Volume LVI

I. Paint the Town Red🖌️

This one’s often linked to an 1837 drunken rampage by the Marquis of Waterford in England. He and his friends reportedly tore through the town of Melton Mowbray, vandalizing buildings and literally painting doors and walls red, leaving pure chaos in their wake.

That legendary night helped turn “paint the town red” into shorthand for going out and causing a proper ruckus.

This phrase isn’t meant for the two-beer crowd or the polite glass of Sauvignon Blanc with dinner.

This is for the college senior looking to lay it all on the line one last St. Patrick’s Day, throwing caution to the wind for one last hoorah.

II. You Reap What You Sow🌾

For all of our non-farmers here, this proverb is actually an agricultural metaphor with roots in the Holy Book.

Galatians 6:7 says, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Not quite as catchy, but it's grounded in a shared reality. Sow means planting seeds, while reaping is farmer-speak for harvesting the crop.

The idea is simple: you are a product of your actions. Phone before bed? Don’t even check the Whoop. Four beers on a Tuesday? Wednesday morning will collect.

Snooze the alarm, skip the stretch, grab the second doughnut. Eventually the harvest shows up.

III. Slush fund💰

Today a slush fund is money set aside for off-the-books purposes or a Saturday morning tailgate, but the phrase started at sea.

On 18th and 19th century ships, "slush" was the greasy fat skimmed off boiling meat in the galley. The ship's cook would collect and sell it at port. The proceeds became an informal cash pool for extra supplies or crew comforts.

The name eventually migrated ashore and now imply something a little less wholesome than sailor snacks.

Keep on sending on. Forward to a friend.