Where does the expression "Son of Sam" come from?
536035
Why in the world does Son of Sam come up in your world?  Anyway, Son of Sam was the name of a serial killer in NYC in the late 1970s - I forget his real name.  The guy used to shoot people making out in cars in lovers' lanes around Brooklyn and maybe Queens.  He claimed his neighbor's dog, named Sam, had told him to kill all these people; of course, he was found to be quite mentally ill when caught. His spree lasted over a summer, and people were terrified. Spike Lee made a movie about the terror of that summer - you might try to find it and watch it.
18371
It is an idiom intended to mean "be careful, pay attention to detail"  it has morphed, in recent times, to mean many other things including "be polite".\n\nThere are several theories about it's origin, but the one I believe makes the most sense is - mind your Pints and Quarts.  Meaning to keep track of what you order in a pup so you are not over charged.
155847
Unfortunately, it's one of those things where the origins of it's use aren't exactly clear. However, one theory exists that says that the irish word for "uncle" is "anacol" which means "act of protecting; deliverance; mercy, quarter, safety."\n\nThat's as good of a theory as any.
1094727
It is Latin which means " Out of many we are one ". Loosely translated. Regarding the people the many different nationalities of people that came to America legally to gain their freedom from tyranny and oppression.
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King Saul was angry at Jonathan for defending David, and so Saul insulted his son.  Now the Living Bible was in its time trying to be hip and contemporary, to speak the language of the people, so "You son of a bitch!" was way appropriate!  Biblical people were not all simon-pure!\n\nFrom Wikipedia:\n\nUnusual fact\nIn 1 Samuel 20:30, the Living Bible contains the phrase "son of a bitch". This angered many parents, especially since the phrase was also present in the children's version. The verse, where Saul is yelling at Jonathan, was toned down in later printings of the LB ("You fool!") and in the New Living Translation ("You stupid son of a whore!").\nRetrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Living_Bible"\n\nFrom Biblegateway.com:\n\n1 Samuel 20:30 (The Message)\nSaul exploded in anger at Jonathan: "You son of a slut! Don't you think I know that you're in cahoots with the son of Jesse, disgracing both you and your mother?"\n[The word blanked out is similar to "slot".]\n\n1 Samuel 20:30 (New International Version)\nSaul's anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, "You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don't I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you?\n\n1 Samuel 20:30 (King James Version)\nThen Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness?\n\n1 Samuel 20:30 (Contemporary English Version)\nSaul was furious with Jonathan and yelled, "You're no son of mine, you traitor! I know you've chosen to be loyal to that son of Jesse. You should be ashamed of yourself! And your own mother should be ashamed that you were ever born. \n\n1 Samuel 20:30 (New Living Translation)\nSaul boiled with rage at Jonathan. "You stupid son of a whore!" he swore at him. "Do you think I don't know that you want David to be king in your place, shaming yourself and your mother?
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Here follows some theories:\n\nThe exact origin of "say uncle" or "cry uncle," an American invention first appearing in written English around 1918, is unclear, but there are, as usual, some interesting theories. One theory posits that "uncle" is actually a mangled form of the Irish word "anacol," meaning "protection" or "safety," making a demand from an aggressor to "cry uncle" equivalent to the thug demanding that his victim "cry for help" as a signal of surrender. There's no real evidence to support this theory, but there certainly was no lack of recent Irish immigrants in the U.S. around the turn of the century, so it's not entirely implausible.\n\nThe other popular theory about "cry uncle" suggests that the phrase may actually be thousands of years old, and that its origins go all the way back to the Roman Empire. According to this theory, Roman children, when beset by a bully, would be forced to say "Patrue, mi Patruissimo," or "Uncle, my best Uncle," in order to surrender and be freed. As to precisely why Ancient Roman bullies forced their victims to "cry uncle," opinions vary. It may be that the ritual was simply a way of making the victim call out for help from a grownup, thus proving his or her helplessness. Alternatively, it may have started as a way of forcing the victim to grant the bully a title of respect -- in Roman times, your father's brother was accorded nearly the same power and status as your father. The form of "uncle" used in the Latin phrase ("patrue") tends to support this theory, inasmuch as it specifically denoted your paternal uncle, as opposed to the brother of your mother ("avunculus"), who occupied a somewhat lower rung in patrilineal Roman society.
