Ever Wonder...
In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.
When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to
sleep on. Hence the phrase "goodnight, sleep tight".
It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month
after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all
the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was
lunar based, this period was called the honey month or what we know today as
the honeymoon.
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old
England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them mind
their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase
"mind your P's and Q's".
Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim
or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the
whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by
this practice.
In Scotland, a new game was invented. It was entitled Gentlemen
Only Ladies Forbidden.... and thus the word GOLF entered into the
English language.
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