase down the rabbit hole we might as well just start with that one, right?
(01:30):
So the phrase down the rabbit hole comes from Lewis Carroll's
1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Yeah, you know that story in the story
Alice follows the white rabbit and falls into a deep rabbit hole
Which leads her to the bizarre and surreal world of Wonderland
Originally the phrase simply referred to entering a strange or unexpected situation and over time
(01:52):
It's evolved especially with the internet to describe getting deeply absorbed in something like watching hours of conspiracy theory videos
Or researching random topics way longer than you intended to and the next phrase
Don't look a gift horse of the mouth
Comes from the practice of examining a horse's teeth to determine its age and overall health
(02:15):
When someone gifted you a horse in the past it was considered rude or
Ungrateful to inspect its mouth to check the quality of the gift after all you weren't paying for it
The phrase likely originated in the fourth or fifth century and is attributed to
I just stumbled over my words it's attributed to Saint Jerome who used a similar Latin expression in one of his letters. I
(02:42):
Wasn't gonna I don't know if I should even pronounce this no Lee equi
Denties
Inspiracy denati. I hope I didn't just summon a demon and that roughly translates to never inspect the teeth of a given horse
It became part of English usage later solidifying its place in idiomatic history
Today it's a way of saying be thankful for what you're given without questioning its value
(03:07):
So next time someone gives you a gift maybe skip the quality check even if it's not a horse
Hmm I
Just lost my place in my notes, but no I found it. I found it. I found it this next phrase sounds
Painful bite the bullet you guys have heard that if someone tells you to bite the bullet
They're basically saying suck it up and deal with it
(03:29):
But why a bullet couldn't it be like bite the cupcake or something a little bit less terrifying?
Well back in the day like the really old days of battlefield surgeries anesthesia wasn't always available
So soldiers were told to literally bite down on a bullet during surgery to deal with the pain
Yes, the alternative to pain killers was dental work
Now the next time someone tells you to bite the bullet you can say no thanks. I'll take Advil
(03:55):
Luckily today. We don't have to resort to chewing on ammunition to get through tough situations
Imagine showing up to a dentist office and they're like we're out of no no became but here's a bullet. Good luck. Oh my god
And how about the phrase break the ice when you hear you someone say say let's break the ice
It's usually in the context of an awkward small talk, right?
(04:19):
Like at a network event where anyone's clinging to the coffee cups like life rafts
Yeah, that sounds like my worst nightmare
But the friends actually comes from shipping and the old days ships stuck in frozen waters
Would need ice breakers to well break the ice so that they could move forward
So in a way breaking the ice at a party is like getting past the frosty small talk to make some actual connections
(04:43):
Unless of course someone tells a really bad joke and then the ice just gets
If you ever stayed up late cramming for a test or binge watching your favorite show you've burned the midnight oil
Mm-hmm, and this phrase dates back to the days when people used oil lamps for light
Burning the oil meant working late into the night today. We don't need oil lamps
(05:06):
We have Netflix and energy drinks. Thank God, but that the idea is the same staying up late doing something important
Or let's be honest completely unnecessary. Yeah, that's more like it
Have you ever spilled a secret? That's letting the cat out of the bag
This phrase actually dates back to medieval markets
(05:26):
Vendors would often sell live pigs in sacks
But some sneaky sellers would swap out the pigs for a much less valuable and much more disgruntled cat
When the buyer opened the bag and let the cat out the scam was revealed
So today when we accidentally reveal a secret we say we've let the cat out of the bag
I'm just imagining those poor medieval cats thinking I didn't sign up for this
(05:49):
So the next time you blurt out a surprise party plan that just blame the sneaky medieval farmers
Now how about raining cats and dogs?
Spoiler alert it has nothing to do with pets falling from the sky
This one sounds like something straight of a dr. Seuss book, doesn't it?
One popular theory is that the phrase originated in
(06:12):
17th century England where poorly designed roofs could not could one stand heavy rain and during storms stray animals
Taken shelter and the rafters would sometimes fall through making it literally rain cats and dogs
But another theory ties it to the north Norse mythology
(06:32):
Where cats symbolize storms and dogs symbolize when?
Either way it makes our weather reports sound a lot more dramatic today's forecast
Partly cloudy with a 70% chance of Labanors. I could have it rain Marsh though
Yeah, I would okay if it rain cats and dogs. I mean that sounds like a dream to me
(06:56):
I imagine all those little cute babies you get to pet
Anyway, let's move on before we get on the topic of Marsh
How about the bees knees the bees knees which what do you call it the bees geez you say something weird?
I don't even know why I love that phrase though. Well, you never even say it correctly
You say the bees geez and it's really the bees knees and that's a phrase that means something is excellent
(07:22):
Outstanding or of very high quality, but why bees do they even have knees?
This phrase comes this phrase became popular in the 1920s during the jazz age along with other whimsical expressions like the cats
pajamas and the elephant's eyebrows
This the origin is unclear
But it may have been inspired by the idea that the bees collected the best nectar on their knees
(07:45):
Even though they actually stored in their bodies
It could also just be a fun nonsense phrase that caught on and really have you ever seen a sad bee? No, nope
Now here's a phrase you probably used all the time rule of thumb
It means a general guideline, right?
