We are working with figurative language. Several students would like to know the origin of specific idioms, but have not been able to find the answer through research. Thanks for any help!
Idiom: Feel like a million bucks (or looks like a million bucks)
Idiom: Pie in the sky
Idiom: Dumb as a doorknob
Idiom: When pigs fly
This phrase was coined around 1910 in 'The Preacher and the Slave,' a composition by labor organizer Joe Hill:Idiom: Pie in the sky
You will eat, bye and bye,
In that glorious land above the sky;
Work and pray, live on hay
You'll get pie in the sky when you die.
For some reason the various parts of a door, a staid inanimate object, became common similies over time. For example, "dead as a doornail." Likewise "dumb as a doorknob."Idiom: Dumb as a doorknob
This phrase dates back to a Scottish proverb first published in 1586. “Pigs fly in the air with their tails forward”. If pigs did indeed fly, the proverb argues, flying backwards would seem an extra feat.Idiom: When pigs fly