Quite a while ago, I think I mentioned the fantastic illustrations and stationery of Hanna Brooks Nation (aka, Gadabout). If you haven’t ever checked out her designs, you simply must head over to her website right this second and ogle.
In fact, I did that a few days ago, as it had been several months since I’d last seen her blog. Hanna has a little section called Look in which she’s placed links to all kinds of neat things she’s found on the Internet. One of them was a page featuring a treasure trove of explanations for common English expressions and sayings. If you love learning about the history of things that make up our culture, you’ll love this little site. I had a blast wasting half an hour clicking on the familiar phrases we use everyday, and marveling at how wonderful the evolution of language can be.
Click on any of the ten phrases below to learn a brief history of where each comes from. And believe me, this is a very small sampling of what’s on this site. Prepare to be blown away. And very well prepared for holiday party small talk.
And also, if you’re wondering where Pardon my French comes from, you can find that out too.
Ooo, how cool! Thanks for sharing it :)