{"id":70312,"date":"2014-05-07T16:42:38","date_gmt":"2014-05-07T15:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/insight\/origin-of-phrases-part-six\/"},"modified":"2014-05-07T16:42:38","modified_gmt":"2014-05-07T15:42:38","slug":"origin-of-phrases-part-six","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/origin-of-phrases-part-six\/","title":{"rendered":"The origin of phrases: Part six"},"content":{"rendered":"

So far (in parts 1-5) we\u2019ve shared a wealth of randomly chosen idioms. For parts 6-9, we\u2019ve decided to concentrate on categories. Part Six is ANIMALS\u2026
\nMake a beeline <\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> Head straight for someone\/something with unwavering purpose
\nOrigin:<\/em> As you\u2019d imagine, this comes from the behaviour of bees. When a forager bee discovers a source of nectar it comes back to the hive to let the others know where to go. It performs a \u2018waggle dance\u2019 \u2013 the angle of the waggle shows the direction of the source and the length of the \u2018run\u2019 shows the distance from the hive.
\nCock and bull story<\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> An unbelievable story, thought to be made up
\nOrigin:<\/em> Based on the meaning of this idiom, we were quite happy to discover that there are plenty of stories around the origin of this phrase, many of them unbelievable. One suggests the phrase comes from a time when coaches used to carry travellers to two inns \u2013 The Cock and The Bull \u2013 along the old London Road at Stony Stratford. Rivalries between the occupants of the inns arose and these resulted in boastful tales being told.
\nCold turkey<\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> Sudden withdrawal from something a person is addicted to, without preparation
\nOrigin:<\/em> Another pesky idiom without a clear history, but one with a few interesting possibilities. One suggestion is that it comes from the idea that cold turkey is a meal that requires little preparation. Another is that it\u2019s a reference to the time after Christmas when cold turkey is traditionally eaten, signalling the end of the festive period during which many people drink too much.
\nCook someone\u2019s goose (Your goose is cooked)<\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> Standing in the way of someone to ensure they don\u2019t achieve something \/ to ruin plans
\nOrigin:<\/em> The most commonly written about origin is that when a man called Jan Hus (an early 15th<\/sup> Century religious reformer) was on his death bed and proclaimed that the goose would now be cooked. Supposedly the name Hus translated as \u2018goose\u2019. This is highly improbable though, as he was martyred in 1415 and the phrase wasn\u2019t spotted in the English language until the mid-1800s. Perhaps more likely is a variation on the saying \u2018a goose in the house\u2019, which referred to the hissing of audiences in the theatre when they didn\u2019t like a play, thus spoiling the performance.
\nCrocodile tears<\/strong>
\nMeaning:<\/em> Tears that are believed to be unreal, not through remorse
\nOrigin:<\/em> In ancient times, there was a notion that crocodiles wept while they ate their prey. While it\u2019s true they have the ability to produce tears, they do so purely to lubricate the eyes, not through sadness or remorse.
\nLook out for CLOTHING idioms, MUSIC idioms and NATURE idioms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

So far (in parts 1-5) we\u2019ve shared a wealth of randomly chosen idioms. For parts 6-9, we\u2019ve decided to concentrate on categories. Part Six is ANIMALS\u2026 Make a beeline Meaning: Head straight for someone\/something with unwavering purpose Origin: As you\u2019d imagine, this comes from the behaviour of bees. When a forager bee discovers a source […]<\/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-70312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-copywriting-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe origin of phrases: Part six - 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-six\/\" \/>\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 six - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"So far (in parts 1-5) we\u2019ve shared a wealth of randomly chosen idioms. 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