Often we use popular phrases that everyone understands because they are well known. Like I might say “that guy stole my thunder” and most people would know what that means. But have you ever wondered where these sayings actually come from? I’m a very curious person so I decided to look a few up, here is what I found.
Stole My Thunder
The popular phrase “stole my thunder” was coined by John Dennis, an English critic and playwright. In 1709 John Dennis wrote a play called Appius and Virginia. For Appius and Virginia, Dennis created a way to simulate the sound of thunder. The thunder was well liked by the crowd however Appius and Virginia was not. Dennis was forced to cancel Appius and Virginia because the theater was not happy with its lack of audience. Later Dennis returned to the same theater to see Shakespeare’s Macbeth. As Dennis sat in the crowd he realized they were using the same method that Dennis used to create thunder. Dennis stood up and screamed, “That’s my thunder, by God! The villains will not play my play but they steal my thunder.”
Dark Horse
England’s Prime Minister in 1831, Disraeli, was also a novelist and poet. Disraeli was writing a three-volume novel called The Young Duke: A Moral Tale Though Gay. In the second book the main character, Duke of St. James, attends a horse race that has a surprise finish. In the book Disraeli writes, “A dark horse which had never been thought of, and which the careless St. James had never even observed in the list, rushed past the grandstand in sweeping triumph.” At the time Disraeli was simply referring to the color of the horse but somewhere along the way “dark horse” became the name of an unexpected winner.
This famous saying comes from a fable called “The Milkmaid and Her Pail.” A girl by the name of Patty is daydreaming as she goes to town with a pail of milk balanced on her head. She begins to think about what she’ll do with the milk. First she says the milk will provide her with cream and then she’ll make it into butter. After that she’ll head to the market and sell it, buy some eggs and the eggs will hatch into chickens. The chickens will lay more eggs and she’ll have an entire poultry yard. Then she’ll sell some fowls and buy a new gown and go to the fair. At the fair she’ll see some young fellow who will want to make love to her and she will toss her head as she passes them by. When the girl daydreams the tossing of her head she actually does toss her head and the pail of milk falls off her head and spills. Her mother later tells her, “Do not count your chickens before they hatched.”
When In Rome, Do as the Romans Do
In 387 A.D. St. Augustine arrived in Milan and he noticed that the Church did not fast on Saturday like he was accustomed to in Rome. St. Augustine asked St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, about what he should do and Ambrose replied, “When I am at Rome, I fast on a Saturday; when I am at Milan, I do not. Follow the custom of the Church where you are.” Over the years the quote was morphed into “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
Maybe you’ve never really thought about where “ok” came from even though you probably use it more than the rest of these sayings. “OK” comes from the expression, “oll korrect.” Back in the 1830s and 1840s there was a fad where people abbreviated rather than say entire phrases. They used expressions like “NG” for “no go” or “SP” for small potatoes.” Eventually the fad stopped but “ok” lived on. Btw, the fad has recently returned, lol.
Keep Your Fingers Crossed
Crossing your fingers is a custom that dates back to pre-Christian times. It was believed that the cross was a symbol of unity and benign spirits dwell at its intersecting points. In many European cultures two people were required to use their index fingers to make the symbol together when making a wish upon the cross, one to make the wish and the other to support it. Over the years, the custom was modified so that one person could cross their own fingers and make a wish.
