1. What is the origin of the phrase "Dead as a Doornail"? This is a reference to the "doornail" used to nail down the lid of a coffin This is a gross mis-quote of the phrase "dead as a dawn quail", a now extinct species of the quail. It's in the same genre as "dead as a dodo" The "doornail" was the small viewing window in a prison cell door. To slam the "doornail" shut would be to lock the prisoner "dead away" The "doornail" is the solid stud against which a door knocker is struck. The assumption is that anything that takes such a constant pounding must surely be totally lifeless

2. What is the origin of the phrase "Beyond the Pale"? A "pale" is a pointed stake used in a fence. Beyond the "pale" was deemed to be wild and barbarous This dates back to the days of cowboys and Indians when something or somebody deemed to be uncivilised was other than "pale" faced. They were "beyond the pale" The "pale" referred to is a bucket of water set ready for extinguishing fires. A fire beyond the range of the thrown pale of water was deemed to be "beyond the pale" The pale was the reinforced top edge of a drawbridge to a castle. To the lairds and lords of the castles the world outside their domain was deemed to be uncivilised and wild, in fact "beyond the pale".

3. What is the origin of the phrase "By Hook or by Crook"? The phrase relates to the gathering in of sheep in preparation for shearing This relates to piracy and the determination to latch one ship to another with a view to boarding the other Relates to the days when the lord of the manor would grant the right to tenants on his land to gather firewood. The only wood they could take would be that reachable by shepherd's crook or billhook This simply relates to theft. A "hook" was a con artist or swindler, as opposed to a less sophisticated "crook"

4. What is the origin of the phrase "Climbing on the Bandwagon"? Bands would play on a wagon at early U.S. religious or political rallies. To "climb on the bandwagon" would be to express your support for the cause A set of musicians in a small town would abandon more meaningful work, such as tending the farmlands, to tour their music through the state using their wagon as a stage. Frowned upon by locals they were "climbing on the bandwagon" U.S. courts were empowered to ban a man's usage of his wagon as part of a punishment for crime. A man who flouted such an order and "climbed onto his banned wagon", as a convicted drink driver might today, was showing a disregard for the law European; a circus coming to town would be heralded by a publicity band wagon touring the streets. Excited children would clamour to "climb on the bandwagon" in an expression of their excitement

5. What is the origin of the phrase "Coming up to Scratch"? Derived from the monkey. A monkey that was not picking nits and fleas from himself was deemed "clean" and therefore "up to scratch" A crude and simple reference to the idle amongst us who would finally climb from the bed to do something more useful, to improve themselves, i.e. they finally "came up to scratch" A shoal of flying fish emerging from the water were said to be "coming up to scratch" by the old salts i.e. fit and in their prime In early boxing matches the boxers had to stand with one foot touching a line scratched in the ground before each round. If they failed to do so they lost the fight

6. What is the origin of the phrase "Pass The Buck"? A phrase, morphed from its original form of "pass the book", originated amongst the learned within society. One in possession of a masterful and educating book would pass it around to others for their betterment Many card games made use of a marker, "the buck", to denote who had the responsibility for dealing. To "pass the buck" was to relinquish the responsibility to another Buckles were distance marker points along horse racetracks the largest of which sat at the finish line and was called a "buck" A "Buckler" was a term for a doorman at a munitions factory who would inspect employees entering work to ensure they neither carried, nor wore, anything metallic that might cause an ignition. The employees had to "pass the buck" before commencing work

7. What is the origin of the phrase "Hoist with his own Petard"? It was not uncommon in medievil days for a criminal to be made to make his own noose, or "petard", by which he was to be hung and executed In gallant days of yore a lord visiting another lords estate would be allowed the honour of hoisting his own "petard", or family flag, atop his hosts property The "petard" is the soft underbelly of a pig. Pigs would be unceremoniously hung on hooks by their own "petard" whilst their throats were slit by the butcher to allow the blood to drain A "petard" was an explosive seige weapon liable to premature explosion so killing the setter of the charge i.e. the setter was "hoisted by his own petard"

8. What is the origin of the phrase "To Let the Cat Out of the Bag"? The cat o' nine tails aboard ship was usually an intricate piece of leatherwear. The captain would preserve it from elements in a special bag. When ready to use it he would let it out of the bag A vulgar term shouted by the audience at a striptease show. "Let the cats out of the bag" would be a to demand the brassiere be removed The master of the house, fearing rodent infestation, would issue the order to staff to "let the cat out of the bag" i.e. let the cat go hunting An unscrupulous market trader dealing in suckling pigs might profiteer by selling a cat sealed in a bag. To "let the cat out of the bag" was to reveal his trickery

9. What is the origin of the phrase "Nineteen to the Dozen"? This refers to ancient days when effigies of soldiers would be placed amongst an army facing battle, thus giving the army the appearance of looking larger than it in fact was A steam powered pump capable of dispelling 19,000 gallons of water for every 12 bushels of coal burnt was going "nineteen to the dozen" A baker could be fined heavily for baking underweight loaves. He therefore ensured that his loaves were baked to a 19:12 scale to avoid penalty Press Gangs in ports would "procure" 19 potential seamen for every 12 required as they knew that some would abscond or escape before sailing

10. What is the origin of the phrase "Son of a Gun"? In early warships space was limited and sailors would often sleep between the cannons. Prostitutes or wives would sleep with the men and many babies were begat as a reult. They were known as "sons of guns" Olden day seamen would often bring their young sons aboard to act as runners, bringing munitions and gunpowder to the cannoneers. These would be "sons of guns" The bastard offspring of a so called "shotgun" wedding The "son of a gun" was the name given to the single bullet in a revolver used in a game of russian roulette