A Way With Words

amy
Aug 29
9 min read

As most of you know, my first career was that of a Speech-Language Pathologist and I practiced for over 20 years before deciding on a change. One of my favorite areas to learn about is the history of our everyday sayings and conversational phrases. I just returned from an amazing family vacation that started in London and ended in Edinburgh. We took many historical tours, and I learned about so many phrases, so I thought I could share them in this blog!

My family and I took the “London Police & Crime Walking Tour” while visiting London, and our guide, David, was a retired officer from the Metropolitan Police Department. He presented my eager ears with a few new phrases that originated because of public hangings. The first one I would like to share has a few meanings, and the phrase is last drop. It was common then as it is now to offer condemned prisoners a final request. More often, the prisoner would request a drink at the pub on the way to the gallows, which was considered his last drop. Once the prisoner reached the gallows, he was led onto the platform and the noose was placed. Then, he was pushed off and this was considered the last drop. Sometimes the prisoner’s platform was an actual bucket that was then kicked out from under him, which leads to the second phrase, kicking the bucket. I mentioned that the prisoners usually requested a last drop from the pub on the way to the gallows, well they would be brought to the gallows by horse drawn wagons. When the wagon stopped at the pub for his last drink, a saying was adopted, he is off the wagon, or if he was denied a second drink in the pub, he was on the wagon. Our guide told us that public executions were a form of entertainment for the locals and the condemned were required to entertain the masses by telling jokes before being executed. The prisoner could delay his demise if he was a crowd pleaser, but if no one laughed at his jokes, then the condemned would say, you’re killing me! As a mercy to the prisoner, family and friends would pull down on the legs of the man, after his drop, to speed up his death, and this is where we get the phrase, you’re pulling my leg. As I mentioned, public executions were considered entertainment for the locals and with any venue, great amounts of alcohol consumption occurred. If a person overindulged during the event, the next day he was said to have a hang-over. In the Grassmarket district of Edinburgh, visitors can dine at the Last Drop pub, which is across the street from the location of the last public hanging. Visitors to London can visit the site of the Tyburn Tree and see the plaque embedded in the pavement at the junction of Edgware Road and Bayswater Road near the Marble Arch. Some of the famous individuals executed in London included Guy Fawkes and William Wallace, who were hanged, drawn, and quartered.

On a side note, our guide David asked us if we knew the lyrics to, “Do You Know the Muffin Man?” Well of course we knew he lived on Drury Lane! Davidinformed us that we really should not be singing this nursery rhyme because it was based on a child serial killer. Once I got home, I wanted to do a little more research on this topic. According to the London Museum website, this is an urban legend based on a gentleman named Frederick Thomas Lynwood who lived on Drury Lane. It was said he would lure children into dark alleys by tying baked goods onto a string, where he would then murder the children. Who knows if this story is true or not, but what is true is that this job of being a muffin man was a real profession. In Victorian London, many people would buy food from street sellers. The muffin men would buy baked goods from the bakery then sell them for profit on the street for half a penny each. You may ask if there really is a Drury Lane in London and the answer is, yes, it is located next to Covent Garden. In the 18^th century, this was a poor area of London that had a nasty reputation due to gambling, drinking, and crime. Today, this area is very popular with tourists, and it now boasts many theatres and shops.

Our next stop on our journey was the Viking city of York. If you are a fan of “Harry Potter”, York is a must see for you. There is a lovely medieval section of York called “The Shambles” that was reported to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley in the books. I walked down this street numerous times and there definitely was something magical about the experience. I felt as if I stepped back into time. We joined “The Bloody Tour of York” with Mad Alice, and it was fantastic. We walked past Guy Fawkes birthplace and learned about Dick Turpin. We also learned about the background of the nursery rhyme, “Ring Around the Rosie.” Some of you may be familiar with this, but for those of you that are unaware, it is believed to be about the Plague or Black Death of the 17^thcentury. “Ring around the rosie” refers to the red, circular shape that would appear on plague victims. “Pocketful of posies” has a few references with the first being they would have been carried to help with the smell and the second meaning referring to flowers being held by the corpse for burial. “Ashes, ashes, we all fall down” was a reference to the burning of the corpses. Of course, this version of the nursery rhyme could be another urban legend, and it has been noted that there is a cheerier counterpart of the song that represents courtship. I will leave this for you to decide which one you prefer.

