Phrase Origins
Welcome to the Daily Cryptogram phrase origins dictionary. Idioms and common sayings are frequently the source material for our cryptogram puzzles, offering familiar patterns that make decryption deeply rewarding. Here, we've cataloged the fascinating backstories behind 94 of the most colorful expressions in the English language. A random origin story is featured alongside our daily puzzle to enrich your vocabulary and historical knowledge. Browse the full collection below.
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Baker's dozen
A baker's dozen is 13 instead of 12. This practice dates to medieval England, where bakers faced severe penalties for selling underweight br...
Beat around the bush
In medieval hunting, beaters were hired to thrash bushes and flush out game birds for wealthy hunters. The beaters did the preliminary work ...
Bee in your bonnet
This phrase describing someone obsessed with an idea dates to the 16th century. The image of a bee trapped inside a hat (bonnet) buzzing aro...
Best man
The role of best man at weddings originated with the ancient Scots, where the groom's strongest friend helped him kidnap the bride from a ne...
Blood is thicker than water
Ironically, the full original phrase may have meant the opposite of how it is used today. Some scholars argue the complete saying was "the b...
Bob's your uncle
This British expression meaning "and there you have it" is widely believed to reference Prime Minister Robert "Bob" Cecil, who in 1887 appoi...
Brass tacks
Getting down to "brass tacks" means focusing on essential details. The most likely origin is from old general stores, where cloth was measur...
Break a leg
This theatrical well-wish meaning "good luck" has several proposed origins. One theory references the tradition of audiences stamping their ...
Break the ice
Originating from the era of commercial sailing, port cities would send small ships to break the ice in frozen waterways so that trading vess...
Bring home the bacon
One origin story traces this to the Dunmow Flitch Trials in Great Dunmow, England, dating to 1104. Married couples who could prove they had ...
Burning the midnight oil
Before electric lighting, working late into the night required burning oil lamps. The phrase dates to the 17th century poet Francis Quarles ...
Bury the hatchet
This expression meaning to make peace comes from a Native American custom. When warring tribes negotiated a truce, chiefs would literally bu...
Butter someone up
This phrase meaning to flatter someone excessively may come from an ancient Indian custom of throwing balls of clarified butter (ghee) at st...
By and large
This nautical term meaning "on the whole" or "generally speaking" comes from sailing. "By" means sailing into the wind, while "large" means ...
C
Cat got your tongue
Several theories exist for this phrase used when someone is unusually silent. One suggests it refers to the cat-o'-nine-tails whip used for ...
Charley horse
This American term for a painful leg cramp has an uncertain but colorful origin. One popular explanation traces it to a lame horse named Cha...
Chip on your shoulder
In 19th-century America, a person looking for a fight would place a wood chip on their shoulder and dare someone to knock it off. The practi...
Close but no cigar
This phrase for a near miss originated at American carnival games in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Cigars were commonly given as p...
Cold turkey
Quitting something "cold turkey" — abruptly and without tapering — may reference the cold, clammy, goosebump-covered skin of someone going t...
Crocodile tears
This phrase describing fake sorrow dates to ancient Greek and Roman times, when it was widely believed that crocodiles wept while eating the...
Cup of joe
The most popular theory traces this nickname for coffee to Secretary of the Navy Josephus "Joe" Daniels, who in 1914 banned alcohol aboard U...
Cut the mustard
Meaning to meet expectations or perform adequately, this phrase likely originated in late 19th-century America. "Mustard" was slang for some...
D
Dead ringer
This phrase for an exact duplicate does not come from premature burials as urban legend suggests. Instead, it originates from horse racing i...
Devil's advocate
This term for someone who argues an opposing position originated in the Catholic Church. During canonization proceedings, a church official ...
Diehard
At the Battle of Albuera in 1811 during the Peninsular War, Colonel William Inglis of the 57th Regiment of Foot lay wounded on the battlefie...
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth
A horse's age and health can be assessed by examining its teeth. This proverb, meaning don't be ungrateful or overly critical of a gift, dat...
E
Eat humble pie
Originally "umble pie," this was a medieval dish made from the "umbles" — the heart, liver, and other innards — of a deer. While the lord of...
Egg on your face
This expression for public embarrassment likely comes from audiences at bad theatrical performances throwing eggs at the actors on stage. Ha...
