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- Volume XXVIII: Joe Takes A Knee
Volume XXVIII: Joe Takes A Knee
Three marriage-themed expressions and their surprising origins
Our co-founder Joe Peterson got down on one knee last week, so we’re going marriage-themed for this edition. Send Joe a congrats, a Mazel, or whatever suits your style — he’ll take it all.
I. Tie the Knot 🪢
The phrase comes from Ancient Rome where hand-fasting was a common practice. It was a wedding ritual where a couple’s hands were literally tied together with a cord, ribbon, or cloth to symbolize their union.
Chances are you’re not gonna see this at your next buddies wedding. These days, it’s less about rope tricks and more about photo booths, signature cocktails, and choreographed entrances.
Still, “tie the knot” remains the go-to line to check if someone’s made things official.
II. Honeymoon 🍯
Long before beach resorts, honeymoons were fueled by honey wine, better known as mead.
In medieval Northern Europe, newlyweds drank this mead for a full lunar cycle after their weddings in hopes it would spark fertility and happiness, though modern science neither confirms nor denies this.
The phrase has since evolved from that blissful first month of wine-induced marriage to all inclusives on the white sands of Bora Bora, but the booze aspect remains all the same.
III. Ol’ ball and chain ⛓️💥
In the 18th and 19th centuries, prisoners were shackled with a heavy iron ball chained to their ankles so they couldn’t run away.
By the mid 1800s, the image came to mean any kind of burden, and before long it was applied to marriage.
Once an offensive jab, “ol’ ball and chain” is now mostly tongue-in-cheek — the excuse you give for skipping poker night or bailing on happy hour.