Traces:
To kick over the traces means to break away from control, to
do what you want and not what you're told. This is said to come from
horse and cart riding where a 'trace' is one of the two side straps
that form part of a horse's harness connected to the crossbar
(whiffletree) . If the horse is frisky and not doing what its told,
then it tends to kick over the traces. The expression goes back to
C14.
Truck: To have no truck with someone means to have no dealings with
them. Truck comes from the French "troquer" meaning "to barter". From
this origin came the truck system from which 'tommy rot' arose.
Truth: If you tell the naked truth then the story is complete,
including good and bad points. The saying comes from and ancient fable
in which both Truth and Falsehood went for a swim. When they came out
Falsehood put on Truth's clothes. Truth couldn't bear the prospect of
wearing Falsehood's clothes and so went naked instead.
Turkey: To talk turkey means to get to the point. The story behind this
saying goes as follows: back in the Colonial days of North America a
hunter is said to have divided his day's haul with his Indian
companion. The haul consisted of turkeys and crows. The hunter kept
giving himself the turkeys and the Indian the crows. All the while he
kept saying "you take this crow and I will take this turkey". At the
end of the division the Indian protested "you talk all turkey for you.
You never once talk turkey for me! Now I talk turkey to you." The story
was first printed in1830 and is almost certainly not fact;
never-the-less, the saying entered the language.
Twig: To twig on to something is to suddenly realise what it means.
Twig is said by some to be derived from the Irish word
"tuigim" meaning "I understand". However, most authorities say ‘origin
unknown’.
