Old sayings and what they mean.

[Diane Amberg]

I heard it started as a nautical term meaning you cut the anchor off and ran with the wind rather than stay and fight. same idea! How about "grasping at straws?"
   Steve, I'd be your huckleberry? As in"just the person you want?" Or the one that means a fake or lesser person as compared to a real blueberry.

[larryJ]

"grasping at straws" is defined as doing anything you can to save yourself.  Such as, a drowning man will grasp at straws or anything to stay afloat. 

How about "neat as a pin"

Larryj

[Roma Jean Turner]

My grandmother always said "you tend to your knittin' and I'll tend to mine."  Meaning, mind your own business.  I always loved that one.  Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition was another one.  Seems like it got started during WWI, but can't remember the story now.

[Wilma]

"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" was a song during WWII.  The story was that the chaplain was on board when one of the gunners was shot.  Realizing that the gunner's position was essential, the chaplain took over and said "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition and we'll all stay free."  I don't remember the verse but the chorus was
"Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition,
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition,
Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition
And we'll all stay free."
Whether this is a true story or not I don't think I ever knew.

[Diane Amberg]

Larry, neat as a pin of course means clean and tidy. I think it came from the change from home made pins which weren't consistent and were rough on the cloth, to machine made pins which were consistent ,smooth and easier to use.
    How about "spill the beans."

[srkruzich]

I heard it started as a nautical term meaning you cut the anchor off and ran with the wind rather than stay and fight. same idea! How about "grasping at straws?"
   Steve, I'd be your huckleberry? As in"just the person you want?" Or the one that means a fake or lesser person as compared to a real blueberry.

 My huckleberry is a bit more than your persimmon.    I.E I'm the man for the job.

[Roma Jean Turner]

Interesting Wilma, I thought it was an old saying, because Grandma said it.  But it makes sense, that she would know it as a WWII song, and me being born in 1944 missed the song, but heard her use the saying.  Anyway, glad to know where it came from.

[larryJ]

Disclose a secret or reveal something prematurely, as in You can count on little Carol to spill the beans about the surprise. In this colloquial expression, first recorded in 1919, spill means "divulge," a usage dating from the 1500s.

How about the origin of "American as apple pie"?

Larryj

[Diane Amberg]

American pies aren't made like the old British ones were. With theirs, the filling was/ is  the edible part and the dough was just the container to bake it in and really wasn't very edible. Our nice tender edible crusts are typically American and since apple pie is typically American too, you have "As American as apple pie." By the way ,the "spill the beans" one was also the ancestor of the old black ball system with black and white beans used instead of balls. Ready for another? "Pleased as Punch."

[twirldoggy]

Did not know that about British pies!