Interesting origin of facts.

[Eaglezsoar]

A SHOT OF WHISKY -
In the old west a .45 cartridge for a six-gun cost
12 cents, so did a shot glass of whisky. If a cow
hand was low on cash he would often give the
bartender a cartridge in exchange for a drink.
This became known as a “shot” of whiskey.


WHOLE NINE YARDS -
American fighter planes in WW2 had machine
guns that were fed by a belt of cartridges. The
average plane held belts that were 27 feet
(9 yards) long. If the pilot used up all his ammo
he was said to have given it the whole nine yards.


BUYING THE FARM -
This is synonymous with dying. During WW1
soldiers were given life insurance policies worth
$5,000. This was about the price of an average
farm so if you died you "bought the farm" for your
survivors.

IRON CLAD CONTRACT -
This came about from the ironclad ships of the
Civil War. It meant something so strong it could
not be broken.


PASSING THE BUCK or
THE BUCK STOPS HERE -
Most men in the early west carried a jack knife
made by the Buck knife company. When playing
poker it was common to place one of these Buck
Knives in front of the dealer so that everyone knew
who he was. When it was time for a new dealer
the deck of cards and the knife were given to the
new dealer. If this person didn't want to deal he
would "pass the buck" to the next player. If that
player accepted then "the buck stopped there."

RIFF RAFF -
The Mississippi River was the main way of traveling
from north to south. Riverboats carried passengers
and freight, but they were expensive so most people
used rafts. Everything had the right of way over rafts
which were considered cheap. The steering oar on
the rafts was called a "riff" and this transposed into
riff-raff, meaning low class.


COBWEB -
The Old English word for "spider" was "cob."


SHIP STATE ROOMS -
Long long ago, traveling by steamboat was
considered the height of comfort. Passenger
cabins on the boats were not numbered.
Instead they were named after states. To this
day cabins on ships are called staterooms.

SLEEP TIGHT -
Historically, beds were made with a wooden frame.
Ropes were tied across the frame in a crisscross
pattern. A straw mattress was then put on top of the ropes. Over time the ropes stretched, causing the
bed to sag. The owner would then have to tighten
the ropes to get a better night's sleep.

SHOWBOAT -
These were floating theaters built on a barge that
was pushed by a steamboat. These played small
towns along the Mississippi River. Unlike the boat
shown in the movie, "Showboat," these did not have
an engine. They were gaudy and attention grabbing,
which is why we say someone who is being the life
of the party is "showboating."

OVER A BARREL -
In the days before CPR a drowning victim would be
placed face down over a barrel and the barrel would
be rolled back and forth in an effort to empty the
lungs of water. This was rarely effective. More
currently, If you are over a barrel, you're deep
trouble.

BARGE IN -
Heavy freight used to be moved along the Mississippi
in large barges pushed by steamboats. These were
hard to control and would sometimes swing into
piers or other boats. People would say they "barged
in."


HOGWASH -
Steamboats carried both people and animals.
Since pigs smelled so bad they would be washed /before being put on board. The mud
and other filth that was washed off was considered
useless "hogwash."



CURFEW -
The word "curfew" comes from the French phrase
"couvre-feu", which means "cover the fire." It was
used to describe the time of blowing out all lamps
and candles. It was later adopted into Middle
English as "curfeu", which later became the modern
"curfew." In the early American colonies homes had
no real fireplaces so a fire was built in the center of
the room. In order to make sure a fire did not get out
of control during the night it was required that, by an
agreed upon time, all fires would be covered with a
clay pot called a "curfew."


BARRELS OF OIL -
When the first oil wells were drilled they had made
no provision for storing the liquid so they used
water barrels. That is why, to this day, we speak
of barrels of oil rather than gallons.

HOT OFF THE PRESS -
As the paper goes through the rotary printing press
friction causes it to heat up. Therefore, if you grab
the paper right off the press it was hot. The
expression means to get immediate information.