You may have never heard of some of the origins of certain "sayings" in the English language. I hadn't! Enjoy! Pauline (from Paulinesfashions on ETSY)
(Click on the pictures to see how you can purchase one of your very own.)
In the late 1700's, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The 'head of the household' always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the 'chair man.' Today in business, we use the expression or title 'Chairman' or 'Chairman of the Board..'
Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, 'mind your own bee's wax.' Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term 'crack a smile'. In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . Therefore, the expression 'losing face.'
5 comments:
Now I know why they never smiles in pictures!! LOL! This is just the most interesting feature!!
I've learned some things as well by reading these. Very interesting to me. I've heard my grandparents and parents use all these expressions. Nice to know how they began.:)
These are great Pauline. I really love reading them. So interesting where these sayings, that we still use today, came from.
I love this Pauline -- you are quite the blogger :) We are all getting smarter and loving it!
These are fascinating and funny! Who would ever guess this is where the origins of those phrases come from!
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