#ThrillingThursday

Maverick at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio. I would be remiss if I didn't include a coaster from Cedar Point. This amusement park is a family favorite. We've been going there since I was a wee one. I actually haven't been in years - I'm not a fan of amusement parks - but many members of my family still go. Maverick, (built in 2007) and most expensive ($21 million), is not one of the park’s highest-tallest-fastest record-holders, but it’s one of its best. It’s plenty fast—at 70 mph—and features eight airtime-filled hills and countless twists and turns. It’s just a more complete ride, and during the longish 2.5-minute trip, there’s even an unusual surprise…which would be spoiled if we told you beforehand. (source)

Me and my family at Cedar Point
August 1980

Comments

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.

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.

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