Origins of Expressions

  Plain Sailing  Watch this on YouTube here - Nautical Video - YouTube Video Meaning: Plain Sailing means to be an untroubled task or easy. it is a nautical term that means the sailing is easy and uncomplicated. Origin: This phrase started out many years ago when the majority of people thought the earth was flat, and not round. The term was used a “Plane Sailing,” to represent the ocean being flat, so a route from one place to another did not take in the curvature of the planet, instead, it was a flat plane ocean. Now we spell it “Plain” in the sense of ordinary and uncomplicated. This way of writing shows that a task will be easy or uncomplicated. The first written record of this phrase uses the term plain as in ordinary and was in 1683 by Adam Martindale in A Collection of Letters for Improvement of Husbandry & Trade. It read: “A token for ship boys, plain-sailing made more plain and short than usually, in three particular methods.” Example: Today we still use plain sail...

  Piece of Cake Watch this on YouTube here - Dessert Video - YouTube Video Meaning: Piece of Cake means A straightforward task that can easily be accomplished. An easy chore, A no-hassle task  “Ahh, piece of cake.” Origin: There is another expression similar to this one that goes ‘as easy as pie.’ -But that's another video - Both sayings have identical meanings—they express ease, but why? It probably doesn’t have to do with the cooking part of these desserts, because baking a cake or pie requires a fair bit of work. First, you have to buy all of the ingredients. Then you have to make it by mixing all the necessary parts together. Then it has to be made up and put in the oven, and you wait for it to cook. Okay, it’s not exactly difficult, but I wouldn’t say it’s easy either. I am not so sure the origin of this idiom comes from the baking of the cake . However, eating the cake once it finishes cooking, now that is a different story that is way ...

  Powder My Nose  Watch this on YouTube here - Noses Video - YouTube Video Meaning: Powder My Nose means a woman wants to visit the bathroom to use the toilet, to reapply makeup, or to have a private conversation with other women.  “Excuse me while I powder my nose.” Origin: OK, so are you asking where did this phrase come from? The powder room was the place in an eighteenth-century home where someone went to refresh the powder on their wig. It was also referred to as a powder closet or wig closet, usually in a  location that was convenient for guests to use without going into the private areas of the home. Even after wigs fell out of fashion, the powder closet was still used as a station to freshen one’s appearance and to powder one's, umm, awkwardly shiny nose. As time went on the powder chair was replaced with chamber pots and washing basins, and later toilets and sinks — the modern form we use today.  The Victorians, known for their genteel verbal...

  Prince Charming Watch this on YouTube here - Royalty YouTube Video Prince Charming I know, this one sounds too funny to be a phrase but more like a cartoon character. But prince charming has some great history about how it started, and no it is not from a mouse-loving cartoonist who loves seeing damsels in distress being rescued. Meaning: Prince Charming is often portrayed as a handsome and romantic male character who acts as a hero and saves a female from a bad situation. It can also be used as a term to idealize a man that someone sees as a future husband or lover. Ooh, isn’t he a prince charming? Example Sentence: “I'd almost given up hope of ever finding my own Prince Charming before I met you!” Origin: This phrase did not start out as prince charming, but instead, it was converted over time. Charles Perrault 's version of  Sleeping Beauty , published in 1697, it includes the following text, thi...