“Bring home the bacon” is a lovely cliche that first came into use in the year 1104. If someone had been bitten by a rabid dog they would take some of that same dog’s hair and rub the wound with it to supposedly cure it. The expression actually refers to a medieval English medical belief.

In our modern parlance “hair of the dog” refers to the practice of trying to cure a hangover by drinking more alcohol. At least that was their superstitious belief. If you got out on the left side of your bed you could expect trouble. The Romans believed that the left sides of things were evil. ‘The wrong side of the bed” is a familiar term that dates back to ancient Rome. RELATED: Don’t ‘misunderestimate’ phrases coined by presidents Once at home they realized that while they had not been looking an unscrupulous merchant slyly swapped their pricey piglet for a cat, which promptly got out of the bag. This idiom uses the graphic image of painting all of the floor except for the corner one stands in, so that one cannot leave without stepping on wet paint. A customer who bought a suckling pig took the purchase home inside a cloth bag. This one originated during 16th century markets. “Let the cat out of the bag” is another fascinating expression. Their employer would take all of their tools and burn them in front of everybody as a warning. On occasions when miners were caught stealing the coal or ore, the punishment was severe. This odd cliche came down to us from English miners who brought their personal tools to work down in the mines. The one most often repeated, especially within the walls of the Melton Mowbray Tourist Office, is a tale dating. There are several suggestions as to the origin of the phrase. RELATED: A weird, weirder, and weirdest new book Example: Origin: The allusion is to the kind of unruly behaviour that results in much blood being spilt.

Paint the town red saying