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In George Washington's day, there were
no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted.Â
Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a
desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs
and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on
how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to
be painted. Arms and legs are "limbs" therefore
painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the
expression "Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg."
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As incredible as it
sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year! (May
& October) Women always kept their hair covered while men
shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs.Â
Wealthy men could afford good wigs. The wigs couldn't be
washed so to clean them, they would carve out a loaf of bread, put
the wig in the shell and bake it for
30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy,
hence the term "big wig." Today we often use the term
"here comes the Big Wig" because someone appears to be
or is powerful and wealthy.
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In the late 1700s many
houses consisted of a large room with only one chair.Â
Commonly, a long wide board was folded down from the wall and used
for dining. The "head of the household" always sat
in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor.Â
Once in a while an invited guest, who was almost always a man,
would be offered this chair during a meal. To sit in the
chair meant you were important and in charge. Sitting in the
chair, one was called the "chair man." Today in business
we use the expression/title "Chairman."
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Needless to say,
personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a
result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood.Â
The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth
out their complexions. When they were speaking to each
other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was
told "mind your own bee's wax." Should the woman smile,
the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a smile."
Also, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt and
therefore the expression "losing face."
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Ladies wore corsets
which would lace up in the front. A tightly tied lace was
worn by a proper and dignified lady as in "straight
laced."
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Common entertainment
included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when
purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the "ace of
spades." To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51
cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these
people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't
"playing with a full deck."
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Early politicians
required feedback from the public to determine what was considered
important to the people. Since there were no telephones,
TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local
taverns, pubs and bars who were told to "go sip some
ale" and listen to people's conversations and political
concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different
times. "You go sip here" and "you go sip
there." The two words "go sip" were eventually
combined when referring to the local opinion and thus, we we have
the term "gossip."Â | 
