044 - Ride roughshod, cesarean section, average, blackmail
from Why Do We Say That? Hosted by Phil Chenevert
This written stuff is totally supurfluous, meaning you don't need to read it, just listen to my melifilous (meaning honeyed) podcast. But if you insist on reading, the origin of riding roughshod over someone or something has a real and somewhat bloody origin. Thank goodness we just do it figurtively these days, eh? Cesarean section - did Julius Caesar enter the world this way? Well, no, but listen to see how old this phrase is and why we call it that. Average comes to us from people trying to cut their losses; in other words, spread the cost for shipwrecks and naturally them guys with numbers and abacuses got into the act. Really cool. I won't discuss blackmail until someone returns my copy of the Facts On File Word and Phrase Origins (3rd edition) which they are holding for ransom. The price of three Nachos Bell Grandes seems stiff but worth it. Be kind to everyone you meet; they are battling demons you know nothing of. Do not listen to this podcast while under the influence of drugs. My daughter tells me that should be reversed; I'm not sure. Do not do drugs while under the influence of this podcast seems kinda silly. Sorry Sarah.
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