Push the envelope

The envelope that this phrase originated around was not an envelope that we use in written correspondence. It was the mathematical envelope. I read the word 'mathematical' and my brain shut down so you'll have to read about this mathematical envelope here. *grin*

When we say it today, however, we aren't referring to anything math related (thank goodness for me). What we are saying is that someone is pushing the limits or boundaries of what can be or should be done.

Comments

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.

Search This Blog