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| In George Washington’s days, there were no cameras. One’s image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted Arms and legs are limbs, therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, “Alright, but it’ll cost you an arm and a leg." |
Ladies wore corsets which would lace up in the front. A tightly tied lace was worn by a proper and dignified lady as in “straight-laced.” |
In the late 1700s, many
houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly,
a long wide board was folded down from the wall and used for dining.
The “head of the household” always
sat in the chair while everyone else sat sitting on the floor or stayed standing.
Once in a while, a guest would be invited to sit in their chair during a
meal. This was a great honor. Hence
the term "Chair man." Later it became:
"Chairman of the Board" |
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Did you know that? |
As incredible as it
sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year - in May and December. Women kept their hair covered, while men very often shaved their heads
because of lice and bugs and they wore wigs made from wool. The wigs
couldn’t be washed, so to clean them they would carve out a load of bread,
put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The
heat would make the wig big and fully. Hence the term
“Big wig.” The term has become synonymous with
the wealthy and powerful. |
Tell your friends! |
| Needless to say, 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 the complexions.
When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another
woman’s face she was told to “mind your
own bee’s wax .” Should the woman
smile, the wax would crack; hence the term
“Crack a smile.” |
Isn't this stuff Fun! |
Common entertainment
included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing
playing cards, but only applicable to the “Ace of Spaces.”
To avoid paying the tax. People would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since
most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or
dumb because they weren’t “playing with a
full deck." |
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Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what was considered important to the people. Since there were no telephones, TV’s or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs and bars and were told to “go sip some ale, “ and listen to people’s conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. ‘You go sip here’ and ‘you go sip there.’ The two words go sip were eventually combined with referring to the local opinions and we have the term "gossip!” |