So, Where Did That Really Come From?

For this post, I've decided to take a look at the origins to a few popular American sayings. You know the sayings that people say at a certain time, but really don't know what the true meaning is or where in the world it came from. So many of them really don't make sense when you sit down and think about them (or think about them standing up or laying down for that matter). But, for your luck, i happen to have an extensive knowledge of the origins of American sayings. You may wonder "Where did you pick up an extensive knowledge of the origins of American sayings?". A good question and one that requires a response. My response is this; there are just some things that you pick up in life as you go through the journey. This newly acquired knowledge of mine is something that I have picked up along the way. So, I guess you're just going to have to take my word for it. And since I know that I am well known for my honesty, I'll just assume that you have placed complete trust in me! Now, on to those sayings...

"Keep your eyes peeled"

This saying implies that you pay attention to what is happening around you or being on the lookout for something in particular. Fair enough. If you take the term literally, it turns rather gruesome pretty fast. Nobody wants to think about peeling eyes (although i just made you think about it!). But the origin of the term really has nothing to do with peeled eyes in that sense. It came about thanks to the American explorer Frederick Johnston who discovered a native tribe deep in the Amazon jungle of Brazil. The people there had long since discovered the harmful nature of UV rays from the sun, and had taken precautions to prevent the various forms of skin cancer. Their preventative measures included wrapping your head in a bananna leaf to protect it from the sun. But the problem being unable to see through a bananna leaf. This made it extremely difficult to not only hunt and avoid leopards, but to function on a daily basis. So one day one of the elders of the tribe decided to peel the leaf from infront of the eyes, which gained great popularity. The saying became popular amongst the natives and was roughly translated by Frederick Johnston to the modern "keep your eyes peeled" that we are used to today!

"The cat's out of the bag"

I gotta admit, I'm not really sure of the origins of this saying, but when you think about the literal meaning, it just doesn't make sense. Who puts a cat in a bag? Have you ever tried to put a cat in a bag? It's not happening. Maybe it was trendy at some point to carry a cat in a bag. So i wonder if they ever sold pre-bagged cats. Maybe that's why it was such a big deal when the cat got out of the bag. The last thing you want are wild bag-less cats running around your neighborhood, terrorizing the church mice. And how it got to mean "the secret's out" i have no idea.

Edit: So i just found out why the cat getting out of the bag was such a big deal. Before the use of carrier pigeons, it was believed that cats made excellent message carrying animals. A message would be tied to a cat and then both placed in a bag to be carried to a certain destination. If anyone tried to place their hand in the bag to read the message, the cat would claw or bite them in protection of the message. Or, if the bag was opened, the cat would bolt out and simply vanish into the streets or get eaten by a coyote in the country. So the term "the cat's out of the bag" referred to a certain message escaping it's inherent secrecy with the risk of it coming into light. So there you go. No wonder they went to pigeons. This was a terrible idea...

"It's raining cats and dogs"

In the small Icelandic village of Reykjavik during the 14th century, it was quite popular to get a weather forecast of "cloudy with a chance of cats". It often rained cats at this time, yet the population was kept in check as many of the cats would chase the lemmings off the cliff into the seas below. On occasion, they would get stuck in trees or in the thatch roofs of the village huts, but for the most part, the cats weren't an issue. Then one day, a vagabond roamed into the village. He was treated poorly and was cast out. As he was leaving, he cast a spell on the village and it's inhabitants that "may the polar opposites fall from the sky!" No one had any idea what this guy was talking about...until it started to rain. Much to the peoples surprise, not only did it start raining cats, it started raining cats AND dogs! This phenomena not only created an uncontrollable dog population, it vaulted Reykjavik to the position of capital of Iceland, which it still holds this day. Although global warming has negated the pattern of raining cats and dogs, the legend still lives on in Icelandic lore.


Note: This post is only partially finished, so be sure to check back in a week when it is all said and done!