Labels:text | electronics | screenshot | display OCR: Phrase Craze! Page 41 * To bite the dust: end one's action or kill an enemy. This phrase, perhaps a surprise to many, appears in Homer's Iliad. In American the phrase is 'bite the dust' whereas in England the phrase is 'bite the ground or sand.' The phrase has always meant the same thing, to fail, not succeed or to foil an enemy. To see the handwriting on the wall: to see the forecast of the future, or a warning. The phrase is very old and some experts say it first appeared in print in the Old Testament of the Bible. When Belshazzar took the throne in Babylonia, Nebuchadnezzar declared a feast day and reportedly said: "(they) came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall." * In one ear and out the other: leaving no impression whatsoever. Though most believe this phrase has been with us since Adam and Eve and it was probably something Adam told Cain and Abel the earliest written form of the phrase was not until 1583. It was written in a sermon by John Calvin. * Mad as a hatter: to be crazy or demented. It has nothing do with anger. The phrase was born from the twisting of the hat makers. Felt hats have a percentage of mercury in them. Hat makers would, after prolonged labor with felt, begin twisting as a result of the mercury in the felt. Some believe hatter was added to show the person was really crazy.
(.png)
