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Words/phrases you use but don't always know how they came about.

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Posts

  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Are you sure @BenCotto. I seem to remember seeing square plates in some navel museum, although can't swear to it.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • A navel museum @punkdoc … would that be some sort of medical establishment? 😉 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    "@wild edges" I'm sure all languages have their idiosyncracies but we used to have a timeshare on the southern edge of Snowdonia and often heard "Doesn't it?" used where "Isn't it?" would seem to make more sense.  For example it was chucking down with rain when we went into a shop (chucking down outside before any smartypants picks up on that) and the lady in the shop said "There's weather now, doesn't it".
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    I wonder if 'square meal' may come from the hard tack biscuits.  They were square and at times the only food available on ships.
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,718
    Tank, the military vehicle, has an interesting back story involving deception, prurience over the letters WC, and Tilda Swinton’s great grandfather. And you’ll now have to look it up if you want to know more.
    Rutland, England
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    Did the Knights of the Round Table have square meals? Sounds like trying to solve the famous Quadrature of the circle problem.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    lots of people attribute "a square meal" to naval habits from long before there was an official navy with any regulations so I rather doubt them.  this site has an interesting theory that seems more plausible.

    https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/square-meal.html 
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Simone_in_WiltshireSimone_in_Wiltshire Posts: 1,073
    edited November 2022
    Obelixx said:
    Right wing and left wing have their origin in the French Revolution.   This explains it - https://www.history.com/news/how-did-the-political-labels-left-wing-and-right-wing-originate
    @philippasmith2 Yes, our Parliament here doesn't allow this assumption :)
    Another interesting assumption is that the seats are often also shown in a circle with the Left starting on the left bottom side and ending with the Right closing the circle from the right side. There have been many examples where people started on the far left side when they were young, and ended on the far-right political direction at the end of their life.

    I my garden.

  • I was puzzled why it's called "back to square one". I know what it means, but what was the first square?

    I my garden.

  • I heard it came from the days of early radio broadcasts of football commentaries, where there was an imaginary numbered grid … and presumably the commentator would say ‘and back to square one’ at certain times … however there’s also a theory that it comes from the board game Snakes & Ladders. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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