posted 04-07-2004 08:49 AM         

As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year! (May
and October) Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads
(because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made
from wool. The wigs couldn't be washed, so to clean them they would carve out a
loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat
would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term "big wig." Today we often
use the term "here comes the Big Wig" because someone appears to be or is
powerful and wealthy.

In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair.
Commonly, a long wide board was folded down from the wall and used for
dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the chair while everyone else ate
sitting on the floor. Once in a while, a guest (who was almost always a man)
would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant
you were important and in charge. Sitting in the chair, one was called the
"chair man." Today in business we use the expression or title "Chairman or
Chairman of the Board."

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Needless to say, personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a
result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would
spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When
they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's
face she was told, "mind your own bee's wax." Should the woman smile, the wax
would crack, hence the term "crack a smile." Also, when they sat too close to
the fire, the wax would melt and therefore the expression "losing face."

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Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied
when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the ace of spades. To
avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most
games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because
they weren't "playing with a full deck."

Ladies wore corsets that laced up in the front. A tightly tied corset was
worn by a proper and dignified lady as in "straight laced."

Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what was
considered important to the people. Since there were no telephones, TVs, or
radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, bars who were
told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's conversations and political
concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. "You go sip
here" and "You go sip there." The two words "go sip" were eventually combined when
referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term "gossip."

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At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart sized
containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the
drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in
"pints" and who was drinking in "quarts," hence the term "minding your Ps and
Qs."

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Bet you didn't know this! In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and
many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon
balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon, but how to prevent
them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a s
quare based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four, resting on nine, which
rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a
small area next to the cannon. There was only one problem...how to prevent the
bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a
metal plate called a "Monkey" with 16 round indentations. But, if this plate
were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the
rusting problem was to make "Brass Monkeys." Few landlubbers realize that
brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled.

Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations
would shrink so much that the iron cannon balls would come right off the monkey.
Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass
monkey."