The Origin of the expression "Mum's the word"

This expression dates from about 1700, but mum, meaning "silence," is much older. In 2 Henry VI (1:2) Shakespeare wrote, "Seal up your lips, and give no words but mum."

You can also use "telling you this on the QT"
And the origin of that expression is as follows:

According to Robert Hendrickson, in The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, the first reference is from a British ballad of 1870, which contained the line “Whatever I tell you is on the QT”. It seems to have been just an abbreviated spelling, using the first and last letters of the word quiet, the mild obfuscation also suggesting a meaning for the expression. The Oxford English Dictionary has a first sighting from 1884: “It will be possible to have one spree on the strict q.t.”. Mr Hendrickson points out that it also occurs in a famous London ditty of 1891, sung by Lottie Collins, which also introduced the famous chorus line “Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay”:

A sweet Tuxedo girl you see,
Queen of swell society,
Fond of fun as fun can be,
When it's on the strict Q.T.

The origin of the word Sod Off

Sod-off is thought to derive "from the Middle Ages with the turf-dwellers of Romford (Essex on the poor side of London). These hard working peasant folk lived in low grass covered houses on the banks of the Thames.
In order to enter or leave one of these Squatts as they were known, a piece of turf or sod would be lifted away from the door opening. The term "sod off" was thus coined to mean "The door is open, feel free to leave".
This term eventually replaced such phrases as "Well, don't let me keep you", "My, is that the time?" and "We must have lunch together one day".

Carl Sagan

"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe."

Today's Question

Why do Americans say Alúminùm, while Brits (and most of the rest of the world) say Aluminium... our way is of course the right way, but why do Americans insist on pronuncing this word wrong?

And this question IS posed to YOU - so DO answer it if you have a proper answer - or even if you don't.

Right wing - always right?

he terms "Right wing" and "Left Wing" date back to pre-revolutionary France. In 1789, the French National Assembly was created as a parliamentary body to move control of issues, such as taxation, from the king to the citizenry.

Inside the chamber where the National Assembly met, members of the Third Estate sat on the left side and members of the First Estate sat on the right. The Third Estate consisted of revolutionaries, while the First Estate were nobles. Thus, the left wing of the room was more liberal, and the right wing was more conservative

"Right" can also mean "correct," while the Latin term for "left" suggests "sinister" behavior. We suspect that those on the political right wing appreciate these connotations more than those on the left.

The man who wasn't there.......

Jacob and me on Scooter trip - across Tower Bridge

Anyone know Chinese? Is this Cantonese?

The word for "Yes" or "I know"
I think it is shú..... is it right?
Anyone know?

The REAL Tube map of London

American Expressions

Keeps coming at you 'till the echo of the whistle
(football expression)

For more US expressions, see my seperate section on www.figenschou.net

Norrøn Mytologi og Norske fjøs-ord (Not for the eyes of ye forre'n folk)

Rudkallen - husnisse som passer på gården

Norske olje felt - og opprinnelsen av navnet.

