Origins of Expressions

  Social Butterfly Watch this on YouTube here - Insect Video - YouTube Video Meaning: A Social Butterfly is a person who is social or friendly with everyone, flitting from person to person, the way a butterfly might.   “Well, aren’t they a social butterfly” Origin: This phrase started out much different than how we use it today. The 1837 quote states,  "He has too much goodness of heart to engage in the breaking of social butterflies upon the wheel of ridicule." The quote appears to be making reference to a famous saying by Alexander Pope, "Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?", found in the 1735 satirical poem,    Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot . Pope's reference to breaking a butterfly on a wheel alludes to the medieval practice of torturing people on a breaking wheel. "Breaking a butterfly on a wheel" would then be equivalent to an action that is so harsh or disproportionate that it becomes absurd. Back in the 1700s  "social butterflie...

  Shrinking Violet Watch this on YouTube here - Flower Video - YouTube Video Meaning: Shrinking Violet means A shy or modest person. Origin: This phrase is kind of funny, it is not a girl named violet that shrinks down in size, but instead a flower that discreetly recoils due to being shy. The Viola family of flowers includes violets and pansies, which are colorful socializers that seem just the opposite of shy. However, the phrase 'shrinking violet' was coined in the UK, The native English violet (also known as the wood violet) is,  a reclusive and understated flower. The first written record was from The Indicator in 1820 , where the poet Leigh Hunt drew attention to the modest wood violet: There was the buttercup, struggling from a white to a dirty yellow; and a faint-coloured poppy; and here and there by the thorny underwood a shrinking violet. This poem was talking about the flower and not a person, we have to move a bit more into the future to see the first account ...

  Sleep Tight Watch this on YouTube here - Sleep Video - YouTube Video Meaning: Sleep Tight means to sleep well, undisturbed. “Sleep tight” Origin: Sleep tight is quite a common phrase it's used in many parts of the English-speaking world. It's common at bedtime in the form of the rhyme "good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite". The one piece of this phrase that gets a lot of questions is the word tight, there are several theories going around as to the origin of sleep tight. The most common suggestion is that the phrase dates from the days when mattresses were supported by ropes which needed to be pulled tight to provide a well-sprung bed. However, 'Sleep tight' didn't derive from ancient furniture and, in fact, isn't a very old expression at all. The word tight has a meaning of ‘safely’ or ‘soundly . So the phrase sleep tight meant to sleep soundly. The first citation of it that I can find is from 1866. In the diary by Susan Bradford ...

  Sleep Like a Log Watch this on YouTube here - Sleep Video - YouTube Video Meaning: Sleep Like a Log means to sleep very soundly, to sleep well.  Origin: This idiom has been around for a while; however, it was first written in Spanish from what I can find in 1561. It translates to: Juan de Timoneda, "Cancionero llamado Sarao de amor", 1561 De que's en la cama duerme como un leño, bien harto de migas bruxo çahareño [...]. Translated to:  Of what's in bed sleeps like a log, well fed up with crumbs the wicked çahareño [...]. The first written history in English is from 1808 a journal entry written by Matthew Livingston Davis, and Aaron Burr, and published in 1838 The Private Journal of Aaron Burr, During His Residence of Four Years in Europe, it reads: Slept like a log till ten, and then was called. This atmosphere is certainly narcotic. You see all along how enormously I have slept. Example: Today we still use the term sleep like a log to express we just got a re...

  Shop Till You Drop Watch this on YouTube here - Shopping Video - YouTube Video Meaning: Shop till you drop is an American idiom. It means to shop till you are physically tired and can't walk anymore. "I'm gonna shop till I drop." Origin: However, this idiom did not start out with the same meaning it has today. It started in the 1900s as an advertising slogan for department stores. Especially around Christmas. It was meant to mean that you should go to one store instead of running around to different places and becoming exhausted. Some of these advertisements read. "Shop Till you drop. But nowhere will you find value equal to these." "You should. We drop. This one promotes a home delivery service." The first written record of shops that you dropped was in the Chicago Daily Tribune’s Annual parody poem called the day before Christmas. He was printed in 1902 and read. "Why listen, I’ve shopped- until from Exhaustion. I've pretty near droppe...

  Shooting Fish In A Barrel Watch this on YouTube here - Fishy Idioms - YouTube Video Meaning: When a simple task needs to be done and there is guaranteed success in the task. A simple activity. Example Sentence: "The size of my apartment is relatively small, so keeping it nice and tidy is  like shooting fish in a barrel ." Origin:      The earliest instance found of this phrase was in a column called By the By! on February 11th, 1902. The column tells a story about 2 men - a high-end tea taster and a man drinking alcohol. the tea tester says that the man drinking alcohol can't tell what he is drinking after only 2 drinks. The drunk man replies "Oh yes I can, and what more I can tell you the brand of alcohol with certainty."  The tea tester takes the bet. After the drinking test was over the drunk man won. He was asked, "How on Earth did you do it?" He replied, "Just as simple as shooting fish in a barrel."      This saying originates from b...