"Tie the Knot" & "Blackballed" and the Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions

On this episode of Our American Stories, Andrew Thompson shares another slice of his guide to understanding the baffling mini-mysteries of the English language. His book is Hair of the Dog to Paint the Town Red: The Curious Origins of Everyday Sayings and Fun Phrases. This time, Andrew explores the backstories of phrases like “tie the knot” and “blackballed,” among others.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
And we continue with our American stories. Up next, we
continue with our recurring series about the curious origins of
everyday scenes. Here to join us again is Andrew Thompson
as he continues to share another slaves from his Ultimate
Guide to Understanding the stories the Mysteries of the English language.

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

Speaker 2 (00:35):
To tie the knot means to get married, and that
expression began with early wedding ceremonies during the times of
the Roman Empire. The bride wore a girdle that was
tied with knots that would be untied by the groom.
Then the custom grew to actually tie the couple's hands
together as part of the ceremony. None as hand fasting.
The Celtics had a singilar ritual whereby the hands of

(00:57):
the bride and groom were tied together for a duration
of one year year plus one day in order for
the marriage to be legal. The couple promised to stay
together for this length of time as part of their
marriage contract, and a couple could not be married without
tying the knot. To be blackballed means to be voted
against or someone who is not acceptable or is an outcast,

(01:18):
and that expression derives from the London's Gentlemen clubs of
the eighteenth century. New applications for membership of those clubs
was assessed by a ruling committee and then put to
members for a secret vote. Every existing member of the
club was able to vote, and the votes were cast
by placing either a white or a black ball into
a container. White balls meant acceptance and black balls meant projection.

(01:40):
One single black ball was enough for the application to fail,
but nobody ever knew which members were in opposition. But
if one black ball was in there, you were black balled.
To double cross means to betray, and it's usually done
by a previous partner. There's a bit of conjecture about
the origins of this expression, likely began from the eighteenth

(02:01):
century London bounty hunter named Jonathan Wilde. Wild had a
monopoly on crime at the time, and he kept meticulous
records of all criminals he did business with, paying for
information that advanced his extensive network. If any criminal on
the list displeased Wild in any way, he would place
a cross next to his name in the book of Thieves.

(02:22):
A second cross meant that the criminal had outlived his usefulness,
and Wild would turn him into the authorities and claim
the reward. Wild himself was actually eventually betrayed and was
hanged in seventeen twenty five. Toe the line means to
abide by the rules or submit to authority, and it's
got political origins from the British House of Commons. To

(02:42):
deter members of opposing parties from attacking each other, two
parallel red lines were marked on the floor. The lines
were two sword lengths apart, and the members were required
to stand behind their respective lines at all times. If
any member did cross the line and approach the other party,
he was ordered to retrietat and tow the lion. The
lines actually still exist in the Parliament today and the

(03:04):
tradition remains, although nobody carries the swords. Touch and go
means a risky or precarious situation, and it's another expression
that drives from the sea. When going over shallow water,
a ship's keel might clip a reef or a sea bed.
If luck is on the captain's side, the ship may

(03:25):
avoid disaster and move on unaffected. Instead of being completely
run aground, it might touch and go. The saying was
used first in the eighteen hundreds in the Sailor's Word book.
To turn a blind eye means to knowingly ignore a
situation of fact or reality, and it started with the

(03:45):
British naval Admiral Horatio Nelson. Nelson had one blind eye,
and during the eighteen o one Battle of Copenhagen, Nelson
and his superior to Hyde Parker disagreed over the tactics
in fighting the Largeish Norwegian fleet. At one point, Parker
center signal by way of flags for Nelson to disengage

(04:06):
from the battle, but Nelson was confident he could win.
He deliberately held his telescope up to his bad eye
and said, I really do not see the signal. He
continued the attack and actually secured a decisive victory. To
turn the corner means to pass a critical point after
difficult time, or to begin to recover, and it relates

(04:27):
to two treacherous oceanic corners, the Cape of Good Hope
of the southern tip of Africa and Cape Horn at
the bottom of South America. At both of these capes,
two oceans collide, and the seas are violent and dangerous.
He was always a worrying time when early sailing ships
had to negotiate these rough waters, but once the ships
had turned the corner, the sailors knew that they were

(04:49):
in for some calm sailing. To turn the tables means
to reverse a situation and gain the upper hand, and
it began with the game of backgammon in the early
seventeenth century. The game in England was known as tables,
and the two halves of the playing board are still
called tables today. At that time, though, there was a
rule that allowed the players to turn the tables. This

(05:11):
involved reversing the board so that the players would continue
from their opponent's previous position. The phrase then began being
used figuratively from the early sixteen hundreds. To be two
faced means to be hypocritical, and it has its origins
in Roman mythology. Janus was the Roman god of beginnings

(05:32):
and transitions, and consequently gate stores and passages. He was
responsible for the gates of heaven and was depicted as
having two faces, one at the front of his head
and one at the back. This gave him the ability
to look to the future and into the past, and
see both directions at once. The legend of Janus led
Romans to believe that anyone who held opposing views simultaneously.

(05:54):
Was also two faced. Under the weather means to fear well,
and it's got seafaring origins as well. Seasickness was a
major problem in the early days of sailing before medication
was invented to combat it. The element was obviously particularly
bad in times of rough seas and bad weather, when
the ship would move about more violently. The greatest sway

(06:17):
on a ship is on the deck, and the most
stable place is underneath, near the keel. If a sailor
became ill, he was sent down below to recover under
the deck and under the weather.

Speaker 1 (06:30):
And a terrific job on the production editing and storytelling
by our own Greg Hangler, and a special thanks once
again Andrew Thompson. The curious origins of everyday sayings, So
many of them, as we discussed and have discussed, are
nautical terms, turn the corner, touch and go, Touch and
go just makes so much sense once you hear about

(06:52):
how that saying came to be. Terrific storytelling about phrases
we use each and every day, So many of them
from an auticle origins, so many from British origins, and
then a good deal from American origins too, the story
of everyday sayings here on Our American Stories lihabib here

(07:30):
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(07:51):
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