There are many roads that all converged to lead to the main road of this phrase - popular on October 31 of every year. Many of the roads have to do with religious and pagan practices - all centering around the dead. Read about the history here . In the 1930s it was a literal 'threat', or should I say plea?, used by kids as noted by this newspaper article in The Reno Evening Gazette, 1st November 1938. The article alludes to Nevada children using methods similar to the protection rackets of the Mafia. Its piece was headed 'Youngsters Shake Down Residents': "Trick or treat was the slogan employed by Halloween pranksters who successfully extracted candy fruit from Reno residents. In return the youngsters offered protection against window soaping and other forms of annoyance." ( source ) So it seems that it literally was a trick if no treat was given. I wonder how many of those kids went on to a successful career in extortion?! These days it seems the tri

Thomas Tusser gets credit for this phrase in his 1573 rhyme. Read it here . The meaning of the phrase, then and now, is pretty clear. Think before you spend. Here's an example - there is no prince or person in some African country that needs money via the internet. *wink* 

The origin of the phrase actually comes from its literal meaning. In the early 1700s, Farmers found that chickens born in the spring brought better prices than 'old' ones that had gone through the winter. When farmers tried to sell the old birds as 'new spring born', buyers complained that they were 'no spring chicken'. The first recorded use of the phrase in its figurative meaning was in 1906. ( source )

This phrase was used to describe a Mexican border situation in 1919. Read about it here .  Modern day use of it means that what has been done is done and it can't be changed. Once water goes under the bridge it can't reverse course. 

A theory about this term comes from medieval days when the guests were served the best parts of the bread, i.e. the unburned parts. But as this site explains there is no evidence to support this theory. Now it is used to refer to elite society. 

When one hears the term "full monty" these days usually they, we, me, think of naked men on stage. But the term originated, ironically enough, due to clothes! A men's suit to be exact. Read about it here .  How it morphed to naked men on a stage is unknown - my guess is it is a play on the irony of the actual meaning? 

Back in the day (medieval ones that is) saving the bacon was thought to be any part of an animal's body and it meant to save it from harm because it was valuable - food after all was valuable. ( source ) Now it means to save yourself or someone else from harm.

This phrase originated in the mid 19th century and comes from a simple form of cryptography, in which a hidden meaning was conveyed by secreting it between lines of text. ( source ) It's modern day meaning is similar in that a meaning isn't obvious but has to be discovered. 

No clear origin is found for this term but it generally means that you have found yourself in a messy situation where no solution/resolution is apparent.  But sometimes the phrase is flipped to motivate.

No origin is found for this popular phrase but its meaning is quite clear. ( source )

This term finds its roots in the American Civil War and was used in regards to prisoners and the space they were allotted in the prison camps. There was an established "dead-line" that if crossed meant death for the prisoner. Read the full story here . By 1920 the term had evolved into how we use it today, a task that needs completing by an established time/day. 

Let sleeping dogs lie. Why would you wake them up?! It's like babies, don't wake them up - let them sleep! Same idea. Read about it here . When we use the phrase these days we mean it in a much more figurative sense. Usually the "sleeping dog" is a conflict or controversial point and to say let sleeping dogs lie means let's not make a big deal over that thing, just let it be. 

Back in the day (you know, a really long time ago) and now, a knight in shining armour has traditionally meant a man coming to the rescue of a woman. ( source )

Shakespeare strikes again! In The Twelfth Night he penned it in regards to laughter. It didn't appear in language and print again until 1914. Read about it here .  When we use it today its meaning is that of laughter so hard that it gives us a stitch in our sides. 

This phrase can be traced throughout time starting in 190 B.C. It's meaning is fairly clear - do a hurried job and you'll waste resources. ( source )

There's a couple of different theories out there about "the bird", i.e. extending one's middle finger toward someone to communicate displeasure.  This theory grew out of an old practice of hissing at poor stage performers back in the day, you can read about what hissing and "the bird" have to do with one another here .  Another theory has to do with The Clouds , a play written in 423 B.C. That short explanation is given here .  And finally, one last theory - perhaps the most plausible of all - is that the middle finger is a sexual gesture meant to represent having sex. Wikipedia gives all the info on this theory .

Originally this term was used only in military circles to mean field exercises. But it morphed over time to mean hilarity and fun as well. Read about its origins here . 

This phrase was authored by John Milton in his 1634 work  Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle.   I see ye visibly, and now believe That he, the Supreme Good, to whom all things ill Are but as slavish officers of vengeance, Would send a glistering guardian, if need were  To keep my life and honour unassailed.  Was I deceived, or did a sable cloud  Turn forth her silver lining on the night?  I did not err; there does a sable cloud  Turn forth her silver lining on the night,  And casts a gleam over this tufted grove. The phrase morphed throughout the years to the one we use today. Read about its evolution here .  One afternoon I was driving and spotted the silver lining.  So I had to stop and capture it!