Although effective, this tactic was and is extremely dangerous, as the backfire itself can get out of control. Example: Okay, so we are out of work, have a big mortgage, and no job prospects in site.
Things don't look good but what we need to do find the pony in all this. Origin: From an old joe-k about two brothers, one an optimist, the other a pessimist. One Christmas the boy's parents set out to get presents. Knowing the pessimist son was hard to please the parents first tried to find him a present, but each idea considered was rejected because the parents were sure the boy would be dissatisfied.
Finally they decided to get the boy a shiny new bicycle. Unfortunately they spent so much time trying to pick the present for the pessimist son that they had little time left for the optimist son. Not to worry they reasoned, he is easy to please. So they collected some horse droppings from the barn, put them in a box, and gift wrapped the package. On Christmas day the pessimistic son opened his present first. Predictably he was unhappy with the bicycle being certain he would fall and injure himself.
The optimistic son then opened his package. With great enthusiasm he began to empty the horse droppings from the box as he exclaimed "I know there is a pony in here somewhere". The phrase "find the pony" was popularized by President Ronald Reagan who used it in a press conference. Interestingly this phrase has a very different meaning to Brits. The problem of horse droppings accumulating in the streets in the days of horse and buggy prompted the use of a trap.
The trap is a bag suspended behind the horse to catch the droppings. The phrase "Trap and pony" came to mean horse droppings. In time the phrase has been shortened to just pony".
Hence in England "Find the pony" would mean to find the horse droppings. Origin: In the s, the British rated naval ships according to their size and strength. From 6 ratings, a warship of the first rate was the largest and most heavily armed, while the sixth rate ship was considerably smaller and had far fewer guns.
The general public used the phrase to indicate anything topnotch. Example: You've been sliding along getting "F"s in school for 2 years. It's time to fish or cut bait.
Origin: The phrase can be confusing if one thinks of bait that requires cutting up. In fact fisherman often use cut up pieces of fish as bait. Fisherman also use live bait. Cutting bait in this case means to cut loose your bait allowing it to swim free. If you are done fishing, you let the bait go free. It used to be said that a person who was well-liked had a face 'made of a fiddle', meaning that it was always wreathed in smiles, as a fiddle has a much-curled shape.
Example: When his wife saw the car he'd bought she was fit to be tied. Origin: "Tied" in this case refers to being bound as in a straight jacket. The need for being tied is to control ones actions to prevent from acting on the anger. Example: The executive tried desperately to flag down a taxi in the congested New York traffic.
Origin: Railroad employees used to literally flag trains down - they stopped them by waving flags at the engineers. Example: Joe Clark's political career turned out to be a flash in the pan. Origin: Flintlock muskets have small pans to hold the gunpowder fuse. Sometimes the gunpowder in the pan would flare up without firing the gun.
That would be a "flash in the pan". Alternative: Derives from the early gold prospectors who would literally see a flash of light as they panned for gold, but who would often fail to find the nuggets on closer inspection. Related phrase: "Pan out". Example: The politicians were concerned about the flotsam and jetsam of the downtown city core. Origin: These two terms originated from 17th-century sailing terminology.
Example: The U. Origin: This expression alludes to that of the hen that flies in the face of the dog or fox that attacks her. Example: John McEnroe would often fly off the handle at the tennis judges for any close calls.
Origin: The origin for this expression comes from U. While repairing something, their axe head would sometimes come loose and fly off the handle. This was not only dangerous, but also held up work for others until it was fixed - much to the annoyance of all. Example: Most stock investors don't make educated decisions, they're just flying by the seat of their pants. Origin: Before airplanes had sophisticated instruments and flight control systems, and even today, planes are piloted by feel.
Pilots can feel the reactions of the plane in response to their actions at the controls. Being the largest point of contact between pilot and plane, most of the feel or feedback comes through the seat of the pants. If you are "flying by the seat of your pants" your are responding to the feedback received. Related phrase: "On the fly". Origin: A victorious fleet sailing into harbour with their flags still flying at their mastheads.
Fair competition, respect, friendship, team spirit, equality, sport without doping, respect for written and unwritten rules such as integrity, solidarity, tolerance, care, excellence and joy, are the building blocks of fair play that can be experienced and learnt both on and off the field. Fair play is defined as the act of abiding by the rules. An example of fair play is to follow the rules when playing tennis. Fair play is also about learning social rules, like cooperating, taking turns, being polite, solving problems and being flexible.
Still yet another theory suggests the phrase was actually born out of the brothels of the American West, and referred to men behaving as though their whole town were a red-light district. The saying was popularized in the 18th and 19th centuries, when European visitors to Malaysia learned of a peculiar mental affliction that caused otherwise normal tribesmen to go on brutal and seemingly random killing sprees. It remains a diagnosable mental condition to this day. One theory argues the phrase relates to the various degrees of murder in the criminal code; yet another credits it to Thomas F.
But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. White elephant White elephants were once considered highly sacred creatures in Thailand—the animal even graced the national flag until —but they were also wielded as a subtle form of punishment.
0コメント