38 Literary Facts About Common Idioms & Phrases in English

The phrase 'crocodile tears' refers to a medieval belief that crocodiles shed tears of sadness when killing and consuming their prey.

27. Prolonged exposure to felt containing high levels of mercury would cause mental dysfunction in 18th-century hat makers, ushering in the phrase “As mad as a hatter.”

28. "Ship coal to Newcastle" is a British idiom meaning to do a pointless action because Newcastle produces so much coal. Timothy Dexter shipped coal to Newcastle and made a huge profit.

29. The idiom "to go the extra mile" originates from a law that used to force Jewish natives to carry Roman soldier's equipment for 1 mile. The nice ones went 2.

30. "Losing my religion" is an old phrase from the Southern USA meaning someone's about to lose their temper or reach the end of their rope.

The idiom "Pipe Dream" refers to visions experienced as a result of taking opiates and not the vain hope of an impossible situation.

32. The phrase "as smooth as a milkmaid's skin" comes from the fact that milkmaids were often exposed to cowpox, giving them partial immunity to smallpox and leaving their skin free of pox scars.

33. The phrase "[murdered] in cold blood" doesn't refer to someone being cruel. It refers to the killer having had time to think over the crime and still do it in a calculated way. As opposed to doing it in the "heat of passion", their blood had time to cool before they committed the crime.

34. "Crab mentality" describes selfish, short-sighted thinking best described by the phrase "if I can't have it, neither can you."

35. The phrase "Die Hard" was coined in 1811 by an English officer during a battle in the Napoleonic Wars. He was wounded but refused to leave the field, telling his outnumbered regiment to "die-hard" against the French troops.

The phrase “balls to the wall” comes from aviation. Ball-shaped handles controlled the throttle and fuel and putting these handles closer to the wall resulted in the fastest possible speed.

37. The phrase 'It's raining cats and dogs' originated from the tendency of dead animals to be washed away following periods of heavy rain in the filthy streets of 17th century England.

38. The idiom “blue blood” which was used to describe those of noble birth, derives from their superficial veins appearing blue on untanned skin. Tanned skin was associated with the working class and peasantry who spent most of their time outdoors.