Day 77: Freedoms Protected

It's Veterans Day here in America. A day in which we attempt to thank those who have served in our country's armed forces in the past to protect the many freedoms we enjoy. I say attempt because it is terribly difficult to thank so many who have sacrificed much. But we still attempt.

I am grateful for the freedoms we have that are protected by brave men and women. Despite all of our problems, issues, and flaws America still remains the country in the world that has perhaps the most diverse freedoms and perhaps the most freedoms (but don't quote me on that and also don't get your panties in a twist if I am wrong - who cares if I am, it's more about the point I'm trying to make) of any country on the planet. We still have varied religious freedoms, speech freedoms, reading freedoms, etc etc. And those are protected in part by our armed forces. So for those who have sacrificed much, laid down your lives, fought for the freedoms of this nation I am grateful and I thank you.

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.

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