Expressions & its origins...

IP: *.abo.wanadoo.fr 01.04.03, 13:58
We know thanks to butterfly's excellent:

forum.gazeta.pl/forum/72,2.html?f=517&w=4950117
'Life in 1500' thread...

I thought we could go on a bit in that direction as it's both quite
entertaining & educational. Here is the origin of 'brainwashing' & surprise
surprise, it's Chinese:

"Brainwashing" is one of the few Chinese phrases to have made its way
directly into English in translation, thanks to the Korean War. Chinese
Taoist temples often displayed the two characters "Xi Xin," pronounced "shee
shin," meaning "Wash Heart." It was an adjuration to all those entering to
purge their hearts of base thoughts [i.e. Chinese Thought Reform] and
desires, and rise to a higher spiritual plane.
The Chinese communists adopted this phrase during political "struggle
sessions," in which an erring comrade would be urged by the group to
straighten out, fly right, get back in tune with the common goal. The very
word for "comrade" in Chinese is tongzhi, meaning "share goal."
Only one slight change was made: Instead of washing the heart, one was urged
to wash the brain, "Xi Nao," purify one's thoughts.
    • Gość: awalk Re: Expressions & its origins... IP: *.warszawa.sdi.tpnet.pl 02.04.03, 15:49
      www.wordorigins.org/thelist.htm
      • Gość: awalk Re: Expressions & its origins... IP: *.warszawa.sdi.tpnet.pl 02.04.03, 18:35
        btw

        Threshold

        Threshold is a very old word, dating to c. 1000 and probably earlier. The word thresh originally meant to stamp on or trample and survives today in the verb to thresh (wheat) and in thrash. The hold portion is of unknown origin. The threshold is literally the first place in a building you step and has evolved to mean any gateway.

        Once again the specious internet lore of Life in the 1500s blows the explanation. It claims that thresh was placed on the bare floor and a block of wood, the threshold, would keep the thresh in when the door was opened. The big problem is that there is no such thing as thresh. Thresh is not and never has been a noun. It is a verb meaning to beat, stamp, trample.





        Throw the Baby Out With the Bathwater

        There is a bit of false internet lore circling the globe about life in England in the 1500s. One of the claims this gem of wisdom makes is that the phrase throw the baby out with the bathwater comes from the practice of taking annual baths using the same bathwater as the other family members. By the time the children got a chance to bathe, the water would be so dirty that infants could be lost in it. Hence the phrase.

        The phrase in question does happen date to the 1500s, but the rest of the above story is pure fancy.

        This is actually a German proverb that dates to 1512. It was first recorded by Thomas Murner's in his satire Narrenbeschwörung. Despite its fame in German (used by such notables as Luther, Kepler, Goethe, Bismarck, Mann, and Grass), it doesn't appear in English for several more centuries, until Thomas Carlyle translated it and used it in an 1849 essay on slavery.

        There is no evidence that anyone ever actually tossed out a baby with the bathwater; it is simply evocative and alliterative imagery.
        • chickenshorts Re: Expressions & its origins... 02.04.03, 19:07
          Gość portalu: awalk napisał(a):

          > btw
          >
          > Threshold
          >
          > Threshold is a very old word, dating to c. 1000 and probably earlier. The
          word
          > thresh originally meant to stamp on or trample and survives today in the verb
          t
          > o thresh (wheat) and in thrash. The hold portion is of unknown origin. The
          thre
          > shold is literally the first place in a building you step and has evolved to
          me
          > an any gateway.
          >
          > Once again the specious internet lore of Life in the 1500s blows the
          explanatio
          > n. It claims that thresh was placed on the bare floor and a block of wood,
          the
          > threshold, would keep the thresh in when the door was opened. The big problem
          i
          > s that there is no such thing as thresh. Thresh is not and never has been a
          nou
          > n. It is a verb meaning to beat, stamp, trample.
          >
          >
          >
          >
          >
          > Throw the Baby Out With the Bathwater
          >
          > There is a bit of false internet lore circling the globe about life in
          England
          > in the 1500s. One of the claims this gem of wisdom makes is that the phrase
          thr
          > ow the baby out with the bathwater comes from the practice of taking annual
          bat
          > hs using the same bathwater as the other family members. By the time the
          childr
          > en got a chance to bathe, the water would be so dirty that infants could be
          los
          > t in it. Hence the phrase.
          >
          > The phrase in question does happen date to the 1500s, but the rest of the
          above
          > story is pure fancy.
          >
          > This is actually a German proverb that dates to 1512. It was first recorded
          by
          > Thomas Murner's in his satire Narrenbeschwörung. Despite its fame in German
          (us
          > ed by such notables as Luther, Kepler, Goethe, Bismarck, Mann, and Grass), it
          d
          > oesn't appear in English for several more centuries, until Thomas Carlyle
          trans
          > lated it and used it in an 1849 essay on slavery.
          >
          > There is no evidence that anyone ever actually tossed out a baby with the
          bathw
          > ater; it is simply evocative and alliterative imagery.

          What a misleading witch, that butter_fly!?!... I withdraw my willingness to
          kiss her hand!

          Well done 007 awalk!
          • butter_fly Re: Expressions & its origins... 02.04.03, 20:45
            Well done awalk. I'm looking forward to hearing you explain all the
            outstanding 'myths'. As for chickenShort's hand kissing - awalk what do you
            drink? I owe you something extraordinary... You just name it...
    • butter_fly Re:Raining cats and dogs 02.04.03, 21:05
      Meaning
      Raining very heavily.
      Origin
      The phrase is supposed to have originated in england in the 17th century.
      City streets were then filthy and heavy rain would occasionally carry along
      dead animals. Richard Brome's The City Witt, 1652 has the line 'It shall rain
      dogs and polecats'. Also, cats and dogs both have ancient associations with bad
      weather. Witches were supposed to ride the wind during storms in the form of
      cats. In northern mythology the storm god Odin had dogs as attendants
    • butter_fly Re: a dead ringer 02.04.03, 21:12
      Meaning
      An exact duplicate.
      Origin
      A ringer is a horse substituted for another to defraud the bookies. Dead
      here means exact rather than lifeless. The Victorian practise of fitting wires
      and bells into coffins to allow people who were buried alive to call for rescue
      is unrelated. Such devices certainly did exist but weren't the source of the
      phrase
    • butter_fly Re: bring home the bacon 02.04.03, 21:16
      Meaning
      To be successful in earning the money to feed the family.
      Origin
      May have originated from the English tradition that any couple who live
      together for a year and a day without quarrelling can claim a side of bacon
      (called the Dunmow flitch).
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