Most of us know very little (or nothing at all!) about the linguistic and cultural origins of the idioms that we use on a daily basis—everything from "have an ax to grind" to "let the cat out of the bag." That's why we set out on a mission to unearth the origins of a gaggle of common phrases. Below, find the often-bizarre histories behind some of the English language's most familiar phrases. One thing's for sure: You'll never think of the saying "It's raining cats and dogs" the same way again.
"Have an ax to grind"
Meaning: To have a dispute or issue to take up with another person
Origin: It first appeared in a story in a Pennsylvania newspaper written by Charles Miner. The story related a tale from the author's youth, in which he was tricked by a stranger into using a grindstone to sharpen an ax. Since the stranger used flattery to con Miner into completing the task, he served up the phrase as a metaphor for similar experiences. Photo: Getty Images
"Flog [or beat] a dead horse"
Meaning: To attempt to convince somebody to do something although there's little chance of success
Origin: As he tried to prompt his uninterested peers in Parliament to pass a piece of legislation, 1860s British politician John Bright likened his task to "flogging a dead horse" in order to prompt it to pull a load. Photo: Getty Images
"Burn the candle at both ends"
Meaning: To live at a frenetic or dangerous pace, with adverse effects on one's health
Origin: In 18th-century England, the phrase was used literally: You'd be wasting a valuable candle if you attempted to burn it at both ends. At the same time, you'd likely end up with a nasty wax burn on your hands in the process. The metaphorical use combined the fire-on-both-sides aspect of the former and the danger-to-oneself aspect of the latter. Photo: iStockPhotos
"Get up on the wrong side of the bed"
Meaning: To start the day in a less-than-sunny mood
Origin: In Roman times, it was considered bad luck to get out of bed on the left side. Hence if you exited on that wrong side, your day was fated to be a bad one. Photo: iStockPhotos
"Let the cat out of the bag"
Meaning: To reveal a secret, unwittingly or otherwise
Origin: First seen in several London publications in the 1700s, its origin dates well before that and refers to a then-common street fraud. Market scamsters apparently attempted to replace pigs (valuable) with cats (not so much); if the cat was let out of the bag, the gig was up. That's related to why you don't want to buy "a pig in a poke" (i.e., a small bag): You might not be getting the real item. Photo: iStockPhotos
"Foaming at the mouth"
Meaning: Very, very angry
Origin: Like many other idioms, it may have first been used by Bill Shakespeare. In Julius Caesar, he refers to the soon-to-be-deposed king as having been less than pleased when he "fell down in the market-place, and foamed at mouth." An alternate theory points to rabid dogs, which literally foam at the mouth. Photo: Getty Images
"It's raining cats and dogs"
Meaning: It's raining heavily
Origin: There are roughly 200 theories on this one. The most probable? In 17th-century England, public sanitation wasn't what it is today—hence during deluges, rain coursing down the streets would often carry dead animals with it. As a result, even though cats and dogs never literally showered down from above, they became associated with severe rainstorms. Photo: iStockPhotos
"The apple of my eye"
Meaning: An object of great affection, usually elevated above all others
Origin: The "apple" of an eye = its aperture = its central point. The phrase pops up in the Bible (Deuteronomy 32:10: "He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye"). Its first semi–modern-day use, however, was by Sir Walter Scott ("Richard was to me as an eldest son, the apple of my eye"). Photo: Getty Images
"Skeleton in the closet"
Meaning: A secret source of shame or embarrassment, which an individual often takes pains to conceal
Origin: During 19th-century England, one periodical, The Eclectic Review, used the phrase almost literally: It was mentioned in reference to a family attempting to keep a son's illness secret ("Two great sources of distress are the danger of contagion and the apprehension of hereditary diseases. The dread of being the cause of misery to posterity has prevailed over men to conceal the skeleton in the closet"). Photo: Getty Images
"Go back to the drawing board"
Meaning: Start a project over again after an initial attempt has failed
Origin: It wasn't used extensively until after World War II. The phrase "drawing board" refers to the work space of an architect or draftsman, upon which many designs, blueprints and similar plans are birthed. Photo: Getty Images
"Bone of contention"
Meaning: An issue which remains in dispute, with the disagreeing parties unable or unwilling to resolve it
Origin: Let's say you have two dogs but only one bone. What are they going to do? Battle over it, that's what. According to The Oxford English Dictionary, it was originally coined in the 1500s ("The diuell hath cast a bone to set stryfe betweene you"). Photo: Getty Images
"I'll give you a rain check on that"
Meaning: To promise to complete an unfulfilled order or task at a later or more convenient date
Origin: It's one of the simpler ones on the list: People don't like to do stuff when it's raining. Hence they pass along a metaphorical voucher—a rain check—to affirm their intent to complete the task. Of course, tangible "rain checks" are also often handed out, say, at an outdoor event postponed by bad weather, or at a store when an item has sold out. Photo: iStockPhotos