We ended our journey in Edinburgh. I learned about so many new phrases while visiting Scotland. Our first tour in the city was called “The History Lover’s Old Town Tour.” If you have seen pictures or visited Edinburgh, you know it is built in layers with underground vaults running through Old Town. It was interesting to learn that medieval buildings were also built in stories, and some were said to be up to 14 stories high. With so many people living and working in the city, you can imagine what the number one issue would have been without the invention of indoor plumbing. Early plumbing consisted of a bucket, or two buckets if you were fortunate, and the youngest member of the home was usually responsible for getting rid of the waste. It was a difficult job if you lived on the top floor of the building. Edinburgh developed a system to rid the waste more efficiently. The city passed the “Nastiness Act,” which stated that waste could only be dumped between 10 pm, when the bells struck at St. Giles High Kirk, and 7 am the following morning. During this time, the residents in the city would open their windows, holler out gardyloo, and dump the buckets into the street. If you had consumed too much alcohol and were staggering home around this time, and you heard the word gardyloo, then looked up, you were said to be s--t-faced or getting pissed. The poorest members of society could sell their urine to the local tannery to earn a little money. If you had to do this, you were said to be piss poor. We can all thank Scottish watchmaker and instrument inventor, Alexander Cumming, for his patent on the flushing toilet in 1775.

This tour also included a visit to Greyfriars Kirk where we learned about some unsavory practices that occurred during the 18^th century. Edinburgh’s medical school is one of the oldest and most prestigious in Scotland. What is the one thing that students need in order to learn and practice? You guessed it, BODIES! Grave robbing was a frequent occurrence and a very lucrative profession for some, such as Burke and Hare. Due to the frequency of grave robbing, families of the deceased would rotate family members to keep watch if they were poor, or they could hire someone to watch the grave hence the term, graveyard shift. Sometimes this practice worked in the robbers benefit because he could kill the watcher and then take both dead bodies. A few of the graves we saw in the cemetery had large grates or cages over them with a lock. Our guide explained that if the family had money, they could purchase a grate with a lock to protect their loved one. If they had limited funds, they could rent a grate for a week and then it would be removed and placed on another grave. Remember, grave robbers needed fresh bodies, so being in the ground for a week was plenty of time to protect the grave. During this time, people were also afraid of being buried alive. The coffins had a small hole drilled in them, a string was placed in the hand of the dead body and ran through the hole. The string was then tied to a small bell. If the person awakened in the coffin, they could ring the bell for help and this practice led to the terms, dead ringer and saved by the bell. (If you visit Greyfriars Kirk, please do not rub the nose of Greyfriars Bobby. It will not bring you good luck and it is damaging this precious statue.)

Have you ever heard or used the term, a botched job? We learned that this phrase originated from a poor bridge design by Sir Thomas Bouch. He designed the Tay Railway Bridge, and it collapsed in 1879, after a severe storm, causing a major train derailment with massive loss of life. Of course, Sir Thomas Bouch’s career and reputation were severely damaged following this event.

Robert Louis Stevenson was born and educated in Edinburgh. One of his quotes is carved in concrete on one of the walking paths in the city and it says, “There are no stars as lovely as Edinburgh street-lamps.” One of his most notable works is “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” I have heard two different stories regarding his inspiration for this story. The first one I heard was referencing a prominent doctor from the medical school that was well received in high society, but to no one’s knowledge, he was buying the bodies from grave robbers and serial killers, such as Burke and Hare. The second reference was given by our tour guide, and she stated the story’s inspiration was Deacon Brodie. William “Deacon” Brodie was a skilled cabinet maker, member of the Town Council, head (deacon) of the Incorporation of Wrights and Masons, and prominent member of society. However, at night, he was the leader of a gang of burglars. He participated in burglary because of his extravagant lifestyle that included mistresses, gambling, and many children. Brodie was responsible for making and repairing security locks in his customer’s houses. It was easy for him to make copies of the keys and of course he was very welcomed into the homes. Brodie and his gang were eventually caught, tried, and Brodie was hanged at Tolbooth on October 1, 1788. Ironically, Robert Louis Stevenson had a cabinet built by Deacon Brodie in his childhood home and it is on display at the Edinburgh Writer’s Museum.

I have two remaining sayings I would like to mention in this blog. On one of our tours through the Highlands of Scotland, we learned that the highlanders coming down were usually heavily armed and ready for battle. There was an agreement that stated the highlanders had to remove all of their weapons before crossing the River Teith and this is where we get the phrase, armed to the teeth. The final saying involves courtesy rules when guests are visiting. Usually when guests would visit, they were given the best at mealtimes, such as the choicest meats and plentiful drink. But when the guests had overstayed their welcome, and the host wanted them to leave, the guests would be given a cold piece of meat and usually it was the toughest piece, the shoulder; hence the phrase, giving the cold shoulder.

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog as much as I enjoyed writing it. I was fascinated by these tidbits I picked up during my journey through England and Scotland. Obviously, the tour guides did their job since I felt the need to share what I learned with all of you. If you have any words, phrases, or experiences to share, I would love for you to make a comment on the blog. I have supplied a few links to the tours I took and where to find more information about the sayings, events, and people mentioned in the blog.

Happy Travels,

Amy