Strange but true... or perhaps not?

[mick2me 3,033]

There is an old Hotel/Pub in Marble Arch, London , which used to have a gallows adjacent to it. Prisoners were taken to the gallows (after a fair trial of course) to be hanged. The horse-drawn dray, carting the prisoner, was accompanied by an armed guard, who would stop the dray outside the pub and ask the prisoner if he would like ''ONE LAST DRINK''.
If he said YES, it was referred to as ONE FOR THE ROAD.

If he declined, that prisoner was ON THE WAGON.

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot and then once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive you were "piss poor", but worse than that were the really poor folk, who couldn't even afford to buy a pot, they "Didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low.

Here are some facts about the 1500s:

Most people got married in June, because they took their yearly bath in May and they still smelled pretty good by June. However, since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water!"

Houses had thatched roofs, thick straw piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom, where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing.
As the winter wore on they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight, then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme: ''Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot, nine days old''.

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over they would hang up their bacon, to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, "Bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around talking and ''chew the fat''.

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning and death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or ''The Upper Crust''

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of ''Holding a Wake''.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people, so they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realised they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, thread it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus someone could be, ''Saved by the Bell ''or was considered a ''Dead Ringer''

In medieval times houses were taxed on how many windows they had so people used to brick them up hence the term daylight robbery,

When drinking in the alehouses drinks were served in pints and quarts so when someone came round to clear the tables if you'd not finished they would shout mind your p's and q's

Harnett Stockport is the hat making capital of Britain, in the old hat mills they used to use mercury to bathe and cure the felt before shaping, the mercury would get in to the workers skin and eventually into there blood stream. From there it would make it's merry way to their brain where it would kill off the cells causing epilepsy and lunacy, hence the phrase 'as mad as a hatter'.

And that's the truth.

[Compo 10,328]

Cracking post Mick! As far as I know they are all fact too.

[mick2me 3,033]

Any more?

[DJBrenton 738]

Of course it's to be expected with our naval history that many phrases have come from the sea.

A trick, common to warships and pirates alike, both of which had very large crews, was to keep all but a few of their men out of sight. At long distance, someone inspecting them with a telescope might be fooled into thinking they were seeing a peaceful merchantman with a small crew, and so no threat. The devious captain kept his men low behind the bulwarks -- or below the top deck; a captain with nothing to hide would keep his crew "above board."

The end of the anchor line secured to a sturdy post on the deck called a bitt. The line was paid out in order to set the anchor. However, if the water was deeper than anticipated the rope would pay out to the bitter end . . . ooops.

A slate tablet was kept near the helm on which the watch keeper would record the speeds, distances, headings and tacks during the watch. If there were no problems during the watch, the slate would be wiped clean so that the new watch could start over with a clean slate.

Being in the "dog house" was something the crews of slavers often had to tolerate on their trips across the tropics from Africa to the Caribbean. Many a slave ship master totally gutted his ship and to fit it out with as more benches or shelves on which to stow slaves. As a result, small hutches, slightly wider and longer than a man, and high enough to cover him when lying down, were built aft on the upper deck as sleeping places for crewmen. Trying to get some sleep in them on a hot, humid, airless night was, indeed, like being in the dog house -- an unpleasant state of affairs.

Thin and worn sails were often treated with oil or wax to renew their effectiveness. This was called "dressing down". An officer or sailor who was reprimanded or scolded received a dressing down.

A Bill of Lading was signed by the ship's master acknowledging receipt of specified goods and the promise to deliver them to their destination in the same condition. Upon delivery, the goods were checked against the bill to see if all was in order. If so, they fit the bill.

Finding a "good deal" really comes from the shipbuilder rather than a sailor. Large timbers, free from defects and big enough to be cut into ship's timbers, were hard to come by. Looking at a standing tree would not tell a lumberjack with certainty that it could be felled, trimmed, and shaped without some kind of defect like a knot, a crack, or a rotten spot showing up just where it wasn't wanted. In the timber trade long ago, a cut wooden plank was called as a "deal;" so, when someone was lucky enough to have one of usable quality, he had a "good deal."

Being "hard and fast" meant that one was aground: hard and fast (fastened, caught) on the rocks and unable to get clear.

Long before fraternal organizations, hazing was the practice of keeping the crew working all hours of the day or night, whether necessary or not, in order to deprive them of sleep and to make them generally miserable. In the 19th century, many captains used this practice to assert their authority.

Hotchpotch (hodgepodge)was a maritime term describing the method of equally dividing cargo and property damaged when two ships have collided and both are deemed to be responsible.

Mention of a horse leads to thoughts of betting and the daring gambler who bets on a "long shot." In old warships, the muzzle-loading cannon were charged with black powder of uncertain potency that would propel the iron shot an equally uncertain distance with doubtful accuracy. A 24-pounder long gun, for instance, was considered to have a maximum effective range of 1200 yards, even though, under the right conditions, a ball might travel some 3000 yards. Similarly, a short, stubby 32-pounder carronade's lethality faded fast beyond 400 yards. Thus, the odds were against a hit when one fired a "long shot," just as it is unlikely that a horse the bettors rate at a hundred-to-one will win the race.

