According to one superstition that goes back to ancient Roman times, when your ears are burning you are subconsciously aware of being talked about or criticised. The historian Pliny the Elder believed that if a person’s right ear burns they are being praised, but a burning left ear indicates that they are the subject [more…]
Surprisingly, quite a few sayings that include the word colour relate to naval terminology.
To sail under false colours is to pretend to have a different view or identity in order to conceal one’s true purpose. This tactic was used by pirates who preyed on ships by flying a ‘friendly’ flag to lure in vessels [more…]
“It is a wise child that knows its own father, and an unusual one that unreservedly approves of him.” – Mark Twain (1927).
Mark Twain is often acclaimed for being an insightful novelist and humourist and his observations of children’s relationships with their fathers are no exception. Like many children contemptuous of the generation gap, [more…]
If everything in the garden is rosy, it means all is well, but be careful you don’t dig up any dirt that would be better left unearthed! Life as a bed of roses is thought to be a good thing, although you would have to think the thorns would make it a bit prickly.
The [more…]
Luck is a popular theme for proverbs – that is, a short, memorable statement that contains advice, predictions, or a warning. According to one Italian proverb, ‘Fortune comes to him who strives for it’. Another says ‘if you’re lucky enough to be Irish, then you’re lucky enough’. This comes from the fact that Irish [more…]
