Out on a Limb

The return of our monthly feature edumicating you on those catch-phrases and cliché expressions we’re all so fond of using. Surprises are in store when you read how these sayings came about!

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth – the gum lines of horses recede with age. Looking in the horse’s mouth, then, tells you how old the horse is and, presumably, its usefulness. Therefore, looking a gift horse in the mouth is trying to determine the value of the horse that was given to you freely (like scanning for the price tag on a birthday gift). Most people consider this rude, since the act of giving should count more than the value of the gift. In other words, it’s a gift…just accept it!

“Wilburrr…what are you looking at?”

To skin a cat – as in “There’s more than one way…” However, most people don’t realize it was originally “…to skin a catfish“! As you might expect, there are numerous ways to remove the tough skin from a catfish to get to the preferred filet meat for cooking (yum!).

“And you wonder why we don’t like water?”

Spitting image – from the days when they used to spit-shine shoes. The spit shined the surface so well an image reflected back; a “spitting image” – identical to the person looking!