Monday, March 6, 2017

Greetings Infomaniacs,

I was talking to a friend about going out two nights in a row this weekend, and I said something along the lines of "hair of the dog that bit you." He had no idea what I was talking about.

I explained that the phrase literally meant that if you were bit by a rabid dog, it used to be thought that it would get better if a hair from the dog was put in the wound. In the sense of drinking alcohol, the pain from a hangover would be better if I drank again the following morning.

What's funny is the following week my friend used the same phrase in conversation. At least it made me feel better that someone else had heard it before! Here's some other samples of phrases and what they mean...

Enjoy!

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WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't."

HINT: (1942- ), is an American author and teacher best known for her fiction and poetry, and particularly for her 1973 novel Fear of Flying.

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RANDOM TIDBITS
There's No Such Thing as a Free Lunch: In the 1840s, bars in the United States offered anyone buying a drunk a "free lunch." It was really just a bunch of salty snacks that made customers so thirsty, they kept buying drinks.

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Bring Home the Bacon: The Dunmow Flitch Trials, an English tradition that started in 1104, challenged married couples to go one year without arguing. The winners took home a "flitch" (a side) of bacon.

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Spill the Beans: In ancient Greece, the system for voting new members into a private club involved secretly placing colored beans into opaque jars. Prospective members never knew who voted for or against them - unless the beans were spilled.

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With a Grain of Salt: Salt was once believed to have healing properties, and to eat or drink something with a grain of salt was to practice preventive medicine against potential poisoning or illness.

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Happy as a Clam: The original phrase was "happy as a clam at high tide." Because clam diggers are able to gather clams only at low tide, the clams are much safer (and happier) when the tide is high and the water is too deep to wade into.

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Take the Cake: The phrase originated at cakewalk contests, where individuals would parade and prance in a circle to the audience's delight. The person with the most imaginative swagger would take home first prize, which was always a cake.




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*** Weekly Mind-Scrambler ***
Each time you take a step you make one of me, but then you leave me behind. What am I?

Submit your answer by clicking: TheDailyTease

Answer will be posted in Friday's Trivia Today. Good Luck! If your name appears in Friday's newsletter, EMAIL MICHELE your complete name and address to be shipped your prize.

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WHO SAID IT?
QUOTE: "Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't."

ANSWER: Erica Jong.