14 Common Sayings That Have a Bizarre Origin

13. Eat Humble Pie

Meaning: Making an apology and acting submissively especially in admitting error, sometimes suffering humiliation along with it.

Origin: The saying was believed to have originated during the Middle Ages. When the lord of a manor would hold a feast after hunting, he would get the finest cut of meat while those of lower standing were given a pie filled with animal innards called “umbles”. Thus, receiving an “umble pie” was said to be humiliating because it tells others that the one served is of lower status.

14. Burning the Midnight Oil

Meaning: To work�long hours or�late into the night

Origin: In the old days, people�used oil lamps for lighting and the oil used was obtained from whales which are expensive, and so, to “burn the midnight oil” means the project was so important that they had to use their expensive oil to finish it.

There you have it! �The common sayings, or idioms that you always use, but probably never understood how they actually came about….

�What other sayings do you wonder about?

Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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