(image borrowed from Yelp)
"Three square-meals a day" is an expression we used today to mean that we eat 3 good meals a day. We get this expression from the 18th century where British sailors had 2 sparse meals and 1 (maybe) good meal day. The better meal was served on a square plate and was thus referred to as their "square" meal.
That's rather interesting! And I couldn't help but use a picture of the pizza that's "the square beyond compare." Lol.
(image borrowed from Merriam-Webster)
Midday is called the "noon hour" but it wasn't always midday. It's been shifted around quite a bit throughout history. When Christians prayed twice a day it was at midday and midnight. In the Old English time for prayers it was held at noon, which at that time meant the ninth hour of daylight, or three o'clock in the afternoon. The singular prayer time, or noon hour, changed to midday, or twelve o'clock, during the Middle Ages in Britain.
Oh my head hurt typing all that!
(image borrowed from Amazon)
The expression "Good night, sleep tight" started sometime during the 16th century when British farmers started sleeping in beds instead of on the ground. Because the beds were straw-filled mattresses, the mattress had to be tied to the wooden frames with ropes. Before going to bed that night, you would tighten the ropes to secure the mattress, and that's when people began saying, "good night, sleep tight."
And then we started adding, "and don't let the bed bugs bite. If they do, hit them with a shoe until they turn black and blue!" Or was that just my grandpa? Lol.
(image borrowed from Great Schools)
When we say we're going to "hang out" with friends, it usually just means getting together and not really doing anything to pass the time other than conversation. This expression comes from the time before commercial signs when English shopkeepers set up poles in front of their stores with flags that described some of their goods. The flags were called "hangouts." It soon became a place where people would linger and gossip with friends.
That's actually interesting! Never really thought about what "hang out" meant before!
(image borrowed from Youtube)
When it's mealtime, sometimes people say it's "chow time." "Chow" is a Mandarin Chinese word that means to cook or fry, while in Cantonese, "chow" means food. In the early days of North American settlements, Chinese immigrants were put to work cooking for labor gangs because of their culinary skills. It was (assuming) the labor gangs who picked up the phrase "chow time" as it meant it was time to eat.
I assumed the description I was reading was referring to the labor gangs coining the term "chow time." As I read it again, I feel like it could really go either way! Lol. So one of the two groups coined "chow time."
(image borrowed from Amazon)
If something is in great shape, it's said that it's in "A1 condition." In their early days, Lloyd's of London used an "A list" to classify sailing ships for insurance purposes. The vessels that met the strict conditions would go the top of the list which were said to be in A1 condition.
Now I am totally getting the A1 Sauce name! Lol!!!
I had the squared pizza in Chicago, I loved it!
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