Wayne from Wayland, Massachusetts, says a co-worker was fond of the saying One hand washes the other and both hands wash the face. The saying suggests that working together, two can accomplish what one can’t. It can also connote the idea of...
Marjorie in Huntsville, Alabama, wonders about the saying Empty wagons make the most noise suggesting that the people who talk the most about a subject aren’t necessarily the most knowledgeable. This notion goes all the way back to ancient...
Ronna from Jackson, Wyoming, asks about the word suffrage, meaning “the right to vote.” It goes back to the Latin word suffragium, which in ancient Rome meant a “voting tablet,” but beyond that, this word’s...
The Latin word sal, or “salt,” inspired the word salarium, the pay soldiers received to buy salt. This in turn led to the English word salary. Well into the 17th century, salt remained a valuable commodity, but today if you’re not...
The athletic-shoe brand ASICS takes its name from the initials of the Latin motto anima sana in corpore sano, usually rendered “a sound mind in a sound body.” That wording echoes the older phrase mens sana in corpore sano, from a satire by the Roman...
Kirby in Deer River, Minnesota, an agriculture science and Future Farmers of America advisor, asks whether ruminate as in pondering comes from the cud-chewing done by ruminants. The image fits, but the figurative language is older than modern farm...