by: Nancy K. Eberhardt
Recently I have been contemplating idioms – those commonly understood and in regular use, and those that make me go “hmmm”.
Did you know “speak of the devil” was a medieval superstition that was taken very seriously? “Under the weather” and to “pass with flying colors” have nautical origins, meaning to send ill sailors below deck and therefore out of the weather, and ships that returned home victorious with their “colors” (flags) flying.
I have not investigated the origin of “under one’s belt”. While meant to imply something learned and mastered, this idiom earns a “hmmm”…
Perhaps I should leave this one to comedian Steven Wright.
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