geezer7 Loc: Michigan

'A SHOT OF WHISKEY'
In the old west a .45 cartridge for a six-gun cost 12 cents and so did a glass of whiskey. If a cowhand was low on cash he would often give the bartender a cartridge in exchange for a drink. This became known as a "shot" of whiskey.




‘THE WHOLE NINE YARDS’
American fighter planes in WW2 had machine guns that were fed by a belt of cartridges. The average plane held belts that were 27 feet (9 yards) long. If the pilot used up all his ammo he was said to have given it the whole nine yards.




‘BUYING THE FARM’
This is synonymous with dying. During WW1 soldiers were given life insurance policies worth $5,000. This was about the price of an average
farm so if you died you "bought the farm" for your
survivors.




‘IRON-CLAD CONTRACT’
This came about from the iron-clad ships of the Civil War. It meant something so strong it could not be broken.




‘PASSING THE BUCK / THE BUCK STOPS HERE’
Most men in the early west carried a jack
knife made by the Buck Knife Company. When playing poker it as common to place one of these Buck knives in front of the dealer so that everyone knew who he was. When it was time for a new dealer the deck of cards and the knife were given to the new dealer. If this person didn't want to deal he would "pass the buck" to the next player. If that player accepted then "the buck stopped there".




‘RIFF RAFF’
The Mississippi River was the main way of traveling from north to south. Riverboats carried passengers and freight but they were expensive so
most people used rafts. Everything had the right of way over rafts which were considered cheap. The steering oar on the rafts was called a "riff" and
this transposed into riff-raft – or riff-raff, meaning low class.




‘COBWEB’
The Old English word for "spider" was "cob".


SHIPS’ ‘STATE ROOMS’
Traveling by steamboat was considered the height of comfort. Passenger cabins on the boats were not numbered. Instead they were named
after states. To this day cabins on ships are called
staterooms.




‘SLEEP TIGHT’
Early beds were made with a wooden frame. Ropes were tied across the frame in a criss-cross pattern. A straw mattress was then put on top of
the ropes. Over time the ropes stretched, causing the bed to sag. The owner would then tighten the ropes to get a better night's sleep.




‘SHOWBOAT’
These were floating theaters built on a barge that was pushed by a steamboat. These played the small towns along the Mississippi River. Unlike the boat shown in the movie "Showboat” these did not have an engine. They were gaudy and attention- grabbing which is why we say someone who is being the life of the party is "showboating".




‘OVER A BARREL’
In the days before CPR a drowning victim would be placed face down over a barrel and the barrel would be rolled back and forth in a effort to empty the lungs of water. It was rarely effective. If you are over a barrel you are in deep trouble.


‘BARGE IN’
Heavy freight was moved along the Mississippi in large barges pushed by steamboats. These were hard to control and would sometimes swing into
piers or other boats. People would say they "barged in".



‘HOGWASH’
Steamboats carried both people and animals. Since pigs smelled so bad they would be washed before being put on board. The mud and other filth that was washed off was considered useless "hog wash".




‘CURFEW’
The word "curfew" comes from the French phrase "couvre-feu", which means "cover
the fire". It was used to describe the time of blowing out all lamps and candles before sleeping for the night. It was later adopted into Middle English as "curfeu", which later became the modern "curfew". In the early American colonies homes had no real fireplaces so a fire was built in the center of the room. In order to make sure a fire did not get out of control during the night it was required that, by an agreed upon time, all fires would be covered with a clay pot called-a "curfew".




‘BARRELS OF OIL’
When the first oil wells were drilled they had made no provision for storing the liquid, so they used water barrels. That is why, to this day,
we speak of barrels of oil, rather than gallons.


‘HOT OFF THE PRESS’
As the paper goes through the rotary printing press, friction causes it to heat up. …therefore, if you grab the paper right off the press, it’s hot. The expression means to get immediate information.

I can't vouch for any of these! :)

lev29 Loc: Born and living in MA.

geezer 7,
It's obvious that you mean well and at least took the time and effort to list these. But then you discount yourself by stating you cannot vouch for them. It never hurts (in fact, it's better if you do,) cite your source(s) for material you present. I'd be curious to know what they are.

Me? I recognized half of them off-hand. They are just the sort of material that's on America's Secret Slang TV mini-series that is periodically rebroadcast on The History Channel and the H2 Channel. I also have a few books on the origins of English words, but I don't think most of them include expressions.

windshoppe Loc: Arizona

Neat list. Etymology of words and phrases is one of my favorite things. Thank you.

willie_gunn Loc: Oxfordshire, UK

Entertaining....but perhaps a few of those are wishful thinking ;)

Riff-Raff is from the French "rif et raf", meaning one and all.

"Over a barrel" was being used by seafaring folk to mean "in trouble" since sailors were lashed over one prior to being flogged!

The Buck knife company wasn't founded until 1902, though early knives were often handled in antler, which of course only comes from male deer (other than reindeer) or bucks. Hence the origin is from a knife with a buck handle, but not from one made by the company now carrying that name.

The "whole nine yards" was in use well before World War Two.....and even World War One.

"Hogwash" has been around since the 15th century, much the same as "pig-swill".

"State Room" was in usage in Europe in the early 1700's. "Head of state" meaning the leader of a country or group goes back almost to Roman times!

This is an entertaining resource if you want to find the actual source of many of these sayings and others: http://www.phrases.org.uk/index.html

lev29 Loc: Born and living in MA.

Thanks for debunking a few, but especially for that URL!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Thanks. Your last line is the best. I've heard different explanations for some of these. I seem to recall a radio or TV show in which celebrities had to make up the origins of expressions like that, and they all sounded perfectly believable.

willie_gunn Loc: Oxfordshire, UK

You're very welcome.

I find it fascinating how these type of sayings - along with slang and other words in common usage - came into being.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Here's another I just got today.

MEANING:
verb tr., intr.: To make, sell, or transport something illegally.
noun: Something illegally made, sold, or distributed.
adjective: Made, sold, or distributed illegally.

ETYMOLOGY:
From the practice of concealing a liquor flask in the leg of a boot. Earliest documented use: 1889.

USAGE:
“I swear, every single movie he had was bootleg. I think his whole room was bootleg.”
Michelle Stimpson; Trouble in My Way; Pocket Books; 2008.

Kobuk Loc: Roseville, CA

I like them even if some of them aren't correct

willie_gunn Loc: Oxfordshire, UK

Now that's an interesting one! I would have absolutely gone for that definition too, but then my search turned up this: https://www.bestthinking.com/thinkers/science/social_sciences/sociology/mike-sutton?tab=blog&blogpostid=20326

His research finds the earliest use in 1899, but referring to poor substitutes for coffee, rather than illicit alcohol.

He has a natty line in why he disagrees with the common perception of bootleg as well :D

This article includes a nice summary of the 1889 reference though:

http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/13406/origin-of-the-word-bootleg

Fascinating stuff!

lorenww Loc: St. Petersburg

I'm entertained, that's all that matters.