The Idler

Felicitous Phrases

DAN KIERAN unearths the meanings behind unusual idioms for you to amaze your friends with in the pub.

Idler.co.uk reader David Dawson writes:

I’ve heard several explanations for “let the cat out of the bag.” Seems it dates back to fraudulent practices at markets?

Keep up the good work,
David

“Let the Cat out of the Bag”

David is quite right. Back in Medieval times a popular con-trick was performed in markets up and down the country. The fraudster would sell unsuspecting shoppers a pig for a bargain price. The purchaser would hand over their money and be given a bag, tied at the top with instructions not to open it until they got home. The wriggling contents enough to persuade them it was a bone fide sale. On arriving home they would open the bag only for a stray, bedraggled cat to jump out of it, hence ‘Let the Cat out of the Bag’ meaning to discover a fraud or a con.

“Bob’s your uncle”

This phrase, meaning everything will work out in the end, refers to a political appointment made in 1887.

Britain’s then Prime Minister Lord Salisbury (first name Robert) gave the post of Secretary for Ireland to a man called Arthur Balfour who was considered by many to be too young and naive for the post, especially as the question of Irish Independence was being considered at the time. The phrase entered common parlance because Balfour was Lord Salisbury’s nephew, hence ‘Bob’s your uncle’.

‘One for the road’

This age old saying comes from the days of public hangings. On the day of execution the condemned man would be taken from the prison and driven down the main thoroughfare of the town through screaming crowds, to the gallows.

It was customary at the time for him to be given a drink from every ale house that stood between him and the rope, (which could be as many as twenty) the intention being to make the poor soul completely bladdered before reaching the rope, thus making his passing easier. Hence, ‘One for the road’.

Incidentally this also is the origin of ‘on the wagon’, after finishing his drink from the last tavern before the gallows, the prisoner would be put ‘on the wagon’ for the last time, destined never to drink again before his death.

“I’m a monkey’s uncle”

This phrase, to greet something with derision, emerged after Darwin published The Origin of Species. His theory, that humans evolved from and were therefore related to apes, was considered so laughably absurd at the time that ‘I’m a monkey’s uncle’ became a popular reference both to rubbish his ideas and convey incredulity.

‘Limelight”

In Victorian times a scientist and inventor called Sir Goldsworthy Gurney devised the ‘Oxy-hydrogen blowpipe’, which was essentially an early blowtorch.

Whilst experimenting with it on certain elements he discovered that by using it on lime an intensely bright light was created, which could be contained in a lamp and used as a directionable light.

It was mainly used in Lighthouses, but also found its way into theatres, which is where the phrase limelight originates, referring to the spotlight that was cast down on the stage.

‘Raise Your Right Hand’ – An ingenious way of making someone carry their criminal record with them wherever they went.

In the days before criminal records, mugshots and fingerprints, it was much harder to confirm the true identity of a suspect or witness when they appeared in court. The legal infrastructure had no provision for coping if criminals assumed new identities or moved to areas where their criminality was unknown.

To combat this, an ingenious method was devised to make convicted fellons carry their criminal records with them wherever they went.

Simply by tattooing a letter on the fingertip of a criminals right hand for each serious offence they’d been found guilty of, M for Murder, A for Adultery and so on, it became possible for anyone to tell if they had committed a serious crime in their past simply by asking them to ‘raise their right hand’.

The tattoos have long gone, but this phrase is still in use in American courts today.

“In the bag”

This phrase originated in Parliament where it was used to describe the likelihood of a petition being read before the house.

When Parliament receives a petition about a pressing issue of the day it is placed in a green bag which is hung on the back of the speakers’ chair. Every petition placed in the bag is guaranteed to be heard that day. So if your petition is in the bag you can relax in the knowledge that it will be read before the house.

Today it is used to describe anything that is considered to be a foregone conclusion.

DAN KIERAN unearths the meanings behind unusual idioms for you to amaze your friends with in the pub.

Idler.co.uk reader David Dawson writes:

I’ve heard several explanations for “let the cat out of the bag.” Seems it dates back to fraudulent practices at markets?

Keep up the good work,
David

“Let the Cat out of the Bag”

David is quite right. Back in Medieval times a popular con-trick was performed in markets up and down the country. The fraudster would sell unsuspecting shoppers a pig for a bargain price. The purchaser would hand over their money and be given a bag, tied at the top with instructions not to open it until they got home. The wriggling contents enough to persuade them it was a bone fide sale. On arriving home they would open the bag only for a stray, bedraggled cat to jump out of it, hence ‘Let the Cat out of the Bag’ meaning to discover a fraud or a con.

“Bob’s your uncle”

This phrase, meaning everything will work out in the end, refers to a political appointment made in 1887.

Britain’s then Prime Minister Lord Salisbury (first name Robert) gave the post of Secretary for Ireland to a man called Arthur Balfour who was considered by many to be too young and naive for the post, especially as the question of Irish Independence was being considered at the time. The phrase entered common parlance because Balfour was Lord Salisbury’s nephew, hence ‘Bob’s your uncle’.

‘One for the road’

This age old saying comes from the days of public hangings. On the day of execution the condemned man would be taken from the prison and driven down the main thoroughfare of the town through screaming crowds, to the gallows.

It was customary at the time for him to be given a drink from every ale house that stood between him and the rope, (which could be as many as twenty) the intention being to make the poor soul completely bladdered before reaching the rope, thus making his passing easier. Hence, ‘One for the road’.

Incidentally this also is the origin of ‘on the wagon’, after finishing his drink from the last tavern before the gallows, the prisoner would be put ‘on the wagon’ for the last time, destined never to drink again before his death.

“I’m a monkey’s uncle”

This phrase, to greet something with derision, emerged after Darwin published The Origin of Species. His theory, that humans evolved from and were therefore related to apes, was considered so laughably absurd at the time that ‘I’m a monkey’s uncle’ became a popular reference both to rubbish his ideas and convey incredulity.

‘Limelight”

In Victorian times a scientist and inventor called Sir Goldsworthy Gurney devised the ‘Oxy-hydrogen blowpipe’, which was essentially an early blowtorch.

Whilst experimenting with it on certain elements he discovered that by using it on lime an intensely bright light was created, which could be contained in a lamp and used as a directionable light.

It was mainly used in Lighthouses, but also found its way into theatres, which is where the phrase limelight originates, referring to the spotlight that was cast down on the stage.

‘Raise Your Right Hand’ – An ingenious way of making someone carry their criminal record with them wherever they went.

In the days before criminal records, mugshots and fingerprints, it was much harder to confirm the true identity of a suspect or witness when they appeared in court. The legal infrastructure had no provision for coping if criminals assumed new identities or moved to areas where their criminality was unknown.

To combat this, an ingenious method was devised to make convicted fellons carry their criminal records with them wherever they went.

Simply by tattooing a letter on the fingertip of a criminals right hand for each serious offence they’d been found guilty of, M for Murder, A for Adultery and so on, it became possible for anyone to tell if they had committed a serious crime in their past simply by asking them to ‘raise their right hand’.

The tattoos have long gone, but this phrase is still in use in American courts today.

“In the bag”

This phrase originated in Parliament where it was used to describe the likelihood of a petition being read before the house.

When Parliament receives a petition about a pressing issue of the day it is placed in a green bag which is hung on the back of the speakers’ chair. Every petition placed in the bag is guaranteed to be heard that day. So if your petition is in the bag you can relax in the knowledge that it will be read before the house.

Today it is used to describe anything that is considered to be a foregone conclusion.