Breathing in solitude

Solitude matters, and for some people, it's the air they breathe. Susan Cain

All the introverts in the house 'holla! Seriously. I read today's quote and I resonate loudly, "YES!" I know I desperately need solitude, even from my own family. I need time by myself and that includes no kids, no husband. Just me. It's what I count on to get me through work weeks of interacting and being that outgoing introvert that I am. When I get my time of solitude I breathe it in deeply, so much that I almost gulp it in and become breathless with how much I am taking in and trying to store up. In fact, I crave it so much that even 8-10 hours of it isn't enough, I have to re-acclimate to people coming back into my space and it takes me a while to feel welcoming toward people inserting themselves back into my space. Sad but true. That's how much solitude means to me. That's how much I need it. How about you? Can you relate or does the idea of solitude make you feel antsy and uncomfortable? It's fascinating to me how people vary in their needs for interaction and solitude.

Butter someone up

There are two probable origins for this idiom and I think both are equally plausible. The first one is that when you spread butter on bread you are buttering it up like one would do when trying to flatter someone. The second is in ancient India there was a practice of throwing balls of butter at statues to ask for favor, i.e. buttering them up. ( source ) When we use the phrase today we generally mean that extreme flattery is used to gain information or favor. It's not always necessarily a compliment.

Call it a Day

The literal use of this phrase hails from 1838 when the phrase originally was "call it half a day" to mean leaving work early. (source) The modern use of the phrase is to indicate ending something due to false sense of accomplishment.

More bang for your buck

This phrase was used a lot in 1953 but an earlier citation puts it at 1940 in a Metals and Plastics Publications advertisement. Read about it here . The phrase means you get more for your money.

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