No Strings Attached

What does the phrase “no strings attached” mean?

It refers to the act of doing something without asking for anything in return.

Example of use: Danny said he’d do your chores today, no strings attached!

Interesting fact

The origin of the idiom “no strings attached” is directly tied to 18th century fabric merchants who would mark flaws in woven cloth by tying small strings to the bottom of the bolts at the locations where flaws were present. When a tailor or dressmaker needed flawless cloth, he or she would ask the merchant to provide them with fabric “with no strings attached.” This custom persists today.

Show of Hands

Means: Raising hands to vote about something.

Example of use: By a show of hands, how many of you would prefer to have the test on Friday?

Interesting fact

Voting can take place in many ways and one of the most common is described as a “show of hands.” The origin of the idiom “a show of hands” is believed to be 1789 England.

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Means: being too curious may bring about problems for you.

Example of use: ”Hey, I wonder what’s down that street; it looks awfully dark and creepy.” Answer: “Let’s not try to find out. Curiosity killed the cat.”

Interesting fact

The origin of the idiom “curiosity killed the cat” actually lies with a slightly different idiom, “care killed the cat.” The original meaning of the word “care” as used in this instance was “sorrow” or “worry,” and both of these forms of negative emotions can cause stress that damages the body and mind.

Phrase of the Day - ❤️❤️Bend over Backwards❤️❤️

Bend over Backwards

“Bend over Backwards” means to work very hard to accomplish something.

Example of use: “We bent over backwards to help him, and he never ever thanked us”.

Interesting fact

Unless you are extremely flexible, actually bending over backwards is quite a feat. It’s not at all surprising that the origin of the idiom “bend over backwards” is in gymnastics. The term was used as early as 920 CE to compare the athletic act of back bending with an expenditure of effort to ensure that something went as planned.

Phrase of the Day -❤️❤️Down to the Wire ❤️❤️

Down to the Wire

The idiom “down to the wire” means waiting until the last minute to do something.

Example of use: “I went partying yesterday and forgot that I’m supposed to submit my paper tomorrow. It’s gonna be down to the wire and I’ll have to pull an all-nighter to finish it on time”. 

Interesting fact

The origin of the idiom “Down to the Wire” is in Horse-Racing. In the late 19th century, a small wire was strung across the track, above the finish line, to help the judges determine which horse crossed the finish line first. An early example appeared in the July issue of Scribner’s Magazine in 1889, in the story ‘How the derby was won’: “As the end of the stand was reached Timarch worked up to Petrel, and the two raced down to the wire”.

PROVERB

     The proverb promotes the idea that to be fit and healthy you need to eat well and consume good food. If you eat well, you will be healthy; but if you eat badly you will have a bad health.You can use the saying “you are what you eat” when you want to point out the connection between food and health.

PROVERB

CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE 

“Has the cat got your tongue?” is an expression in the form of a question that originated in the mid-nineteenth century and was used when addressing a child who refused to answer a parent’s questions after some mischief. It is often shortened to “cat got your tongue?”. It means that you are having trouble thinking of a way to speak and/or answer a question that has been posed to you, so it seems like you cannot talk

Proverb

Two wrongs do not make a right.

What it means.......

• if a person does something to harm or offend us, that's wrong. If we do something to harm them back, that's wrong too.

How do I use it.....?

• Cursing on the road is a common  phenomenon amongst drivers. This should be strongly discouraged, no matter how angry a person may feel due to other driver's misconduct. Two wrongs do not make a right.