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not so sure of the origin and history behind the phrase but if you find it ranining cat's and dogs be careful not to step in a poodle... i looked it up for you and yu can find the answer at the link below
394571
Let me tell you this story from a Chinese Idioms:\n\nMr. Fine (Said of someone who shows approval to everything and tries not to offend anybody for the sake of peace.)\n\nA man named Sima Hui who lived at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty was known to have never spoken ill of anybody.  Whatever the others spoke about, he always said that it was fine.  Once he met an acquaintance on the street, the man asked him, "How are you, sir?" He said "fine".  At brokenheartedly told him that his son had died.  He was surprised to hear that Sima Hui said, "That's fine."  After the man had left, Sima's wife rebuked him, saying, "He thought you were a man of virtue and trusted you.  That's why he told you what was on his mind.  Why did you say "It's fine" when he told you that his osn had died?"  After hearing his wife's words, Sima said unhurriedly, "Fine.  What you said is fine."  From then on, Sima Hui become known as Mr. Fine.
414033
I suppose it could, depending on the true, Kabalistic interpretation of the Bible. But, there is a specific word usually reserved for "servant" and I have never heard of "son" being used that way. Maybe in translation to English this becomes possible, but I don't remember anything of that sort in Hebrew. Which is not to say it doesn't exist, of course.
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"A six year old boy, about 22kgs and 130cmtall, brown hair and brown eyes" is how my seven year old grand son would describe my 6 year old son, Sam - his "uncle Sam".\n\nA great nation, defender of Israel!
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Well, here's one answer, but it's in terrible English:\n\nhttp://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bob1.htm\n\nHere's a much more abbreviated explanation:\n\n"The most plausible theory for the origin of 'Bob's your uncle' refers to a case of nepotism wherein Lord Salisbury (Robert, or 'Bob') appointed his nephew to the post of Chief Secretary for Ireland (1887). " (taken from http://www.yaelf.com/questions.shtml )\n\nFYI- Nepotism means, "favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)" or "Favoritism shown or patronage granted to relatives, as in business." (from dictionary.com)\n\nSo, that's where it came from.  It means, according to the first website I cited:\n"It’s used to show how simple it is to do something: 'You put the plug in here, press that switch, and Bob’s your uncle!'”\n\nSo, like Lord Salisbury's nephew had a sure position because of his uncle's favor, so whatever you're going to do will be easy and sure.  The American equivalent might be, "It's a piece of cake!"\n\nAm I explaining this well?
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Bar-Abbas,  according to tradition, had for his first name "Jesus." His name means, "The Savior, Son of the Father". The Romans thought it good to offer them a pick of the 2 Jesus' "The Savior, King of the Jews" or the other. The irony of the two Jesus' fits well with the story. A Jesus who was of the Father, or One Who would be their King. Some historians bear out this tale, but it has been sent to "Tradition," for lack of Biblical confirmation.