But its origins are
Controversal one theory suggests it comes from an old law
(08:08):
They allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Yeah, Yikes, really
Thankfully that's been debunked the phrase likely comes from carpenters who use their thumbs for rough measurements
Let's stick with that explanation. It's way less horrifying. Yeah way less horrifying
(08:29):
Now here's one I say sometimes
Close but no cigar and this one takes us back to the carnival back in the day
Cigars were given as prizes for carnival games if you didn't quite hit the target you'd hear close
But no cigar today. We've swapped cigars for giant teddy bears
But the phrase has stuck around and honestly who wants a cigar over a giant stuffed panda really or seriously? Now
(08:53):
You've all heard the phrase saved by the bell
Mm-hmm. We all know that TV show too. I
have never seen an episode of saved by the bell and
I
Purposely didn't watch it in protest because that was the beginning of the end of Saturday morning cartoons
Yeah, that was like the first live
Action show that they put on a Saturday morning and I was infuriated so I've
(09:18):
Boy caught it have boy caught it. I will never see it the end of rent
I did not know that about you told you that
So if you if you ever escaped a tough situation just in time
You've been saved by the bell
But did you know this phrase might come from the Victorian England?
When people were terrified of being burned buried alive, they attached bells to coffins
(09:44):
So that if someone woke up they could ring it for help
Talk about a life and death situation. Yeah, we've heard that a few times on different ghost tours
We've gone on they've talked about how common it was for people to be buried alive
So they would attach bells
That like went down into the coffin that people could ring if they woke up. That's
Hardline very scary. Yeah, and do you want to talk about going on a wild goose chase? Sure
(10:11):
Shakespeare fans this one's for you
Wild goose chase first appeared in Romeo and Juliet it originally referred to a type of horse race where riders mimicked the
Unpredictable flight of a goose today
It's all about chasing something elusive or pointless like finding the TV remote when your shirts in the couch cushions
And there's then there's the phrase in a pickle
(10:34):
Which is another Shakespeare gym in the tempest being in a pickle referred to being in a difficult or confusing situation
And honestly pickles are kind of confusing are the cucumbers are the snacks are the side dishes
The answer is yes all of them above unless you're my youngest who hates pickles
(10:56):
He does hate pickles, but and yes was the correct answer pickles are delicious, and I will always take pickles always
Next up something that costs an arm and a leg is a term that we use to describe anything
That's ridiculously expensive like concert tickets
Avocado toast or let's be honest college tuition
(11:16):
One theory traces of this phrase back to the 18th century
Portrait painting back then it was common for artists to charge more for a full-body portrait
If you wanted your arms and legs included you were looking at a much heftier price tag
So leaving out those limbs wasn't just an artistic choice. It was a budget friendly one
Can you imagine commissioning a portrait and saying just head and shoulders, please? I got a safe for the groceries
(11:41):
Yeah
Here's a fun one the whole nine yards
It means going all out giving 100% but where does that number nine come in?
Is it football? No
Some say it originated during World War two where fighter pilots were given nine
Yard long ammunition belts if they used up the entire belt and battle they've given the whole nine yards
(12:07):
And another theory ties it to the fabric needed for custom-made Scottish kilt
Either way, I'll say the phrase delivers in style or firepower
The phrase don't spell the beans likely originated in ancient Greece and is thought to be tied to a voting system using beans
Kind of like that episode of the office where they were trying to decide who to
(12:31):
Oh, yes, raise to yes, and they put beans on the pictures. Anyways, I digress in some Greeks
city names members would I
I totally just messed that up. I had it in my outline and I read the wrong line
So let me start over and some Greek city states
Members would vote on important matters by placing a white bean which meant yes or a black bean which meant no into a jar
(12:56):
if someone accidentally or
Intentionally tipped over the jar revealing the beans the results of the vote would be prematurely disclosed essentially spilling the beans
Over time the phrase came to mean revealing a secret or letting out information before the appropriate time
While the exact historical connection is debated the Greek voting practice is most widely cited in
(13:17):
this origin story and
That's gonna do it for today folks
So the next time you spill the beans or find yourself on a wild goose chase
You'll know exactly where it came from and maybe impress a few friends along the way
So thanks for tuning in today, and we hope you enjoy these trivial facts
And don't forget to subscribe leave a review and tell your friends
(13:43):
Yeah, and if you have any that you're curious about be sure to send us an email
You know where to find us and we can include it maybe in a future episode
and
Next week we're gonna do part one of my favorite topic. You know how Chris gets so excited over marshmallow
I get so excited over Disney. So we've got a four-part series for
(14:08):
Disney for beginners
It's been very highly requested because most people who know what some real life know how into Disney we are
So we're gonna I broke it down. I have a very extensive bulleted
Outline to go over with you guys and we're looking forward to giving everyone our best tips to play in a Walt Disney World vacation
And until next time see you later alligator in a wild crocodile
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