Meaning and/or origin of Proverbs, Adages and Sayings

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won't have a bar of
I have not been able to locate an origin for the saying "won't have a bar of" such as
"They won't have a bar of it".
The only bar I can think of, that may relate, is a bar of gold. Thus a treasure chest, perhaps it comes from pirates who would not even give one bar of gold.
What do you think.
Email me.

January 2010
Today I received the following email
My mom, who has passed away, had a saying that went something like this
"Fog on the fence post means" and I can't remember if it meant ice or snow, can you help me ?

This started me searching Google for an answer as I had not heard the saying before. Which led me to many sayings about 'fence posts'. Once again the rural aspect of old sayings rears it's head. There are an amazingly large number of 'fence post' saying so I decided to list a few.

Between You, Me and the Fence Post. Means that the person to whom you are speaking and you are the only ones who will ever know what is being said.
He would argue with a fence post. Indicates stubbornnes.
Some days you're the Dog - some days you're the Fence Post. Refers to dogs using fence posts as a toilet.
Deaf as a post (fence post). Refers to the days before hearing aids.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

If you have another fence post saying please email me.

December 2009.
For several years the below has been floating around as a nuisance email. It arrived again today and I thought perhaps it is useful to assist us in understanding the conditions in which our ancestors lived. It also provides explanations of some old sayings.

It is headed "Here are some facts about the 1500s."

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May (spring in the northern hemisphere), and they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.

Houses had thatched roofs of thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying It's raining cats and dogs. There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: A threshhold.

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer. And that's the truth. Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !

I told you it was an old email, but it does make us think how lucky we are in this modern world. We are able to go to the fridge and find something to eat or have a hot shower twice a day.

If you don't locate your answer here try the Contradictions section it may assist you to understand your problem saying.
Never look a gift horse in the mouth Accept something given to you, without question. Shake the hand before you plough the field Arrange the payment conditions before doing the work. Out of sight, out of mind. If we put something into storage we may often forget about it. It likewise can mean if a person leaves our immediate vicinity to live elsewhere they maybe forgotten. Applies to a situation where you have done the wrong thing and wish other people to forget about it. Lay low (say little) and hope that they will forget the error of your ways. Variety is the spice of life. Life would be dull if we only had one or two activities. A wide range of activities provides a full enjoyable life (spice). Reverse - Don't change horses in midstream. Here is the rural background again. Practice makes perfect. A very factual statement. Can be seen in apprenticeships and all training. It applies from the day we start learning to walk as a child. Reverse saying - You're never too old to learn - and - All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. A stitch in time saves nine Repair something before the damage gets worse. Perhaps there are nautical-themed proverbs, so many naval words and phrases are found in English. This could relate to a sail maker repairing sails rather than a tailor repairing clothes. Two heads are better than one. Indicates that two people can more easily find a solution to a problem than one person alone. Similar to the saying "Many hands make light work". Both meaning several people working together provide more hands (or heads, brains or minds) to lift a heavy weight (solve a problem). Reverse - Too many cooks spoil the broth. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Here is the rural background again. A person who has developed a certain way of ploughing a field with a horse and plough is difficult to teach how to use a tractor. Can apply to any situation where you are trying to re-train people. In actual fact people can be re-trained but it is more difficult to re-train a person than someone coming to a job with no previous experience. Reverse - You're never too old to learn. Blood is thicker than water. Highlight the old traditional family environment. Family (blood) are more important than anything else. Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread This proverb relates to decision making. When considering an action be sure to consider all angles before making the final decision. A hasty foolish or bad action can land you in a modern day 'Hell" where further consideration would have had you take another course. The assumption is that there are no angels in Hell. Another proverb in support of this is "Look before you leap". Many proverbs have an opposite in this case a contradiction is "He who hesitates is lost."	All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy Comes from the days when people worked six and a half or seven days a week. It acknowledges that all work makes a person uninteresting. Hence the modern emphasis on "networking" expanding your contacts even if they are involved in your industry. Good things come to those who wait. Don't rush into anything, think it through and wait until the time is right before you act. Reverse - Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. The more you stir, the more it stinks Could originate from the sewerage disposal systems or lack of them, with out-door toilets and the need to empty the can in the old days. Means that if several times you hear of some misbehavior by a person, if further investigated other worse happenings may be uncovered. Similar - Where there's smoke there's fire. All's well that ends well An event has had a satisfactory outcome even though at the start the result looked as if it may be unsatisfactory. A month of Sundays Means a long period of time. A month is say 30 days, therefore 30 Sundays each seven days from the previous would be 210 days, which is a long time. It does not mean 210 days it just is a way of saying this is a long time. Use:- "He will take a month of Sundays to build that shed". On the wallaby It refers to the swagmen of olden days who tramped around Australia looking for work. Perhaps it was because they just moved (a wallaby is a small kangaroo, they jump) from town to town looking for work. That let the cat out of the bag To pass along a secret. In medieval England, piglets were sold in the open marketplace. The seller usually kept the pig in a bag, so it would be easier for the buyer to take it home. But shady sellers often tried to trick their buyers by putting a large cat in the bag. If a shrewd shopper looked in the bag - then the cat was out of the bag. All's fair in love and war The "All is fair" phrase means that all and any actions are fair (reasonable). No rules apply. The "In love and war" phrase is a short description of life and the world we live in. As one person stated it "The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war". The saying "Alls fair in love and war" is usually used in a light hearted way to describe some action that is a little unusual for the circumstances in which it took place. There's no use in flogging (beating)a dead horse. If a horse is dead there is no point in expecting it to do any work for you, either allowing you to ride it or pull a plough. Therefore there is no point in beating it with a stick to make it move, as it is dead. This can then be applied to any project that is obviously not going to succeed. The project is considered dead so don't continue to work on it.	A pig in a poke Means buying an unknown. The bag relative to the "cat's out of the bag" (see above) was called a "poke." If you purchased a pig without looking in the bag you purchased a "pig in a poke". Getting out of the wrong side of bed. This saying tries to explain why a person is in a bad mood today. It is usually expressed as " Did you get out off the wrong side of the bed today". Probably comes from the days when in a large family several children had to share the one bed. No separate bedroom for each child in those days. Climbing over other siblings to get out of bed would start an argument. Laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes him. If a person is lazy and does not work they will not accumulate wealth. A problem shared is a problem halved Discuss your problems with someone and then there are two of you considering a possible solution. By hook or by crook A hook was a bent rod with a sharp point used to assist the user to hold and move a bag or bundle. A crook was the long (two metre) walking stick with a hook on the end traditionally used by shepherds. By hook or by crook meant that by the use of these two tools the job would be completed. Cut your coat according to your cloth This saying refers to a tailor who cuts cloth to make a garment (coat). It means that you can only make a product as good as the material you are making it from. Can be applied to projects as well as products. Nothing falls into the mouth of a sleeping fox The rural background again. The fox needs to be awake to catch his food. A person needs to be awake (on the ball) to succeed in life. A second saying with the same meaning is 'The sleeping fox catches no chickens". For donkeys' ages Meaning for a very long time. Since before cocky was an egg Meaning for a very long time. Old is gold. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Old Is Gold. Meaning that the old (previous) way is the best. Big fish, little sea If you are a clerk in a multi-national company with thousands of employees you are a little fish in a big sea. If you are the accountant for a small company that only trades in one town and has about about 20 employees you are then a big fish in a little sea.

Meanings & Origins of Proverbs

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It is headed "Here are some facts about the 1500s."