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- Volume XXIX
Volume XXIX
Three expressions and their surprising origins
I. Fit as a Fiddle 🎻
The phrase pops up in 1600s England, when fit meant in good order and the fiddle — prized for its precision — had to be kept finely tuned. The alliteration helped it stick.
By the 18th century, the expression made the leap from objects to people. A body in good working order was as “fit as a fiddle.”
Not exactly water-cooler lingo today, but if a fiddle can be fit enough to win a soul back from the devil (as in the Devil Went Down to Georgia) the phrase has earned its keep.
II. Turn a blind eye 👁️
In 1801, Admiral Horatio Nelson was ordered to retreat at the Battle of Copenhagen. Not a fan of quitting, he raised his telescope to his blind eye and said he didn’t see a signal to pack it up.
Weeks later his platoon won the battle and Admiral Nelson cemented himself as a war legend and a man worthy enough to have a bottom of the barrel rum named in his honor.
Today, “turning a blind eye” is used more more casually, like when you’re watching your buddy sneak a second slice of pizza in before everyone’s grabbed their first.
III. Show Their True Colors 🎨
In the 1700s, pirates and naval ships often sailed under false flags to trick enemies. But once the cannons fired, they had to raise their real banner, revealing their “true colors.”
These days, nobody’s hoisting the Jolly Roger, but the phrase still hits. The coworker who plays innocent until company happy hour chaos, the boss who claims all the glory, or the friend who ghosts when you need a hand moving. Sooner or later, people show their true colors.