NoPistons -Mazda Rx7 & Rx8 Rotary Forum - Speaking of favorite terms origins.....

Some of my favs, mostly from sailing:

Quote:

The Bitter End Nowadays we hold on "to the bitter end." In sailing language, the "bitts" were vertical wooden beams through which the anchor cables passed. If all the ship's cables were run out, the small amount that remained on board was referred to as "the bitter end.".

Quote:

The term "three sheets to the wind", meaning "staggering drunk", refers to a ship whose sheets have come loose, causing the sails to flap uncontrolled and the ship to meander at the mercy of the elements

I am also reminded of the sloop definition of this saying, sloop is a 2 sail rig, one main one headsail...."if you see three sheets you had to much to drink" My guess is the original based from a tall ship back in the day much as the quoted text indicates.

Quote:

Let the Cat out of the Bag Today this expression usually means that you have said something to someone that you should have kept to yourself. In the days when sails ruled the oceans such an expression brought fear to even the strongest sailor. The sailor would have been guilty of a crime that would have brought out the whip, or "cat-o'-nine-tails," from its bag, and a brutal whipping would be administered.

and my fav.

Flogging a Dead Horse, or beating a dead horse, this originated from the days when sailors were paid their first months pay in port, prior to leaving. naturally they would spend all their money and spend the next month working for free (better then the alternative as skipping town on a payout like that was a big crime). Naturally they were not all that well motivated during this time period and there was little to motivated.