Elvis has left the building
This iconic phrase was first spoken by promoter Horace Lee Logan at a 1956 Elvis Presley concert in Shreveport, Louisiana. He used it to enc...
F
Feeling under the weather
A variation of "under the weather," this nautical phrase specifically refers to passengers who felt seasick during rough seas. They would go...
Fishing for compliments
This expression for seeking praise through indirect means dates to the 18th century and draws on the image of fishing with bait. Just as an ...
Flash in the pan
This phrase for a brief, promising start that leads to nothing comes from flintlock firearms. Occasionally, the gunpowder in the pan would i...
Fly by night
Originally a term for someone who fled secretly at night to avoid paying debts, this phrase dates to the late 18th century. It evolved to de...
Fly off the handle
This expression for losing one's temper comes from early American frontier life, where axe heads were often poorly secured. During vigorous ...
Frog in your throat
This phrase for hoarseness has a surprisingly medical origin. In medieval times, a folk remedy for throat infections involved placing a live...
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Get off your high horse
In medieval times, high-ranking individuals rode taller horses than commoners, literally looking down on people from their elevated position...
Give someone the third degree
This phrase for intense interrogation may come from Freemasonry, where the third degree of Master Mason is the highest rank and involves a r...
Go the whole nine yards
The origin of this phrase meaning to make a complete effort is hotly debated. Theories include the length of ammunition belts in WWII fighte...
Going postal
This dark American phrase for going violently berserk originated from a series of incidents in the 1980s and 1990s where United States Posta...
Graveyard shift
The night work shift was likely called the "graveyard shift" because of its eerie, dead-of-night hours and the ghostly quiet of factories an...
H
Hair of the dog
The full phrase is "hair of the dog that bit you," and it refers to an old folk remedy for rabies: placing hair from the offending dog on th...
Hands down
This expression meaning "easily" or "without question" comes from horse racing in the 19th century. When a jockey was so far ahead that vict...
Hat trick
Originally a cricket term, this phrase dates to 1858 when bowler H.H. Stephenson took three wickets in three consecutive deliveries. His clu...
Hit the hay
This expression for going to bed dates to the era before modern mattresses, when people literally slept on mattresses stuffed with hay or st...
Hold a candle to
Before electric lighting, apprentices and junior workers would literally hold candles for their masters so they could see their work. If som...
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Jaywalking
In early 20th-century America, "jay" was slang for a naive, unsophisticated person — a country bumpkin. When rural people visited cities, th...
Jump on the bandwagon
In 19th-century America, political campaigns used bandwagons — decorated horse-drawn wagons carrying a band — to attract attention during pa...
K
Keep it under your hat
This phrase meaning to keep a secret may originate from medieval archers who stored spare bowstrings under their hats to keep them dry. More...
Kick the bucket
This phrase meaning "to die" likely originates from the method of slaughtering pigs in the 16th century, where a wooden beam called a "bucke...
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M
Mind your Ps and Qs
Several origins compete for this phrase about being careful and polite. One suggests it comes from English pubs, where bartenders reminded p...
Mum's the word
This phrase meaning "keep quiet" dates to the 14th century. "Mum" is not a reference to mothers but to the humming sound "mmm" made with clo...
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No room to swing a cat
Despite the vivid imagery, this phrase about cramped quarters likely refers to the cat-o'-nine-tails, a multi-tailed whip used for punishmen...
Not my cup of tea
The positive version — "my cup of tea" meaning something one enjoys — originated in British slang around the 1930s. Tea being the quintessen...
O
Off the record
This journalistic term meaning information should not be published originated in the mid-19th century from legal terminology. In courtrooms,...
On cloud nine
The origin of this expression for extreme happiness is debated. One theory links it to the U.S. Weather Bureau's 1896 classification of clou...
On tenterhooks
This phrase describing anxious suspense comes from the textile industry. After cloth was woven, it was stretched on wooden frames called "te...
Once in a blue moon
A blue moon is the second full moon in a single calendar month, a relatively rare occurrence happening roughly every two and a half years. T...
P
Paint the town red
One popular origin story attributes this phrase to the Marquis of Waterford, who in 1837 went on a drunken rampage through the English town ...
Pass the buck
In frontier poker games, a buckhorn-handled knife (the "buck") was placed in front of the player whose turn it was to deal. If a player did ...
