The coffin bell story is folklore. Here is what the dictionaries record for ringer, the four rival first dates, and why the myth keeps winning.
“Dead Ringer” Origin: Not the Buried-Alive Bell Story Read More »
Four references, four different earliest citations, and every popular explanation rejected by the people who checked it. Here is the full paper trail.
Raining Cats and Dogs Origin: Nobody Has Settled It Read More »
No English law let a man beat his wife with a thumb-thick stick. Here is the dated paper trail behind rule of thumb, and where the legend began.
“Rule of Thumb” Origin: The Wife-Beating Story Is False Read More »
Home in comes from the homing pigeon. Hone in appeared around 1965. Merriam-Webster records both; Bryan Garner rejects one. Here is why they differ.
Hone In or Home In? The Dictionary and the Usage Guide Split Read More »
Most idiom origin stories online are folklore. Here is how a phrase origin is traced, and which famous origins are documented, unknown or simply false.
Where Do Idioms Come From? How a Phrase Origin Is Traced Read More »
Three references give three different earliest dates for both forms. Here is the full citation trail, and why no one can name where the phrase began.
Could Care Less vs Couldn’t Care Less: What the References Say Read More »
Misused idioms are not random. They fall into four error types, and knowing which one you are looking at tells you the correct form without memorizing.
Commonly Misused Idioms: Why the Errors Are Predictable Read More »
The origin of ‘the whole nine yards’ is unknown. Here are the earliest citations, and why the kilt, ammo belt and concrete stories are back-formations.
The Whole Nine Yards Origin: Why Nobody Knows Read More »
The rope bed story is not where sleep tight comes from. Here is what tight meant, the earliest citations, and where the references disagree.
Sleep Tight Meaning and Origin: The Rope Bed Myth Read More »