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Eric Partridge, in Origins (1983), says OK derives from the OK Club, which supported Martin "Old Kinderhook" Van Buren in 1840. That isn't wrong, but it's only half the story. \n\nWilliam and Mary Morris, in the Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins (1977), mention the OK Club and give several other theories as well, including the off-the-wall idea that OK comes from "Aux Cayes," a port in Haiti noted for its rum. They imply the matter is still shrouded in mystery.\n\nBaloney. The etymology of OK was masterfully explained by the distinguished Columbia University professor Allen Walker Read in a series of articles in the journal American Speech in 1963 and 1964. \n\nThe letters, not to keep you guessing, stand for "oll korrect." They're the result of a fad for comical abbreviations that flourished in the late 1830s and 1840s. \n\nRead buttressed his arguments with hundreds of citations from newspapers and other documents of the period. As far as I know his work has never been successfully challenged.\n\nThe abbreviation fad began in Boston in the summer of 1838 and spread to New York and New Orleans in 1839. The Boston newspapers began referring satirically to the local swells as OFM, "our first men," and used expressions like NG, "no go," GT, "gone to Texas," and SP, "small potatoes." \n\nMany of the abbreviated expressions were exaggerated misspellings, a stock in trade of the humorists of the day. One predecessor of OK was OW, "oll wright," and there was also KY, "know yuse," KG, "know go," and NS, "nuff said."\n\nMost of these acronyms enjoyed only a brief popularity. But OK was an exception, no doubt because it came in so handy. It first found its way into print in Boston in March of 1839 and soon became widespread among the hipper element. \n\nIt didn't really enter the language at large, however, until 1840. That's when Democratic supporters of Martin Van Buren adopted it as the name of their political club, giving OK a double meaning. ("Old Kinderhook" was a native of Kinderhook, New York.) \n\nOK became the warcry of Tammany hooligans in New York while beating up their opponents. It was mentioned in newspaper stories around the country.\n\nVan Buren's opponents tried to turn the phrase against him, saying that it had originated with Van Buren's allegedly illiterate predecessor, Andrew Jackson, a story that has survived to this day. They also devoted considerable energy to coming up with unflattering interpretations, e.g., "Out of Kash, Out of Kredit, and Out of Klothes." \n\nNewspaper editors and publicists around the country delighted in coming up with even sillier interpretations-- Oll Killed, Orfully Konfused, Often Kontradicts, etc.--so that by the time the campaign was over the expression had taken firm root nationwide.\n\nAs time went on, though, people forgot about the abbreviation fad and Old Kinderhook and began manufacturing their own etymologies. Here's a sampling: \n\n(1) It's a derivative of the Choctaw Indian affirmative "okeh." Andrew Jackson, who figures in many stories about OK, is said to have introduced the word to the white man.\n\n(2) Another Jackson story has it that he used to mark OK for "oll korrect" on court documents. In the one example of this that was actually unearthed, however, the OK was found actually to be OR, for "order recorded," a common courthouse abbreviation. \n\n(3) It was a telegraphic signal meaning "open key," that is, ready to receive. Others say OK was used for "all right" because A and R had already been appropriated for other purposes. Big problem with this theory: the first telegraph message was transmitted in 1844, five years after OK appeared.\n\n(4) It stands for O. Kendall & Sons, a supplier of army biscuits that stamped its initials on its product
671615
it comes from the fruit "baneberry" which was a poisonous fruit given to enemies in old England.\nThe actual expression is "bane of my life", meaning "he will be the death of me.
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They didn't want to swear a long time ago so they used other words here is part of a site that may help....\n\nThe explanation of "Sam Hill" is actually pretty simple -- it's an early 19th century American euphemism for "hell" used as an oath. Perhaps due to our Puritan ancestry, Americans have always been especially creative when it comes to inventing linguistic detours around oaths and blasphemies. "Heck," "drat," "darn," "gosh," "jiminy," "gee-whiz" and "goldarn," for example, all started out as euphemisms for exclamations of surprise or rage no newspaper would print and no proper dinner table conversation would tolerate. To digress a bit, I have always wondered whether Walt Disney knew, when he christened his little cartoon creation "Jiminy Cricket," that the name was a rather transparent euphemism for the blasphemous oath "Jesus Christ." \n\nBecause the euphemism "Sam Hill" is also a perfectly good real name, many people assume that the phrase must have originally referred to a real person. A reader wrote me several years ago, wondering if he might have uncovered the "original" Sam Hill in the person of Samuel Hill (1857--1931), a lawyer, financier and railroad magnate known in the Northwest U.S. as "the Father of Good Roads." After doing a little checking, however, I can say with certainty that while Mr. Hill may have been famous for many things, he was not the source of this phrase. In fact, "What in the Sam Hill" was in widespread use by 1839, quite a few years before this particular Sam Hill was born.\n\n\n\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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< so to speak\n\nPhrased like this, in a manner of speaking, as in He was, so to speak, the head of the family, although he was only related by marriage to most of the family members. This term originally meant “in the vernacular” or “lower-class language” and was used as an aristocrat's apology for stooping to such use. [Early 1800s] Also see as it were.
