Wire:
down to the wire is an expression which implies a very close outcome to
an event. Why 'wire'? It has been suggested to me that it may be wire
around a prison, but I can find no evidence for this. The only
explanation I found was on the SHU internet Phrase Discussion Board. It
went as follows:
"Horse racing. A wire is stretched above the finish line so that a
camera above can take a picture at the moment the first horse crosses
to settle the order of finish even in a close race ... the metaphor is
extended to many kinds of contest, including elections where one can
win by a nose, get nosed out, finish out of the money, be an also-ran,
and any of a number of race-related terms."
Wonder: A nine days' wonder describes something that is popular but
soon become unfashionable or ceases to be novel. An old proverb states
"A wonder lasts nine days, and then the puppy's eyes are open",
alluding to dogs which, like cats, are born blind. The public are
reckoned to be blind initially, but then their eyes are opened.
Although a plausible explanation, there is another. The Late Latin word
"novena" is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church for a devotion
lasting for nine consecutive days. Once completed a new one may be
instituted and the other forgotten. Perhaps Protestants derided this
custom and made mention of it as a nine days' wonder.
Wool: To pull the wool over the eyes means to try to deceive or trick
someone. The 'wool' here is the hair of wigs. Back a couple of
centuries ago the status of men was often indicated by the size of
their wigs - hence our word 'bigwig' to indicate importance. Such
people were worth robbing; the street thugs would pull the wig down
over the victims eyes in order to confuse him - the 'wool had been
pulled over his eyes'.
To
be wool gathering is to be day dreaming, not concentrating. This come
from the days when children were sent out into the hedgerows to gather
the scraps of wool left by passing sheep. It was not a very taxing job
and the childrens' thoughts could easily wander to other subjects.
Yarn: To "spin a yarn" is to tell a tale. At first this seems an odd
combination of words until it's remembered that, in the old days, women
used to spin yarn on spinning wheels. They frequently did this in
groups and, to pass the time, they often told each other stories. In
time the words came to mean the production of the stories themselves.
Years: Donkey's years is a phrase used to describe a long while; a
lengthy period. This comes from the original parallel between "a long
time" being likened to being as "long as donkey's ears". A slurring of
pronunciation resulted in the present, relatively new, form, being
first recorded in 1916.
