Supposedly in the late 1700s (but it seems a little fishy to me)...As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year!
(May and October).Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved! their
heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford
good wigs made from wool. The wigs couldn't be washed so to clean them,
they could carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell and bake it
for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term
"big wig." Today we often use the term "here comes the Big Wig" because
someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.
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In the late 1700s many houses consisted of a large room with only one
chair. Commonly, a long wide board was folded down from the wall and used
for dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the chair while
everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Once in a while an invited guest
would be offered to sit in this chair during a meal (who was almost always
a man). To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. Sitting
in the chair, one was called the "chair man." Today in business we use the
_expression/title "Chairman.. or Chairman of the Board"
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Needless to say, personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a
result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women
would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their
complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to
stare at another woman's face she was told "mind your own bee's wax."Should
the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a smile." Also,
when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt and therefore the
_expression "losing face."
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Ladies wore corsets which would lace up in the front. A tightly tied lace
was worn by a proper and dignified lady as in "straight laced."
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Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax
levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the "ace of
spades." To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead.
Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be
stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full deck."
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Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what was
considered important to the people. Since there were no telephones, TV's or
radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs and
bars who were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's
conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at
different times. "You go sip here" and "You go sip there." The two words
"go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and
thus, we have the term "gossip."
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At local taverns, pubs and bars, people drank from pint and quart sized
containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep
the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was
drinking in "pints" and who was drinking in "quarts." Hence the term
"minding your "'P's and Q's |
