The Origins of 18 Common Words & Phrases
Many of the words and phrases we use every day are things we take for granted in terms of what they mean now. But what did they originally mean? What is the origin of "gibberish," "spill the beans," "best man," or "loophole?" What are the origins of these everyday phrases and terms? Some of these might surprise you.
If you are looking for the origin of  common phrases, read up! You never know the next time someone may ask you about the origin of a popular phrase. And when that happens, you, my friend, will be ready.
From ancient castle features to the dangers of having your bride stolen on your wedding day, these common phrases have their origins from some interesting sources. Below you will find out such interesting things as the jibber jabber origin, stool pigeon origin, and the etymology of common phrases and sayings. Learn where the phrases and terms you use everyday came from with this list of origin of phrases and expressions.Best Man
In feudal days, weddings were rife with the possibility of a rival lord trying to break up your wedding ceremony and steal your bride for political reasons. To prepare for a possible battle, the groom would ask a friend with fighting skills to stand with him during his marriage and act as his Best Man, helping to defend his bride from possible kidnapping.
Often, grooms would convince multiple friends and relatives to stand with him, and several peasant "maids" would be persuaded to stand with the bride, in the hope that if invaders came to disrupt the ceremony, they would be confused by the number of girls in party clothes, and possibly kidnap the wrong one.Stool Pigeon
The origin of this phrase goes back to when pigeons were considered a good food source. Hunters would take a tame pigeon and tie it to a stool in order to attract its wild brethren. Because the pigeon that was tied to the stool was used to trap others of its kind, the term "stool pigeon" became used to describe anyone used to sell out his friends.Spill The Beans
In ancient Greece, some voting was done with beans. White and black beans were used to determine the nature of your vote. Citizens would cast their votes with the bean color for their choice and drop it in a jar to be counted by the officials later. However... as one might expect... on a few occasions a clumsy voter would knock over the jar and reveal the beans and the outcome of the vote. The phrase came to refer to someone who reveals the truth or hidden secrets.Loophole
Today, this word implies a way to get out of a contract. The origin goes all the way back to the Middle Ages and, believe it or not, a defensive architectural feature of castles. Up at the top of the fortifications, designers put in small, usually oval windows that were tapered to be wider inside and narrower from the outside (also called a "murder-hole"). This made the window difficult to hit from the outside by attacking enemies, but a good spot from which to fire arrows.
This opening was called the loophole and later, the term came to represent any opening that gave an advantage to one side in an argument or contract.Get The Sack
Sacked! In today's parlance, it means to get fired. The origin, however, is from the 17th century. Artisans used to come to work with their own tools for the job, usually carried in a sack). When an employer wanted to fire someone, all he did was hand him his sack and tell him to take his tools and leave. This phrase still has the same meaning today, only now the sack has been replaced by a cardboard box to take home one's personal effects and office plants.Skeleton in the Closet
In the 17th century, doctors of medicine found that obtaining dead bodies for study was difficult. So difficult, in fact, that they would be lucky to get even one in their entire lifetime. Because of this, the body they obtained would be treasured and never discarded. But, obviously, society frowned on keeping corpses lying around. Doctors rectified this by keeping the skeleton in their closets. The practice was common enough that many patients just assumed that every doctor kept one hidden in there.
Eventually, the phrase came to be used for any unsavory secret that was hidden away from general public knowledge.