"Slumming it..." and other sayings

[Cowbridge Blue]

My Mrs asked me to look up something on Victorian housing in London for a lecture she's preparing. I came across this Wiki page which is an easy read about the boom in house building in the Victorian years resulting from increased wealth, the industrial revolution a general movement from rural areas into the bigger cities. If you think you might be interested, I recommend it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_house

But I was prompted to post this having seen this fascinating item on another website which refers to how the term 'slumming it' came to be. Bear in mind that the great middle class only began to develop in Victorian times; initially you were wealthy or poor.

...a surprising aspect of society in the late 1800’s is that the wealthy upper class had their own curiosities about how the poor lower class lived. They would actually put on their “common clothes” and go down to the slums for sight seeing trips. “Slumming” became the name for this form of tourism. Many of the upper class men and women alike would disguise themselves in lower class clothing and head to the slums for a night or two to indulge in the guilty pleasures that could be found in the streets and boarding houses of the slums.

For further really interesting reading on how the poor in Victorian times lived, try this one:

http://victorianchildren.org/victori...torians-lived/

[Cowbridge Blue]

Got carried away, I meant to end by asking what other sayings in common use today have interesting origins? eg "Saved by the bell" and so on

[Glos Blue]

I think it's common knowledge but "back to square one" originated on the radio during the 1927 FA Cup final!

[Glos Blue]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7328650.stm

[Maxim]

Got carried away, I meant to end by asking what other sayings in common use today have interesting origins? eg "Saved by the bell" and so on

Bethlem Royal Hospital, London hospital first to specialise in the mentally ill and origin of the word "bedlam" describing chaos or madness

[Colonel Cærdiffi]

The popular term "football" is derived from the fact that the famous sport utilises a "ball" and that it is played around a field using only the "feet".

[Vimana.]

.. Bear in mind that the great middle class only began to develop in Victorian times; initially you were wealthy or poor.

... and back we go again ..

[lardy]

The popular term "football" is derived from the fact that the famous sport utilises a "ball" and that it is played around a field using only the "feet".

The original name for polo was 'horse-play'.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

The popular term "football" is derived from the fact that the famous sport utilises a "ball" and that it is played around a field using only the "feet".

So why isn't it called 'feetball'?

[Colonel Cærdiffi]

So why isn't it called 'feetball'?

Hey, yous a real jerkoff buddy, you know that? Go back to Long Island.

[Wales-Bales]

"They think it's all over" is a popular phrase that originated from a BBC programme of the same name.

[Croesy Blue]

The popular term "football" is derived from the fact that the famous sport utilises a "ball" and that it is played around a field using only the "feet".

Another interesting thread ruined by a painfully unfunny joke

[Wales-Bales]

Another interesting thread ruined by a painfully unfunny joke

Surely I win 1st place?

[Colonel Cærdiffi]

Another interesting thread ruined by a painfully unfunny joke

Don't worry, you're not the first Croesy unable to recognise top-drawer stand up when you see it. It's understandable, that level of prime jocularity can be overwhelming to the senses.

It's why they call me the Archbishop of Banterbury but to be honest, it's more of a curse than a gift sometimes.