Some American Expressions
Content
Some American expression
Over the years english idiom developed and then acquired some singular and unique expressions, most of them with interesting origins. Here are some of them.
1. High on the hog: mean luxurious, prosperous; for example, if someone has an easy life, a lot of money and do everything s/he wants you could say that s/he is living high on the hog. The expression refers to the upper parts of a hog, suposed to be the tastiest part of it. 2. Pull the wool over someone’s eyes: mean to fool someone; for example, if someone was trying to cheat your friend you would probably tell your friend to don’t trust the person because s/he is trying to pull the wool over his/her eyes. The expression was born in the 19th century, but it refers to the customs of 16th and 17th centuries, when was comum to see everybody wearing woolen wigs, so if you pulled the woolen wig over someone’s eyes, the person wouldn’t be able to see clearly. 3. Let the cat out of the bag: mean to disclose a secret, reveal the truth; for example if you and your friends were doing a surprise party to someone and one of your friends tell about the party to that person you would say that s/he let the cat out of the bag. The origin of this expression is that in the old England people used to try to sell a cat inside a bag suposing that was a pig, but if the customer ask to see the pig before buying it, the seller would show the cat and the customer would know the truth. 4. Caught red-handed: mean to be caught in the act of doing something, that usually you would prefer that no one see you doind, for example, if you betray your girlfriend/boyfriend and someone see you doing it s/he could say that caught you red-handed. The origin remits to the old times, when a person murder someone and the blood of the victim in her/his hand. 5. Lay an egg: mean to fail. The expression began because when you fail to score, you get a zero, that looks like an egg. 6. Speak of the devil: when you mention someone and this person appears. Once people actually believed that devel could be summon by saying his name, but nowadays it’s just a joke. 7. Something fits to a “T”: mean that it fits perfectly. It was a reference to the T-square, that is used to draw parallel angles and lines. 8. Read between the lines: to understand a hidden meaning. In the 16th century was common to send messages in code, so if you want to read them you shouldn’t read exactly the lines, but “between” them. 9. Upper crust: mean elite, top. The origin was in the Middle Ages, the bread should be offered to highest-level nobility and royal before it was offered to the others, this way the highest-level nobility and royal would get the “upper crust” of the bread. 10. Long in the tooth: mean old. This expression in the begining was used to refer of horses age, because their gums recede as they were getting old, giving the impression that their teeth were getting longer, so as older the horse, longer the teeth were.
Over the years english idiom developed and then acquired some singular and unique expressions, most of them with interesting origins. Here are some of them.
1. High on the hog: mean luxurious, prosperous; for example, if someone has an easy life, a lot of money and do everything s/he wants you could say that s/he is living high on the hog. The expression refers to the upper parts of a hog, suposed to be the tastiest part of it. 2. Pull the wool over someone’s eyes: mean to fool someone; for example, if someone was trying to cheat your friend you would probably tell your friend to don’t trust the person because s/he is trying to pull the wool over his/her eyes. The expression was born in the 19th century, but it refers to the customs of 16th and 17th centuries, when was comum to see everybody wearing woolen wigs, so if you pulled the woolen wig over someone’s eyes, the person wouldn’t be able to see clearly. 3. Let the cat out of the bag: mean to disclose a secret, reveal the truth; for example if you and your friends were doing a surprise party to someone and one of your friends tell about the party to that person you would say that s/he let the cat out of the bag. The origin of this expression is that in the old England people used to try to sell a cat inside a bag suposing that was a pig, but if the customer ask to see the pig before buying it, the seller would show the cat and the customer would know the truth. 4. Caught red-handed: mean to be caught in the act of doing something, that usually you would prefer that no one see you doind, for example, if you betray your girlfriend/boyfriend and someone see you doing it s/he could say that caught you red-handed. The origin remits to the old times, when a person murder someone and the blood of the victim in her/his hand. 5. Lay an egg: mean to fail. The expression began because when you fail to score, you get a zero, that looks like an egg. 6. Speak of the devil: when you mention someone and this person appears. Once people actually believed that devel could be summon by saying his name, but nowadays it’s just a joke. 7. Something fits to a “T”: mean that it fits perfectly. It was a reference to the T-square, that is used to draw parallel angles and lines. 8. Read between the lines: to understand a hidden meaning. In the 16th century was common to send messages in code, so if you want to read them you shouldn’t read exactly the lines, but “between” them. 9. Upper crust: mean elite, top. The origin was in the Middle Ages, the bread should be offered to highest-level nobility and royal before it was offered to the others, this way the highest-level nobility and royal would get the “upper crust” of the bread. 10. Long in the tooth: mean old. This expression in the begining was used to refer of horses age, because their gums recede as they were getting old, giving the impression that their teeth were getting longer, so as older the horse, longer the teeth were.