In the offing. Said of a ship visible at sea off the land. Such a ship is often approaching port, hence the phrase is used figuratively to mean 'about to happen'... Comes from the days of the tall ships. The offing was the sea just off shore. Wives, girlfriends, and other interested parties would scan the offing for ships coming in. When a ship was sighted "in the offing" it was of course almost here.

A butt was a barrel. Scuttle meant to chop a hole in something. The scuttlebutt was a water barrel with a hole cut into it so that sailors could reach in and dip out drinking water. The scuttlebutt was the place where the ship's gossip was exchanged.'

The quarterdeck at the stern of the ship was officer's country. A sailor didn't go there unless he had work to do or if he was being disciplined. A sailor caught in some infraction might be called aft for a Stern Lecture - being balled out by an officer.

[The Pianoman 1,532]

You missed the Square Meal. Going back to when sailors had meals on square plates. And I dare bet there are loads more.

[mercurydancer 1,104]

The pub where the condemned were allowed their last drink is still there - Mason's Arms in Seymour Place. I have hung around that pub a few times myself.

Is that my coat? Most kind.

[mercurydancer 1,104]

Tomatoes are related, very closely, to deadly nightshade. That is another reason why they were thought to be poisonous.

[Guest]

"a last drink" pub was on Mansfield Rd. Limeys- from anti scurvy measures- the cold shouder comes from judgmental inn keepers who turned the spit and gave a less prosperous customer a piece of meat that faced the room as opposed to a succulent hot slice facing the fire. Sacked or fired-- big difference-- for a small work offence a carpenter etc.. would have his tools gathered into a sack and go. But a serious misdemeanor his tools would go into the forge and be fired!! Rendering him useless!- tools were very costly.

[DAVIDW 1,681]

We happened on this pub in Drury Lane last year called The White Hart , that also claimed to be the place for a final drink before the gallows and also the oldest licenced premises in London from the 13thC. Most famous client was Dick Turpin .

http://www.whitehartdrurylane.co.uk/

Actually for central London , prices weren't bad !

[mercurydancer 1,104]

David

The White Hart is well known to me, as are almost all of the pubs in that area. My usual haunt is the Lamb and Flag, not far from Covent Garden market. The White Hart is off the track of the Tyburn place of execution, which is now Marble Arch. The two pubs where the condemned drank were the Bowl in St Giles and the Masons.

However, there were multiple execution sites around London, and it was not impossible that the condemned went to the White Hart. It may be a touristy thing that the White Hart is associated with executions, but it was very famous as a drinking place for the likes of Byron, and earlier that execrable beast Wilmot, Lord Rochester. Dickens knew it too, but preferred the Cheshire Cheese or more frequently the Lamb and Flag.

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

Keep 'em coming!!

[mercurydancer 1,104]

Added to the history of London thing, the Thames has. over the years, had lots of stuff dumped in it which is historically important. Its just lying there in the mud. However, it is illegal to actually go onto the strands to search for stuff unless you have a licence. Its called a mudlark licence and is available from the council offices. Its not cheap at £31 quid a day! (or £72 quid per year) it used to be a penny back in the pre-decimalisation days!

I was with a group who explored not far from Tower Bridge. I found numerous bones (one may have been human, but ancient - the professional archaeologists are used to this sort of thing cropping up) some clay pipes, lots of pottery, musket balls and a silver coin.

I have never had so much fun up to my hips in mud and crap in my life!

[mercurydancer 1,104]

I'm sure that many of us can relate to this one. I dont know where it came from, apart from its a WW1 term for avoiding work. Skive, and its derivatives, skiving etc.

Also, from my esteemed colleagues in the Royal Artillery, a "plonker" is a shell which dropped without exploding. It went plonk. Not difficult to see how it was used by Del Boy.

[Guest]

Cat got 'yer tongue- another navel spin off. After being lashed with the nine tails the victim was unable to talk. Butter you up- far east connections here- people threw balls of butter at statues of gods- hoping for favours. Ship shape and Bristol fashion- due to tide flows and location of docks - cargo had to be lashed and tidy to prevent keeling.

[mercurydancer 1,104]

Iandawson

The "butter you up" is correct. Hindu festivals often have offerings of ghee (butter) rice and spices. The rice is often thrown (sometimes seen at western weddings) but sometimes the Hindu festivals turn into a food fight. I have dodged the odd sharp edged pakora in my time.

[benjamin1945 16,139]

Two weeks ago i was walking past the entrance to Tesco in Bulwell on my way to the car park............and i found a nice 'silver tie pin'..........nowt strange in that except you dont see many men wearing a Tie Pin in Bulwell................what is strange though......walking past the same spot this morning..........found a 'gold coloured tie pin'..................ooh oer!!

[denshaw 2,871]

Just bronze next time then.

[loppylugs 8,427]

Ben, are you sure they are not yours?  You know how we get as we put on a year or two.  

[benjamin1945 16,139]

OH yeh............they might be Loppy...............as the 'chuckle brothers' used to say...........''silly me''....silly you''.............lol.

[katyjay 5,090]

Ben, don't pick them up, it's a trap! LOL