{"id":82533,"date":"2022-01-17T13:21:39","date_gmt":"2022-01-17T18:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=82533"},"modified":"2022-01-21T10:35:55","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T15:35:55","slug":"do-you-know-these-expressions-your-ancestors-used-part-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/do-you-know-these-expressions-your-ancestors-used-part-5.html","title":{"rendered":"Do You Know These Expressions Your Ancestors Used? (Part 5)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>Introduction<\/em><\/strong><em>: In this article (Part 5), Jessica Edwards continues her discussion of the meanings and origins of idioms (figurative phrases) that our ancestors used \u2013 including some from the Bible. Jessica has had a lifelong interest in her family\u2019s history \u2013 especially on her father\u2019s side, which goes back to the first settlers in Pennsylvania, Jamestown and New England \u2013 and has documented and added more than 21,000 people to her family tree!<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Idioms (figurative phrases) have been used throughout the centuries and may appear in what was said or written by our ancestors. Understanding these expressions will help you better understand what your ancestors were saying \u2013 and finding out the history of these sayings can be quite entertaining!<\/p>\n<p>I hope you enjoy this series, and perhaps it will allow you to better understand what your ancestors may have meant in their letters and diaries, or in newspaper articles written about them \u2013 as well as increase your knowledge and vocabulary.<\/p>\n<p>Today I\u2019m going to discuss some more idioms, including a selection of phrases that trace to the Bible (unless otherwise noted, I am using the King James Version when referring to the place the idiom can be found).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Devil\u2019s advocate:<\/strong> used to describe someone presenting the other side of an argument (whether you believe that way or not). This idiom has an interesting origin. When the Roman Catholic Church canonized someone (declared them a saint after they died), an official \u2013 called the \u201cdevil\u2019s advocate\u201d \u2013 was appointed to argue against the canonization, as part of the process to ensure the candidate was worthy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Proof is in the pudding:<\/strong> comes from the British saying, \u201cthe proof of the pudding is in the eating,\u201d which has existed for several hundred years to imply that success is measured by the results.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Right as rain:<\/strong> something that is perfect. Since the Middle Ages there have been many similar idioms to this (i.e., \u201cRight as a book,\u201d \u201cRight as a nail,\u201d etc.) which were to indicate something being solid and true. In the 1800s this particular phrasing, \u201cright as rain,\u201d became the standard, possibly because of alliteration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Throw caution to the wind:<\/strong> you are being reckless or you are taking a risk. Based on the idiom \u201cto the winds,\u201d which has been used since the 1600s to mean\u00a0\u201cto be utterly lost.\u201d Later, during the mid-1800s, \u201cthrow to the winds\u201d was used to mean \u201ccast away completely\u201d or \u201cutterly disregard.\u201d The full idiom, \u201cthrow caution to the wind,\u201d has been used since the early 1900s.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>What the Dickens!<\/strong> used to show surprise, this idiom does not refer to the author Charles Dickens \u2013 but rather, it refers to the Devil, or the similar term of devilkin or diabolical imp (the little dickens).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are some idioms that have come from the Bible.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A leopard can\u2019t change its spots:<\/strong> trying to get the idea across that people don\u2019t change what they do or who they are. From Jeremiah 13:23: \u201cCan an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>As you sow so shall you reap<\/strong>: says that the consequences of your actions will catch up with you. Found in Galatians VI.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Asking for someone\u2019s hand in marriage:<\/strong> originally, this was concerned with two types of negotiations: 1) how much of a dowry the bride brings into the marriage, or 2) what the bride\u2019s father might get out of the marriage. It was referred to in several places in the Bible (such as when Jacob wanted to marry Rachel, his prospective father-in-law asked for him to provide seven years of service to him). Saul asked this of David as well. It was part of ancient Roman culture.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Does something by the skin of their teeth:<\/strong> this means just barely make it. This idiom can be traced back to when the Geneva Bible was first printed in 1560. It was found in Job 19:20, which provides a literal translation of the original Hebrew: \u201cI haue escaped with the skinne of my tethe.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Have the best of both worlds:<\/strong> means that the choice or solution has all of the advantages of two contrasting things at the same time. It is believed to have come from a\u00a0Bible\u00a0reference that someone who does good deeds in the name of God and helps others is going to be received in Heaven. Such a person is getting the \u201cbest of both worlds\u201d: the earthly world and the spiritual world.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Labor of love:<\/strong> doing a difficult task because you love someone or something. This is found in 1\u00a0Thessalonians\u00a01:3 and Hebrews 6:10. The original King James Version uses the English spelling of \u201clabour,\u201d but the New King James and other modern translations use the American spelling of \u201clabor.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Seeing eye to eye with someone:<\/strong> means you have found grounds to agree upon. Usage was recorded in the Bible centuries ago\u00a0(probably around c. 1600) when the idiom was used in a biblical passage in\u00a0Isaiah,\u00a0chapter\u00a052,\u00a0verse\u00a08\u00a0of the\u00a0King James Version, when Prophet Isaiah prophesied that \u201cwhen the Lord is seen as one true God.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Wash my hands of this:<\/strong> One passage in the Bible that is cited often when you want to show that you\u2019re abandoning a problem or responsibility is from Matthew 27:24, where during Jesus\u2019 trial the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, saw that he could not save Jesus and \u201cwashed his hands before the multitude, saying I am innocent of the blood of this just person.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>More to come!<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cGenealogy\u201d logo designed and copyrighted by Mary Harrell-Sesniak.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related Articles:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/curiosity-killed-the-cat-or-what-your-ancestor-really-meant.html\">\u2018Curiosity Killed the Cat\u2019 or What Your Ancestor Really Meant<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/genealogy-tip-idioms-through-the-ages.html\">Genealogy Tip: Idioms through the Ages<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/do-you-know-these-expressions-your-ancestors-used-part-1.html\">Do You Know These Expressions Your Ancestors Used? (Part 1)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/do-you-know-these-expressions-your-ancestors-used-part-2.html\">Do You Know These Expressions Your Ancestors Used? (Part 2)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/do-you-know-these-expressions-your-ancestors-used-part-3.html\">Do You Know These Expressions Your Ancestors Used? (Part 3)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/do-you-know-these-expressions-your-ancestors-used-part-4.html\">Do You Know These Expressions Your Ancestors Used? (Part 4)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this article (Part 5), Jessica Edwards continues her discussion of the meanings and origins of idioms (figurative phrases) that our ancestors used.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":82429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12713],"tags":[58073,58053],"class_list":["post-82533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genealogy-research-tips","tag-genealogy-search-terms","tag-idioms"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/illustration-1024-2019-featured-graphic-genealogy-logo.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82533"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82539,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82533\/revisions\/82539"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}