Etymology of phrases

Anyone know the etymology of the phrase "clapped out"?

My hypothesis:

When the teacher was done with the lesson she would wipe the board with the eraser, after finishing the days worth of lessons you finished the day by "clapping out" the erasers. It basically means "finishing off".

From: http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayingsc.htm

Clapped out - exhausted: Hares are the origin here. When pursued by hounds or other adversaries they will stop running from time to time to catch their breath. They routinely sit up on their haunches and look around; their respiratory movements are so strong that their chests heave in and out and their front legs, which they hold up in front of them, move in time with their breathing. To the observer they appear to be clapping and, in the world of hare hunting, this is exactly what it is called. A hare that can run no more is thus clapped out.

My hypothesis:

It goes back the world's oldest profession. When they are too sick to carry on their duties they are considered Clap-ped out. Therefore they are finished.

It could also be after 13 curtain calls the audience is clapped out and therefore finished.

I figured it was used to describe people trying to turn off the light using a dead clapper device, eventually they would become...clapped out.

Got any more phrases that are bothering you, we're on a roll!

We are on a roll: A bunch of Scottish drunkards were standing on a passed out man hailing from Copenhagen. The "Danish" was later turned to a generic "roll" after the drunkards found you could knock the snot out of the Irish too.

But the Irish are just the Scottish that got out in advance of the British.

I actually know the origin of the phrase "Cold enough to freeze the balls off of a brass monkey."

I know the origin of the phrase "by and large" but I'm not going to tell you since you didn't tell us the origin of the brass monkey balls. It's not used a lot nowadays but as I was growing up when someone wanted to mean "mostly" they'd say "well by and large it's xxx"

The "...balls of a brass monkey," origin you're probably thinking of is apparently not the true etymology.

I know the origin of the phrase, "In one fell swoop."

griffin729 wrote: I actually know the origin of the phrase "Cold enough to freeze the balls off of a brass monkey."

Check at www.snopes.com before you give your explanation.

Is that the supposed cannonball holders are called monkeys, brass is has larger density fluctuations from temperature than iron definition?

What're the origins of "by and large" and "in one fell swoop"?

"At one fell swoop" is was coined by Shakespeare in Macbeth.

Macduff hears that Macbeth's forces have stormed the castle where is family was supposed to be kept safe and has slaughtered them all. He says:

All my pretty ones? Did you say all? O hell-kite! All? What, all my pretty chickens and their dam At one fell swoop?

A kite is a bird of prey and the swoop is it's dive to capture food.

"An history event..." Aren't you supposed to put an in front of words beginning in vowels and a in front on words beginning in consonants? A gun. An other.

"Balls to the Wall" refers to aircraft throttles. Four or six handles with round orbs on top, pushing forward lays on the fuel, i.e. GTFO.

How bout "low and behold" ??

It's "Lo and behold." Lo means, "Hey, look at that." Sort of redundant, wot?

I just wish people would stop saying "begs the question" when they mean "raises the question." Unforgivable.

Balls to the walls is for centrifugal governors. It means something is running at maximum speed, hence the balls are reaching out towards the walls.

we were debating "he got cold feet"

get some socks. geez.

SAIL magazone wrote a story some years ago and your job was to pick out all the sailing lingo, slang. I found about 20, but was surprised by some of them used every day that have fallen out of sailing and into conversation.

I looked but couldn't find it.

How did PORT and STARBOARD originate?

Some that I grew up with on Grandpa's farm are, dirty potlicker and oh my achin' back

Appleseed wrote: "An history event..." Aren't you supposed to put an in front of words beginning in vowels and a in front on words beginning in consonants? A gun. An other.

The English put "an" in front of soft consonants like "history".

RossD wrote: Balls to the walls is for centrifugal governors. It means something is running at maximum speed, hence the balls are reaching out towards the walls.

No, he's right about "balls to the wall" - shoving the ball-topped levers forward to the firewall for maximum throttle is the origin of that expression.

You're thinking of "balls out" and you are exactly right on that one; it refers to the balls on a centrifugal governor which where hinged on a kind of double-wishbone device. As they spun faster and thus moved farther out away from the axle, they lifted a lever which reduced throttle until they fell again.

914Driver wrote: How did PORT and STARBOARD originate?

Originally, ships didn't have a center-pintle rudder and tiller or wheel as they did later. They were steered by a large oar-like device that typically hung over the right rear quarter of the vessel. Once this design became standardized, the "STEER BOARD" side entered the lingo as "starboard". You would typically put in with the left side of the boat to the dock, to avoid crunching your steerboard, so that side became referred to as "port".

Anyone want to know where "corn hole" came from?

Will it keep me awake at night?