Well, NOW it makes sense…
There are things we do and say through the course of our lives… we often don’t know why we do and say those very same things.
I’m not saying the following definitions are 100 percent right, I’m just saying these are the definitions I was given and make the most sense to me.
“Balls to the wall” – Full throttle. In the heyday of propeller-driven aircraft, the throttles were all the way forward (to the wall), especially during take-off.
“The whole 9-yards” – To put forth maximum effort. Two different origin stories, both make sense.
1.) When suits were hand-tailored, a really sharp coat, vest, and two pair of trousers needed a full nine-yards from a bolt of cloth. Question: “That’s a nice suit, what did it take?” Answer: “The whole nine-yards.”
2.) Unlike too many war movies, fighter pilots and bomber gunners only had a limited supply of machine gun ammo, usually a nine-yard belt. Question: “What did it take to shoot down that Japanese plane?” Answer: “The whole nine-yards.”
“F-U-C-K” – Whenever a baddie was sentenced to however long in the stocks, a sign would sometimes be placed over his head, noting whatever crime was committed. Sometimes, only the initials of the crime would be posted. Adulterers were guilty of “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge”. Now you know why Van Halen has a weirdly titled album.
“Log book” – When paper was valuable, and the open decks of ships were exposed to rain and waves, there was an actual log of wood on-deck that was the responsibility of the bo’s’n to carve one notch for every day they were at sea.
“Sinking buckets” – When John Naismith first invented basketball, he initially used peach buckets for goals. So, there was a ladder at each end of the court with an official standing at the top to remove the ball after each goal. Only later did he figure out that a hoop with netting would make the game progress much smoother.
“Shot glass” and/or “Take a shot” – Back in the old days if you didn’t kill something, you and your family would go hungry. Sometimes Ma would place a small cup or glass next to each plate in case you found some buckshot in the meat from the day’s meal.
Breaking a bottle of champagne across the bow when launching a ship – Again, back in the old days of Northern European pagans, the Vikings would sacrifice a newborn before launching a new longboat. In true Viking fashion, they would grip the child by the ankles, then swing the kid like a baseball bat against the bow. If it took more than one swing to kill the baby, the ship would be considered bad luck.
“Vittles” – A bastardization of the English word “victuals”, meaning food.
“Behind the 8-ball” – In a tough spot. You want to sink a shot, but the 8-ball is in the way.
“Knock on wood” – When Northern Europe was still awash in paganism (like it is currently), if you wanted something good to happen, one would rap on a tree to make the “god” of that same tree be freed. Thusly, that tree god would make good things happen to you.
Why pawn shops identify themselves with three golden circles – During the 4th Century when St. Nicholas was the bishop of Smyrna, Anatolia, he found that one of the faithful was deep in debt. Unable to pay, the poor man was told that the man owed money to was going to seize his three daughters as slaves. In secret, St. Nicholas dropped three bags of gold down the chimney, which ended-up landing in the three daughters’ stockings that were hung by the same chimney to dry-out after washing.
“Not worth his salt” – Useless individual. Supposedly, there was a time during the history of Rome’s Imperial Army, soldiers were paid in salt.
“Britches” – A bastardization of the old English word “breeches”, meaning trousers.
“Knots” – Nautical and aviation measurement of speed, 1.15 miles-per-hour. During the 1800s, to approximate the speed of a ship, sailors would tie a knot in a length of rope every 50 feet. They would drop the loose end into the water, then gave the rope 30 seconds to unravel itself. At the end of the timing, the number of knots in the water was considered the speed of the ship.
“Break a leg” – In the world of entertainment, wishing someone good luck is actually bad luck. Hence, wishing ill will on an actor is a good thing.
“Yankee” – Before the War of American Independence, the British Army ordered all the adult male Colonists be a member of the local militia, ready to fight for the King. The New York Dutch were no friend to the British Crown, so when they registered for the militia, they would use the fake Dutch name of “Jan Kees” (keep in mind that “Jan” is correctly pronounced as “Yahn“). So, when the war broke out, a British officer would go to each Dutch settlement and call out the roll. When no one answered, it went something like this; “JAN KEES, Jan Kees… where in the bloody ‘ell are all these Jan Kees!?”