Wiregrass Seniors Magazine November Issue NOVEMBER ISSUE

Page 6 WiregrassSeniorsMagazine.com THE MEANINGS OF OLD SAYINGS Photo ID’s.....What Gives? BEYOND THE PALE - Originally a pale was an area under the authority of a certain official. In the 14th and 15th centuries the English king ruled Dublin and the surrounding area known as the pale. Anyone 'beyond the pale' was seen as savage and danger- ous. BIG WIG - In the 18th century when men wore wigs, the most important men wore the biggest wigs. Hence today important people are called big wigs. BITTER END - Anchor cable was wrapped around posts called bitts. The last piece of cable was called the bitter end. If you let out the cable to the bitter end there was nothing else you could do, you had reached the end of your resources. THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND - In Matthew 15:14 Jesus criticized the Pharisees, the religious authorities of his day, saying 'they are blind leaders of the blind'. BLUE-BLOOD - This means aristocratic. For cen- turies the Arabs occupied Spain but they were gradu- ally forced out during the Middle Ages. The upper class in Spain had paler skin than most of the popu- lation as their ancestors had not inter-married with the Arabs. As they had pale skin the 'blue' blood running through their veins was more visible. (Of course all blood is red but it sometimes looks blue when running through veins). So blue-blooded came to mean upper class. TO BOOT - If you get something to boot it means you get it extra. However it has nothing to do with boots you wear on your feet. It is a corruption of the old word bot, which meant profit or advantage. CUT AND RUN - In an emergency rather than haul up an anchor the sailors would cut the anchor cable then run with the wind. DYED IN THE WOOL - Wool that was dyed before it was woven kept its color better than wool dyed after weaving of 'dyed in the piece'. EARMARKED - This comes from the days when livestock had their ears marked so their owner could be easily identified. Paradoxical Quote of The Day: "Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen." What things do you need a photo ID for? This is what I've come up with so far... Get a Driver's license Buy alcohol Buy cigarettes Apply for welfare Apply for food stamps Cash a check Purchase a firearm Make any large credit card purchase Open a bank account Rent an apartment Rent a hotel room Rent a movie Rent a car Buy a car Open an account for electricty Get water service Sell something at a pawn shop Purchase sudafed Sell scrap metal Get on a military base Fly on commercial aircraft Test drive a car Be admitted to a hospital Get a marriage license Get a fishing license Get a hunting license Enter the country “Legally” Get a job Go to college Get into the Democrat’s National Convention. I'm trying to figure out how having to produce an ID to vote once every couple of years, is somehow a problem.

Wiregrass Seniors Magazine November Issue NOVEMBER ISSUE | Page 6