The Jailhouse

[Bird of Prey]

Not exactly a story,

But I'll try to explain a few of the phrases used today that had their origins in the Middle Ages.


In certain locales and in qualification and training for tournaments, knight would prepare for the joust by collecting rings suspended on string along the field. When qualifying or in tournaments where the local authority were too squeamish for the real thing, the rings were substituted and a point value was assigned to the different colors of rings. Almost always a single metal ring of brass would be included in the group of rings. The catching or missing of this one ring could be the difference in the match.


Here are some more interesting phrases...


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 whiskey. The combination would
sometimes knock them 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".


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 pets - dogs, cats and other small
animals, mice, rats, 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."

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had
something other than dirt, hence the
saying "dirt poor."

The wealthy had slate floors which would
get slippery in the winter when wet. So they
spread thresh on the floor to help keep their
footing. As the winter wore on they kept
adding more thresh until when you opened
the door it would all start slipping outside.
A piece of wood was placed at the entry
way, hence a "thresh hold".

Sometimes they could obtain pork
and would feel really special when
that happened. When company came
over, they would bring out some bacon
and hang it to show it off. It was a sign
of wealth and that a man could "bring
home the bacon." They would cut off
a little to share with guests and would
all sit around and "chew the fat."

Most people got married in June because
they took their yearly bath in May and were
still smelling pretty good by June. However,
they were starting to smell, so brides carried
a bouquet of flowers to hide the b.o.

The only sweetener available was honey. Honey
was also considered an aphrodisiac. It was
customary for the bride and groom to sprinkle
all of their food with honey for one month or
one cycle of the moon in order to ensure they
would have both the energy and the desire
to "make a baby". This is where the
term "Honeymoon" comes from.


Baths equalled 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".


The Bird of Prey