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Don Hite
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Tags: Break Time, By Request, Microsoft SQL Server, Odds & Ends, PowerShell, SMS 2003 SQL Queries, Vbs Scripts
Recent Posts Tagged With 'origins'
BigWig
The terms Bigwig, Big Wig or Big Wigs has its origins in 17th century France but was not popularized until it reached England in the 18th century. English nobles and others of importance such as priest, judges and lawyers wore wigs as did othe...
Can't Swing A Dead Cat
The Cat here is not the four legged house pet but is the Cat-O-Nine-Tails that was referred to as “The Cat”. The Cat was basically a whip with nine leather thongs where each one was about 3 foot long. It was used by the Royal navy ...
White Elephant
According to legend Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810–1891) better known as P.T. Barnum sent an agent to India to purchase a White Elephant sight unseen for his Circus billed as the greatest show on earth. When the elephant arrived it was not ...
In Like Flynn
Errol Flynn was quite the ladies man according to the newspapers and tabloids of his day. During World War II servicemen fist coined “In like Flynn” when they were bragging about their own conquests or to it was used to describe so...
Strike While The Iron Is Hot
To strike while the iron is hot means that you need to do something right away before the opportunity slips away. The saying originated in the blacksmith trade where the blacksmith or Smitty heated iron in an open fire pit in order to shape an...
In The Red
In accounting when keeping financial records negative cash flow numbers or debits are in red and positive cash flow or credits are recorded in black. So when we say that someone or a company is in the red it means that they are not doing too w...
S.O.S.
SOS is Morse code that in effect means nothing. Some claim it stands for “Save Our Ship” or “Save Our Souls” but that is incorrect it is just an easy way to remember it. SOS is actually the term applied to sending a ser...
Eves Dropping
When we say that someone was or are eves dropping it is meant to infer that they are listening in on a private conversation when they should not be. This can be traced back to the age before the invention of the rain gutter where they u...
Face The Music
This saying was hard to nail down because so many claims have been made as to how the saying came to be. The most common was that it originated in the late 1880’s when men in the military were executed by firing squads. The men were blin...
Jury Rigged
The term Jury Rigged was originally a nautical term from the 1780’s where a jury rig which was a replacement mast and yards on the ship was put up in the event that the original mast and yards was torn by storms or damaged by canon balls...
Uncle Sam
During the War of 1812 Samuel Wilson (1776-1854) from Troy New York had a contract to supply beef to the U.S. Army which was shipped in wooden barrels. The barrels were then stamped with "U.S." for United States. As a result the team...
Jumped The Gun
When we say that someone jumped the gun it means that they responded to something too quickly or did not think before they responded. The term Jumped the Gun can be traced back to the sport of horse racing in the old west where a pistol or gun...
That’s All She Wrote
The term “That’s all she wrote” has its origin dating back to WW II when soldiers at war received “Dear John” letters from their significant others where they are writing to end their relationship. When asked what...
Apple Polisher
In the 1920’s it was a custom for school children to bring the teacher in some fruit in the mornings and the most popular was an apple. Bringing in an apple was thought to have put the teachers favor on you for the day. It was not uncomm...
A Maverick
Samuel Augustus Maverick (1803– 1870) was a Texas cattleman from whom the term Maverick originated. In the west it was a custom and still is to some extent to brand your cattle so that you know they are yours. Because he thought that bra...
It’s All Greek To Me
William Shakespeare in his 1599 play Julius Caesar had a scene in it where Cicero who spoke Greek was referred to in the lines below: Cassius: Did Cicero say anything? Casca: Ay, he spoke Greek. Cassius: To what effect? Casca: …...
