{"id":70310,"date":"2014-05-19T18:45:03","date_gmt":"2014-05-19T17:45:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/insight\/origin-of-phrases-part-seven\/"},"modified":"2014-05-19T18:45:03","modified_gmt":"2014-05-19T17:45:03","slug":"origin-of-phrases-part-seven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/origin-of-phrases-part-seven\/","title":{"rendered":"The origin of phrases: Part seven"},"content":{"rendered":"

Could you utter a clothing-based idiom at the drop of a hat? In the seventh of our origin of phrases series, we talk hats, trousers and birthday suits.
\nAt the drop of a hat<\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> To stop everything else in order to complete an action immediately, often on a signal to do so
\nOrigin:<\/em> According to various sources, the idiom comes from 19th<\/sup> Century America, where the signal to start a fight in battle was sometimes signalled by the person in charge dropping a hat or sweeping it downwards. It fits with other phrases around the idea of battle, including rolling up the sleeves.
\nBirthday suit<\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> Naked \/ Wearing nothing
\nOrigin: <\/em>The origin doesn\u2019t seem to have been recorded; however, the widely held belief is that this was coined to describe the skin \u2013 the only thing you\u2019re \u2018wearing\u2019 on the day you\u2019re born.
\nAll mouth and [no] trousers<\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> Description of someone who talks a good game but can\u2019t back it up with actions
\nOrigin: This has caused many a debate over the years, not the etymology per se, but whether or not to include the word \u2018no\u2019. However, what all sources agree is that the original phrase was \u2018all mouth and trousers\u2019, used to describe a man consisting just of mouth (bravado) and trousers (outer clothing) but no brain\/substance or anything underneath the clothes (we\u2019ll leave the specific meaning of that part to your imagination). It has evolved to read \u2018all mouth and no trousers\u2019, meaning the same thing but moving it closer to the idea of someone \u2018talking the talk\u2019 but not \u2018walking the walk\u2019.
\nDown at heel<\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> Out of luck \/ Penniless
\nOrigin:<\/em> The first known use of this phrase was in William Darrell\u2019s A gentleman instructed in the conduct of a virtuous and happy life<\/em>: \u201cSneak into a corner\u2026down at heels and out at elbows.\u201d The idea was that a person who wears worn down heels is impoverished, as is a person who is \u2018out at elbows\u2019, i.e. has worn through the elbows of their jacket\/top. The latter phrase, however, isn\u2019t as widely used as \u2018down at heel\u2019.
\nDressed to the nines<\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> Dressed up for a special occasion
\nOrigin:<\/em> Researching this idiom threw up perhaps the most interesting of points so far \u2013 that nine is troublesome when it comes to etymology. Its use in this phrase is unclear, as it is in \u2018cloud nine\u2019 and \u2018whole nine yards\u2019. One theory is that it takes nine yards of fabric to make a suit, another that the uniform worn by members of the 99th<\/sup> Wiltshire Regiment \u2013 known as the Nines \u2013 was flamboyant. A third and eminently believable theory is that it developed from the earlier phrase \u2018to the nines\u2019 meaning perfection. However, this still leaves the question of why nine, rather than any other number. The final explanation given is that \u2018to the nines\u2019 may actually be derived from \u2018to thine eyes\u2019 \u2013 but this has very little basis in history.
\nIn part six we looked at\u00a0ANIMALS<\/a>, part eight will explore MUSIC, and part nine covers NATURE. Who said learning wasn\u2019t fun?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Could you utter a clothing-based idiom at the drop of a hat? In the seventh of our origin of phrases series, we talk hats, trousers and birthday suits. At the drop of a hat Meaning: To stop everything else in order to complete an action immediately, often on a signal to do so Origin: According […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[314],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-copywriting-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe origin of phrases: Part seven - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/origin-of-phrases-part-seven\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The origin of phrases: Part seven - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Could you utter a clothing-based idiom at the drop of a hat? 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