Day 119: Washing Machines and Dryers

Today I spent the better part of the day doing laundry. And I was struck, not for the first time but again, at how grateful I was for washing machine and dryer. Without them the process of doing laundry would take a lot longer and be a lot harder. When I was in Kenya I had to do some laundry via a washboard and line drying. It gave me a greater appreciation for 1) those who do laundry that way and 2) my washer and dryer. Next time I'm tempted to complain about doing laundry I'm hoping today's gratitude attitude reminds me to, well, not complain. :)

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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.

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.

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