Åsgard	Gudenes hjem
Balder	Fromheten og uskyldens gud. Rettferdig. Gift med Nanna. Drept av Hod, men skal komme tilbake etter Ragnarok
Brage	Gud for veltalenhet og skaldskap. Kjent for sin klokskap. Mann av Idunn - Idunn har eplene som holder æsene unge
Draugen	Monster som bor i innsjøer
Edda	Eldre og yngre edda - Norrøn mytologiske kilder
Embla	Første kvinnen i norrøn mytologi
Frigg	Norrøn gudinne - gift med Odin
Frøy	Gud for vær og årsvekst, velstand lykke og fred. Eier skibladner - verdens raskeste skip som han kan få plass til i lommen, eier galten Gyllenbuste, kan løpe på vann og gjennom luften
Glitne	Hallen til Forsete - sønn av Balder og Nanna- Gud for rettferdighet og forlikelighet. Hallen er det beste domstedet blant mennesker og æser
Grane	Et annet navn for Odin
Gullfaks	Hesten som Tor vant fra Jotnene
Gungne	Sverdet smidd av dverger - eiet av Odin - treffer alltid sitt mål
Gyda	Gift med Harald Hårfagre
Heidrun	Geiten som holdt til på taket av Valhalla - hjalp til med ustoppelig forsyning av mjød
Heimdal	Vokter Bifrost for intrengere (skal blåse i hornet ved ragnarok)
Hod	Sønn av Odin og Rind - blind, men sterk. kommer til å drepe balder
Huldra	Hørte til hulderfolket - Vakker forfra, men hesslig bakfra, hadde kuhale,
Jotun	Trollene som bodde i Jotunheimen
Mime	Mime's brønn - Odin gir opp ett øye for å drikke av brønnen
Njord	Styrer vindens gang - gud over sjø og ild
Norne	Skal fortelle om fremtiden - mest kjente: Urd, Skuld og Verdande (fortid, nåtid og fremtid)
Sleipner	Hesten til odin med 8 ben
Snorre	Norønn Gud - gav opp synet på det ene høyet for å kunne se fremtiden
Tor	Norønn Gud - hammer og lyn
Troll	Trollene bodde i Jotunheimen
Ula	By nær Sandefjord
Vale	Sønn av Loke (bror av Narfe) - halvsøsken med Fenris ulven, Midgardsormen og Hel
Valhall	Der norønne kom når de døde
Veslefrikk	Veslefrikk med Fela - Folke eventyr

Things you've always wanted to ask.. but didnt know you wanted to learn

A Pavlovian Response is an involuntary reaction we have no control over

Funny British Words & Expressions

• On your jack - by yourself (ex. he's coming on his jack)
• geezer - old man, but also mate
• knackered - tired
• kip - sleep
• Brolly - umbrella
  
• dustpan - trash can (WHAT is up with that... do people only throw away dust here in Britain?)
• And then also of course; Dustman - garbage man
• Lad/Lass - boy/girl
• Blimey - pretty good to use this when you are suprised
• Chuffed - happy
• Cloakroom - see it's NOT A cloakroom at all, its a TOILET!
• Corking/Spiffing - excellent, only usually used sarcastically
• Dodgy - supicious
• Fortnight - two weeks
• Git - Oddball,Jerk
• Jolly - very, happy
• Nick - to steal
• Nip - to run quickly to a place
• Spend a penny - go to the loo (from the days the public toilets cost a penny)
• Wellingtons - duke of Wellington invented the rubber boots
  
• Feeling peckish - feeling hungry
• afters - dessert
• pudding - another word for dessert
• Duff, Naff, Bollocks, My arse - words for B.S.
• cheeky bugger - smarty pants/bold
• duffer - silly bugger
• Waffli'n - talking silly - stop waffling, or even can be used as "stop waffling about"
• taking a brad - from Brad Pit..... (yepp you're taking a shit)
  
• Tank - Yank (American for those who didnt get that) (Crazy Brits I tell you)
  
  

KT

So this is where I live... only the picture was taken 50 years ago.
Its the second house from the right - bottom row.

Everlasting Questions

And now for some questions that have haunted mankind of decades - and will continue to do so for years to come.

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
The simple answer is of course that a woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

But really; why does the lady sell seashells by the seashore?

Birth of a Blog

Created this blog so I can post pictures and other Curious George stuff without having to edit my homepage. The blog should be updated a bit more often than the main page.

If you like random information - check out my homepage for more good stuff! http://www.figenschou.net/george/george.htm
Or just simply: www.figenschou.net
Here you will find the history of the sneeze (and the God Bless you's) as well as the ever pondered question of whether a penny will pierce someone's head if it is thrown off the empire state building.

Here's a favorite excerpt from a poem by T.S. Eliot - from Burnt Norton, which is the first of the four quartets:

What might have been is an abstraction
Remaining a perpetual possibility
Only in a world of speculation.
What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present.