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I found this on line,\n\n"Devious Derivations: Popular Misconceptions -- and More than 1,000 True Origins of Common Words and Phrases" by Hugh Rawson (toExcel, Iuniverse.com, 1994, 2000). This reference has some new information on the origins listed here (new information in parenthesis), new origins and what could be the actual origin. \n\n: : 1. Orrin Kendall biscuits, which soldiers ate during the Civil War. \n: : 2. Short for Aux Cayes, a Haitian port that American sailors praised for its rum. \n: : 3. Old Keokuk, a Native American tribal chief who was said to have signed treaties with his initials. \n: : 4. OK stands for "all correct" or the illiterate phrase "Orl Korrect." \n: : 5. U.S. President Martin Van Buren's nickname "Old Kinderhook" -- OK for short. He was a native of Kinderhook, N.Y.\n: : 6. Choctaw word "okeh," (or "hoke") meaning "indeed" (or "It is so.")\n: : 7. Scottish "auch aye", meaning "ah yes." (Or "och aye," meaning "okay.")\n: : 8. From the French maritime phrase "au quai" meaning "at dock", and therefore at last safe from the ravages of the open sea.\n: : 9. '0 killed' - the report of the night's death toll during the First World War. \n: : 10. All clear after the shoot-out at O.K. Corral. \n: : 11. Instruments calibrated at an Observatory at Kew had, affixed to them, a stamp, or impression, to authenticate that calibration. This stamp was O K - Observatory Kew. \n\n: : New origins from Mr. Rawson's book:\n: : 12. The abbreviation is for Oberst Kommandant, German for "Colonel in Command," used by either -- take your pick -- a General Schliessen or Baron von Steuben when initialing letters and orders during the American Revolution.\n: : 13. It comes from the name of a freight agent, Obadiah Kelly, whose initials were widely disseminated on bills of lading.\n: : 14. The abbreviation is for Open Key, popularized by telegraphers in the 1860s.\n: : 15. It comes from the names of Lords Onslow and Kilbracken, who initialed bills after they were read and approved in England's House of Lords. \n: : 16. From a misreading of "Order Recorded" on official documents.\n: : 17. Or from Finnish "oikea," correct.\n: : 18. From the Greek "olla," all, plus "Kalla," good.\n\n: : Professor Allen Walker Read of Columbia University, "finally unveiled its (O.K.'s) origins in a series of magisterial articles in 'American Speech' in 1963 and 1964.What Professor Read discovered was that the abbreviation arose in a humorous manner at a time when Americans were indulging in a great deal of wordplay, including abbreviations, acronyms, puns and intentional mispronunciations and misspellings. The earliest example of O.K. that he unearthed (and it is so far still the oldest known specimen) is from the Boston 'Morning Post' of March 23, 1839. It appears in connection with a note by the paper's editor, Charles Gordon Greene, about a visit to New York of some members of the local Anti-Bell-Ringing Society. (The A.B.R.S., as it was usually known, was itself something of a joke, having been formed the previous year to oppose -- its name to the contrary -- an ordinance of the Boston Common Council against ringing dinner bells.) In an aside, Mr. Greene suggested that if the Bostonians were to return home via Providence, they might be greeted by one of his rivals, the editor of that city's 'Journal,' who 'would have the 'contribution box,' et ceteras, o.k. -- all correct -- and cause the corks to fly, like sparks, upward.'.Thus, it appears that O.K. was invented, possibly by Greene, as an abbreviation of the jocular 'Oll' or perhaps 'Orl korrect,' meaning "All right.' This explanation would seem farfetched, except for Read's finding that it dovetai