Weird Sayings and Their Backgrounds

Day 2 of this weeks blog posts is here! There are so many sayings and idioms that are peculiar in nature, and today we're going to decipher their origins, so let's get right into it!

1. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater

Meaning: Don't discard something of value with something worthless

Origin: There is a common misconception about this one. There was an idea going around that it was based on the 1500s' and lack of basic necessities like water during those medieval times. Families had never even dreamt of repletion and were constantly cutting back on supply usage. One way they did this was sharing the water when bathing. Basically the father would go first, then wife, then children oldest to youngest. Therefore, by the time the baby went to bathe, the water was so black with dirt from the other family members that you could barely see the infant in the water, and you might throw it out with the dirty water. In reality this saying was first introduced by German Thomas Murner in its still widely known form; "das Kind mit dem Bade ausschütten" that was written as an idiom for its original meaning. It didn't appear in English literature until mid 1800's, when philosopher and scholar used it in an essay proclaiming the destruction of slavery. "And if true, it is important for us, in reference to this Negro Question and some others. The Germans say, 'you must empty-out the bathing-tub, but not the baby along with it.' Fling-out your dirty water with all zeal, and set it careering down the kennels; but try if you can to keep the little child!" Though he was pushing for freeing the slaves, he was basically saying that they should actually be hired as servants.

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-don3.htm

2. It's raining cats and dogs

Meaning: It's raining extremely hard

Origin: Once again, there is an unlikely idea about where it comes from; that animals would seek shelter in the thatched roofs during storms and would be washed out with the rain that went through the roof. However in reality thatched roofs are waterproof and slanted to deter the water from going through. Also realistically animals would find a more salubrious abode during the storm than outside the roof, which is where they would have to be to get washed out. A more probable situation is that "cats and dogs" come from the greek expression cata doxa, meaning "contrary to belief". Therefore, raining cata doxa (or cats and dogs) means its raining contrary to belief. Another possible meaning is as follows: "Cats and dogs may be a perversion of the now obsolete word catadupe. In old English, catadupe meant a cataract or waterfall. A version of catadupe existed in many old languages.In Latin, for example, catadupa was borrowed from the classical Greek κατάδουποι, which referred to the cataracts of the Nile River. So, to say it’s raining “cats and dogs” might be to say it’s raining waterfalls."

https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/rainingcats.html

3. When pigs fly

Meaning: a sarcastic remark stating that a certain situation is as unprobable as seeing pork fly.

Origin: was first used by Lewis Caroll in Alice in Wonderland ("I've a right to think," said Alice sharply... "Just about as much right," said the Duchess, "as pigs have to fly.") It was used for exactly the same reason as its meaning: to provide a ribald response. "I promise I'll clean my room tomorrow! Yes, when pigs fly."; implying that it is impossible that the person will clean their room tomorrow.

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-origin-and-meaning-of-the-idiom-when-pigs-fly

Thats all for today! See you tomorrow.

Love, Isabela :)