Piece of cake
This phrase meaning something easy likely comes from the cakewalk, a dance competition originating among enslaved African Americans in the 1...
Pull someone's leg
While often attributed to 19th-century street thieves who would trip victims by pulling their legs to rob them, the actual origin is uncerta...
Pulling strings
This expression for using hidden influence comes from puppet theater, where the puppeteer controls the characters by pulling strings from ab...
Put a sock in it
This command to be quiet likely originated in the early days of gramophones in the late 19th century. Early phonograph players had no volume...
R
Raining on someone's parade
This American expression for spoiling someone's plans or celebrations dates to the early 20th century. The image is straightforward: an outd...
Read between the lines
This phrase for discerning a hidden meaning originated from a simple cryptographic technique. Secret messages were sometimes written in invi...
Read the riot act
This phrase for sternly warning someone to behave comes from an actual British law. The Riot Act of 1714 required authorities to read a spec...
Red herring
This term for a misleading clue comes from the practice of training hunting dogs. Strong-smelling smoked herrings, which turn red during the...
Red tape
Official documents in England and other European countries were traditionally bound with red ribbon or tape. The phrase came to symbolize ex...
Rise and shine
This cheerful morning greeting has biblical roots, derived from Isaiah 60:1 — "Arise, shine, for your light has come." Military usage transf...
Rob Peter to pay Paul
This phrase for solving one problem by creating another may originate from the rivalry between St. Peter's Cathedral in Westminster and St. ...
Run amok
This phrase for behaving wildly comes from the Malay word "amuk," meaning a frenzied, murderous attack. European travelers in Southeast Asia...
S
Saved by the skin of your teeth
A blend of two biblical phrases from the Book of Job. "By the skin of my teeth" (Job 19:20) describes the narrowest possible escape, while "...
Scapegoat
This term for someone blamed for others' misdeeds comes from an ancient Hebrew ritual described in the Book of Leviticus. On the Day of Aton...
Sell like hotcakes
Hotcakes (pancakes) were a hugely popular treat at church fairs, carnivals, and frontier gatherings in 19th-century America. They sold so qu...
Shooting the breeze
This American phrase for casual, idle conversation dates to the early 20th century. It likely derives from the image of someone shooting aim...
Show your true colors
This phrase about revealing one's real character comes from naval warfare. Ships would sometimes fly false flags to approach an enemy withou...
Skating on thin ice
This metaphor for engaging in risky behavior is remarkably literal in origin. Skating on ice that is too thin to safely support a person's w...
Skeleton in the closet
This phrase for a hidden, embarrassing secret likely originates from the era before medical science made cadavers legally available for stud...
Sleep tight
Before box springs, beds used ropes woven through the frame to support the mattress. These ropes needed regular tightening to prevent saggin...
Spill the beans
One theory traces this phrase to ancient Greek voting practices, where citizens placed white or black beans in a jar to cast their votes. If...
Spitting image
Meaning an exact likeness, this phrase is likely a corruption of "spit and image." In the 17th century, "spit" was used to mean an exact rep...
Steal someone's thunder
Playwright John Dennis invented a new method of simulating thunder for his 1709 play "Appius and Virginia," which was a commercial failure. ...
Straight from the horse's mouth
In horse racing and trading, the most reliable way to determine a horse's age was to examine its teeth directly — hence getting information ...
T
The whole nine yards
This American expression meaning "everything" or "the full extent" has a disputed origin. Commonly attributed to WWII fighter plane ammuniti...
Three sheets to the wind
This nautical phrase describing someone who is very drunk refers to the ropes (called sheets) that control a sail. If three sheets were loos...
Throw in the towel
From the world of boxing, where a fighter's corner would literally throw a towel or sponge into the ring to signal surrender and stop the fi...
Turn a blind eye
This phrase is famously attributed to Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801. When signaled by his superior to withdraw,...
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White elephant
In ancient Siam (Thailand), rare white elephants were considered sacred and could not be put to work. Kings would reportedly gift them to co...
Wild goose chase
Originally, this had nothing to do with chasing geese. Shakespeare used it in "Romeo and Juliet" (1597) to describe a type of horse race whe...
Wolf in sheep's clothing
This phrase for a dangerous person disguising their true nature comes from the Bible, specifically Matthew 7:15, where Jesus warns of false ...