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  1. Home
  2. Why do we say…?

Why do we say…?

An etching of a 17th-century coal merchant. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)
Industrial revolution

Q&A Why do we say ‘get the sack’?

Scene of the Peterloo Massacre
Georgian

Q&A Why do we say “Read the Riot Act”?

The Trojan Horse is pulled in the city of Troy
Ancient Greece

Q&A What is the Trojan Horse and why do we say ‘Beware the Greeks bearing gifts’?

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Photo of pears
Second World War

Q&A Why do we say it's all gone pear-shaped?

An illustration depicting a woman lying in bed who has recently given birth to twins. Other women busy themselves with tasks around her, such as stoking a fire and holding one of the babies.
General History

Q&A Where does the word ‘gossip’ come from – and what has it got to do with childbirth?

John Wilkes Booth flees the theatre after shooting US president Abraham Lincoln
Georgian

Q&A Why do we say ‘your name is mud’ – and what does it have to do with Abraham Lincoln?

A picture of Charles Darwin in his later years
Victorian

Q&A Did Charles Darwin coin the phrase ‘survival of the fittest’?

(Illustration by Glen McBeth for BBC History Magazine)
Victorian

Q&A What is the origin and meaning of the pirate expression ‘shiver me timbers’?

Nineteenth century engraving depicting raining cats and dogs
General Early Modern

Q&A Why do we say ‘raining cats and dogs’?

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Photo of tall ship
Georgian

Q&A Who do we say 'shot across the bows'?

A axe stuck in a piece of wood
General Early Modern

Q&A Why do we say 'bury the hatchet'?

A stone statue of Achilles
Ancient Greece

Q&A Why do we say ‘Achilles Heel’?

A Peep at St. Peter or The Poet in a Pickle
Georgian

Q&A Why do we say 'Peeping Tom'?

Photo of a crocodile
Ancient Egypt

Q&A Why do we say 'crocodile tears'?

Cat got your tongue? It certainly seems to be the case with this surprised tabby
General Modern

Why do we say ‘cat got your tongue’?

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