15 Common Phrases That No Longer Make Sense

When someone rushes, a more calm person in the group might tell the anxious person to “hold their horses.” This phrase is common, but its origins are old.

Ancient Greek texts first used the term. Homer employed it inThe phrase 'Hold Your Horses' appears in the list '15 Common Phrases That No Longer Make Sense'. The Iliad.Antilochus used the term to describe his aggressive chariot driving. As he moved his horses fast around a bend, Atreus warned:

Antilochus, you drive recklessly. Rein in your horses now. This path is narrow, but it will widen soon. Do not harm us by fouling my car.

Historical texts cemented the phrase. People used it to describe chariot or carriage horses needing a stop, usually to pick up a passenger or let someone out.

Commanders also used the phrase in battle when men rode horses to face the enemy. “Hold your horses!This phrase told troops it was time to stop an attack. Though few people ride carriages now, the phrase still warns people to slow down or calm down.

The term “wrap it up” started in the 1920s film industry with film tape. After a movie finished, the film director would announce, “It's a wrap!This alerted crews and actors that the film was finished and stored for future production.

“Wrap it up” functions like it does today. It suggests a topic or scene is done and time to start something new. Film historians think this shift happened around theThe 1950s..

Though film no longer makes movies, the phrase still tells long talkers they have gone too far with their audience's attention.

Hearing someone repeat the same sentence or thought over and over irritates people. When people repeat word choices, they get labeled as “The phrase 'Sound Like A Broken Record' is in the list '15 Common Phrases That No Longer Make Sense'..” Music now streams online, so many people have never heard what a broken record sounds like.

The phrase first meant the bad luck when a record player needle got stuck on a spot on a record or album, making a repeated “wa-wa-wa” noise. Though the saying is less relevant, the description of that bad sound stays in modern words.

Before cell phones and digital buttons, homes and businesses used corded phones. Instead of a button to end a call, users would literally “The phrase 'Hang Up The Phone' is in the list '15 Common Phrases That No Longer Make Sense'.” by putting the ear and mouthpiece back onto the phone's base.

The phrase describes ending a phone call.Hang Up The PhoneModern cell phone users miss the pleasure of ending a call by slamming the handset down after an annoying talk.

It is common to tell someone to “Bite the bullet.People use “bite the bullet” when facing hard actions. This popular phrase has a dark history.

The phrase likely started in the late 1700s. Battlefield surgeries often lacked sedatives or pain relievers. Soldiers found it honorable to endure pain without noise during procedures. Soldiers often bit a bullet to distract from pain and avoid biting their tongues. Francis Grose explained this in his 1796 book:

A soldier who sings out at the halberts is a point of honor in some regiments, among the grenadiers. They never cry out or become nightingales while under the cat of nine tails. To avoid this, they chew a bullet.

The term possibly changed during the 1800s. Rifle ammunition came with paper cartridges needing to be bitten off before loading into a gun.

When someone advises another person to, "bite the bullet."Take it with a grain of salt.This advises keeping healthy skepticism toward given information. Merriam-Webster recorded this phrase in 1647, though the term may be older.

Some people argue that Pliny the Elder.Pliny the Elder first translated the phrase from a poison story in 77 AD. The theory suggests food eaten with salt passes easier than eating it alone.

After the defeat of Mithridates, Gnaeus Pompeius found an antidote recipe in his cabinet. It read: Take two dried walnuts, two figs, and twenty rue leaves. Pound them together with a grain of salt. If someone fasts on this mix, they will resist all poisons that day.

The term "tune in" or "stay tuned."Stay tuned.” first appeared in common English when radio listeners had to tune their radio dials to a specific time for broadcasts.Radio dials.listeners tuned in at a set time to hear their favorite broadcasts.

Hosts told audiences to stay tuned past ads. As radio faded with TV, TV shows used this phrase.

Streaming services now make these phrases unnecessary. Still, people use the terms to keep others engaged beyond a short pause in talk.

If a person is ready for bed, they might tell the group they are going to “Hit the hay.Historians think tired snoozers started using this term when they stuffed beds with straw in the 1880s.

Some think it means fluffing up a hay-filled mattress before sleeping. Unless someone sleeps in a barn, people do not use the term literally today.

Anyone who stays up late studying or working on a project knows what "burn the midnight oil" means.People burn the midnight oil.This phrase dates to 1635 whenFrancis Quarleswrote:

We spend our midday sweat or midnight oil. We tire the night in thought; the day in toyle.

Quarles meant that to stay up all night finishing a task, someone needed an oil-burning candle for enough light to see.

Now, we use the phrase “roll down the window” describes pulling up at a drive-through or taking a long drive. People once had to roll down windows for outside air.

Early car windows had a crank on the door to manually move them up or down. Some vehicle makes and models still use this system.still use this system, most have upgraded to an electric button near the inside door handle.

When someone thinks too highly of themselves, others might say they need to “take it down a notch” This term likely came from the older idea of “taking it down a peg.”

Notches were a standard measurement in the 1500s, leading to the phrase. During the 1600s, ships used pegs to hoist and lower flags. Taking it down a peg meant lowering the colors. A notch is a measurement used like a peg. Oddly, a person's performance can be called "top-notch,” but not “top-peg,” and people are never taken up a peg but can be turned up a notch.

In the early 1800s, stage lights used calcium oxide, called quicklime. Stagehands mixed oxygen and hydrogen with a blowpipe to make a hot flame. Adding quicklime made a bright, white light for performances.

Thomas Edison's lightbulb invention in 1879 quickly made the limelight process obsolete. By 1900, most stages switched to modern lighting. People still use the phrase; they refer to times they felt honored for their talents or accomplishments as their time “in the limelight.

When emailing others, the sender can "cc" more people. This lets everyone with an email address in the list get the email. If the sender wants others not to see other recipients' addresses, they send it as a "bcc."

This term comes from before paperless contact. People made copies of documents using Carbon paper.. The carbon paper lay under regular paper. The sender wrote or typed with force so the letter's content moved to the paper below.

Making a blind copy meant the carbon copy looked identical to the original document.

If something needs repeating for clarity, listeners ask the storyteller to "rewind for a second." Few people actually do this.Rewinds.anything now.

The term first described an action on cassettes or tapes. "Re" means moving something back. "Wind" means the twisting, turning, and curling motion needed to move backward on a tape recording.

Everyone has opinions. These ideas and beliefs can grow strong in a person. When sharing something important, people often call another person's outbursts or unplanned speeches getting "On their soapbox..

From the 1650s to the 1900s, soap moved through wooden crates for packing, storage, and sale. An orator stood on the soapbox to reach an audience with a speech. Though soap is no longer packed or stored this way, the phrase stays a common idiom.