Can it really be that 'golf' stands for 'Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden'? Or that 'rule of thumb' comes from an archaic legal principle that a man may chatise his wife, but only with a rod no thicker than his thumb? Or that a 'wake' was so-called because the guests sat around to check that the corpse didn't wake up?
These and hundreds of other stories are commonly told and retold whenever people meet. They grown up in part because expressions are often genuinely mysterious. Why, for example, are satisfying meals 'square' rather than any other shape? And how did anyone ever come up with the idea that if you're competent at something you can 'cut the mustard' ? People are so resourceful at explaining the inexplicable that there are at least a dozen plausible-sounding stories for the origins of phrases such as 'the full monty' , 'cocktail', or 'the real McCoy'.
In Port Out Starboard Home, Michael Quinton, writer on language and researcher for the OED, retells many of the more bizarre tales, and explains their real origins where they're known. The expressions he reviews come from through-out the English-speaking world, from 'dinkum' and 'cater-cornered' to 'wet one's whistle' and 'the whole nine yards'. It's a fascinating treasure-trove of fiction and fact for anyone interested in language.
