Tuesday 3 January 2017

Words - apropos of nothing - 01

Chatting with our house-guests, some words and phrases crop up and we wonder about their origins.

Today's it is 'hoodwinked.'

Apparently, in the 1700s to wink meant to close one's eyes (not fleetingly close one eye as now). And when dealing with prisoners, it was the fashion to bindfold or put a hood on the miscreant to effectively close their eyes...


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2 comments:

  1. Jo Walpole3 January 2017 at 23:21

    I love stuff like this. A friend bought me a book called Bees Knees and Barmy Armies - Origins of the words and phrases we use every day by Harry Oliver. It's a good book to dip into.

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  2. Nik Morton7 January 2017 at 13:27

    Me too, Jo. When a phrase crops up, I'm often asking, 'Where did that come from?' Thanks for the recommendation. Sounds like an ideal book to review on your blog...?

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