At the moment technology is responsible for generating lots interesting new words, adding to the richness of the English language;
blog being a classic. Some people are a bit sniffy about this, but it has been going on for centuries.
There is an old hostelry near Marble Arch in London which used to have a gallows adjacent to it. Prisoners were taken to the gallows, after a fair trial of course, to be hanged. The horse drawn dray carting the prisoner was accompanied by an armed guard, who would stop the dray outside the pub and ask the prisoner if he would like one last drink. If he said yes, it was referred to as
one for the road; if he declined, that prisoner was said to be
on the wagon. So there you go.
More history.
Urine was used to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot and then once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive you were,
piss poor, but even more unfortunate were the really poor folk, who couldn’t even afford to buy a pot, they
didn’t have a pot to piss in and considered were the lowest of the low.
The next time you are washing your hands and complain, because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, just think about how things used to be.
Here are a few more facts about life in the sixteenth century:
Most people got married in June, because they took their yearly bath in May and they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers, to hide body odour. Hence the custom today, of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all were the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could almost lose someone in it: hence the saying:
don't throw the baby out with the bath water!
Houses had thatched roofs with thick straw piled high, with no wood underneath. This was the only place for animals to keep warm, so all the cats, dogs and other small animals such as mice lived in the roof. When it rained the roof became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. This was how the saying, i
t's raining cats and dogs came into our language
Dirt floors were the norm; only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying,
dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors, that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As winter wore on, more thresh would be added, until, when you opened the door, the thresh would start spilling outside. So, a piece of wood was placed in the entrance way, hence: a
threshhold became part of the English language
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle, that always hung over the fire. Every day, they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight, then start over the next day.
Sometimes families could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon, to show it off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could
bring home the bacon. Families would cut off a little, to share with guests and would all sit around talking and
chew the fat.
Bread was divided, according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or
the upper crust.
Lead cups were commonly used to drink ale or whisky. The delightful combination of lead and alcohol would sometimes knock out imbibers for a couple of days. Pedestrians walking along the road would take these poisoned imbibers for dead and prepare them for burial. They would be laid out on the kitchen table and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if the dead one would wake up. Hence the custom of holding
a wake.
Burial grounds were scarce in England people often ran out of places to bury people. So, it became common practice to dig up coffins and the bones and sell them to a bone-house then re-use the grave. When reopening these coffins, about one in twenty were found to have scratch marks on the inside and citizens realized they had been burying people alive. So, it became a custom to tie a string to the wrist of the corpse, thread it through the coffin, up through the ground and tie it to a bell.
Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night,
the graveyard shift, to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be,
saved by the bell or was considered
a dead ringer
And that's the truth.
Or is it all in the bear's imagination?
