Day 256: Handwritten Notes

Today I received a handwritten note in the mail. With today's technology handwritten notes are almost like a myth from ancient times. :) In fact, in the past few months I have received 3 handwritten notes from 3 friends. I feel so grateful for the time they took to write an encouraging note to me, address an actual envelope, use a real stamp, and mail it. Let's face it, it is so much easier to jot off an email and the same words can be said and be meaningful but to see a friend's handwriting is special and makes me feel grateful for these people in my life who wanted to encourage me in a very personal way. Is there someone you can send a handwritten note to?

Comments

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.

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.

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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