A similar phrase might be ‘it’s all water under the bridge’. there’s no point worrying about things that have already happened. The most common phrase is ‘there’s no use crying over spilt milk’ – i.e. Spilt milk in this case is anything that happened in the past. You don’t need to pay for it with any real body parts! But it’s good for emphatic effect. If something costs an arm and a leg, it’s very expensive. However, there was an exception for the poor, who were not allowed to saw any branches, but were allowed to gather timber from the ground, or even twigs from the tree – ‘by hook or by crook’ (two different types of instrument, both with curved ends). In this period the forests were all owned by royalty, and gathering firewood from said forests was considered a criminal offence. The origin of this phrase goes back to medieval Britain – its first recorded use is in 1380 in the Controversial Tracts of John Witcliff. To achieve something by hook or by crook means you do it by fair or foul ways. This roughly translates as ‘by any means necessary’. ‘just bite the bullet’) if they are hesitant or perceive risk. Now, however, the phrase seems to be closer to ‘stop beating around the bush’ – it’s something you encourage someone to do (i.e.

The procedure was obviously potentially fatal, particularly so in the middle of battle, so anyone who did it was considered valiant. In order to use it, they had to bite off the head of the cartridge to expose the explosive to the spark which would ignite it.

The phrase recollects a dangerous army practice in 1850s militaries (including the US and UK) where soldiers were equipped with the British Enfield rifle. When this phrase first came into common usage, it meant a person without any sign of fear, who acts with courage in the face of adversity. Bite the bulletĪgain, please don’t do this literally. This has the same meaning as barking up the wrong tree! 9. Every now and then, their great sense of smell would fail and they would bark up the wrong tree – hence the phrase. Barking up the wrong tree has its origins in hunting, where dogs were a key part of the pack, sniffing out the animal as it scrambled for refuge up a tree or bush. This is a great phrase it means to err in your judgment. Every now and then you might say it directly to a person – then its meaning becomes closer to “alright, calm down”. You use when you’re trying to get something out of a tight spot – say, remove a splinter from a finger or lift a brick out of a Jenga tower. British people say it usually to accompany a challenging task (like, lifting a wardrobe up a tight flight of stairs), often in a state of high concentration – it basically means, be careful, go gently. This phrase doesn’t really make any sense on its own. Something which ‘blows your socks off’ is an astonishingly good thing – to blow someone’s socks off is to make a very deep and positive impression. Nobody is going to put explosives in your shoes. Commonly heard as “stop beating around the bush!” i.e. To hold back from being direct and straight. To be indirect, and perhaps even reluctant or tricky, in saying or doing something. This comes from cricket – a six is when the batsmen hits the ball over the entire field and it lands outside the limits of the pitch – gaining 6 points. To be completely overwhelmed by something. To be ill, not well – I’m feeling a bit under the weather.

Strange timing synonym