Seamy:
The seamy side of life describes the less pleasant aspects of living.
The saying comes from the fact that carpets, tapestry, embroidery etc.
show an unfinished side if turned over; a side not meant to be seen by
the public.
Settle: To settle terms is the way of describing that an agreement has
been reached and sealed. Settle is, of course, a form of seat and so
why is it used in this phrase?. The answer resides in the knowledge
that many agreements were sealed and arguments resolved whist sitting
on a Settle.
Shakes: He's no great shakes implies that someone is not worth a lot;
not up to much. Shakes in this context come from the old word schakere,
maker of boasts, which was in use in the 13th century. However, another
suggestion is that it comes from the shaking of dice. Someone who is
'no great shakes' is nothing extraordinary, like a gambler who shakes
the dice and throws a non-winning number.
Shambles: It's a bit of a shambles suggests a picture of semi-chaos. In
the old days the Shambles was the street traditionally occupied by
butchers. Such a street could well have been messy, possibly even like
a slaughter house. The name comes from the Saxon scamel, which was a
bench or stall on which meat was displayed. The name is still applied
to certain streets in Britain. It has come to be associated with any
mess and has lost its original precise meaning.
Sheets: If someone is three sheets to the wind, then they are drunk.
There are two possible origins here. The first relates to a windmill
with only three of its four sails (sheets) set. Because it would wobble
in these circumstances it mimics a drunkards walk.
The second is nautical in origin. Sails are controlled with ropes
called 'sheets', and sails have two - a lee side sheet and a weather
sheet. The sailor's contention is that, if a man who had been drinking
was given the support of an extra sheet, even then he could still not
steady or control himself on a regular course. An alternative idea is
that of a ship caught with three (jib) sheets in the wind as she goes
from one tack to the other. The sails would flap and the ship would
wallow and stagger in the manner of a drunk.
Shirty: If someone gets shirty then they are a bit tetchy, irritable,
aggressive and possibly spoiling for a fight. The origin goes back to
the days of bare-knuckle boxers. The fights were carried out with the
men stripped to the waist - they took their shirts off prior to
fighting.
Short shrift: To get short shrift is to be given only a small amount of
someone's time; to be given speedy punishment. Shrift was the act of
hearing a person's confessions and giving them absolution for their
sins. Someone due for execution was given but short shrift. The word
shrift comes from the verb 'shrive' meaning "to hear confession". The
past tense of the verb is 'shrove', hence Shrove Tuesday, the day
immediately before Lent and a holiday; people went to confession and
then made merry before starting the Lenten penances.
Shot: Not by a long shot implies that there is little chance of success
in a venture. The long shot here probably comes from archery, although
the expression didn't come into use until the mid 1800s when it was
used in racing circles to describe a bet laid at large odds; hence
shooting may be the origin. This is the best explanation I've come
across, but I still don't understand the 'not' in the phrase. 'Not even
by ....' makes more sense to me. Maybe the 'even' has been lost over
time.
Shoulder: To give the cold shoulder means to ignore or dismiss someone.
The cheapest meat in the 18th century was mutton. In order to indicate
it was time to leave, an unwanted guest was given cold shoulder of
mutton.
Sixes and Sevens: If someone is at sixes and sevens then they are in a
quandary; they don't quite know what to do next. The saying originates
from a situation in 1327 and relates to the Guilds of Tradesmen in the
City of London. The Merchant Taylors and the Skinners were founded
within a few days of each other, five other Guilds having already
received their charters. The age of each Guild dictated its position in
the Lord Mayor's procession. The Merchant Taylors and the Skinners
argued for fifty years as to which should go sixth in the procession.
In the end, in 1494, Sir Robert Billesden, the current Lord Mayor,
decreed that they should take it in turns to go sixth and seventh.
An alternative explanation that the saying has something to do with
throwing dice is much less likely, and far less romantic.
Skinflint: We all recognise a skinflint as a mean person, tight with
money, but where did the word come from? It's certainly present in the
1811 dictionary, but with no origin. To 'skin' someone is however used
in the sense of swindle. A modern source indicates that the term comes
from the 18th century where mean people would even try to skin a flint
in order to make money.
Skid: To be on Skid Row is to be down and out. Skid Row is a
US/Canadian expression for the poorest part of town where vagrants,
alcoholics etc. end up. In the timber industry a skid road is a slope
of cross laid logs down which other logs roll, slide or skid. Tacoma
near Seattle & Vancouver flourished on their timber industry;
they also had a plentiful supply of alcohol. Rows of brothels &
bars became available for loggers working on the skid road and the
dregs of society soon ended up there in what became Skid Row.
Slap up. To have a slap up meal means to eat well. The expression
originates from the time of Charles Dickens, when it was a "slap-bang"
meal, derived from cheap eating houses, where one one's money was
slapped down as the food was banged on the table. Probably to emphasise
the difference in food quality in better class establishments, "down"
became "up". However, the change may be just another example of
language evolution, in much the same way as "to be sold a pig in a
poke" has come to mean that one has been cheated, whereas, in reality,
the reason for going to a medieval market was often to buy a pig and
not to be "sold a pup"!
Quote: Dickens, Sketches by Boz, 3, 36. "They lived in the same street,
walked to town every morning at the same hour, dined at the same
slap-bang every day."
