"Take the Cake" & "The Third Degree" and the Wonderful Origins of Everyday Expressions (Pt. 22)
Summary
Andrew Thompson joins Our American Stories to explore the origins of common idioms like "take the cake" and "three sheets to the wind." He traces their roots to diverse historical contexts, including slavery, nautical traditions, ancient Rome, and Freemasonry. The episode reveals how phrases such as "talking turkey" and "throw down the gauntlet" evolved from specific cultural practices into everyday language.
Topics discussed
Sponsors: State Farm, Samsung, Harley-Davidson, UnitedHealthcare
Origins of 'Take the cake', 'Cakewalk', and 'Piece of cake'
Origins of 'Taken aback' and 'Pinch of salt'
Origins of 'Talking turkey' and 'Tarred with the same brush'
Origins of 'Just the ticket' and 'The third degree'
Origins of 'Three sheets to the wind', 'Throw down the gauntlet', and 'Throw your hat into the ring'
Origin of 'Tide you over' and episode wrap-up
Sponsors: Shell, Harley-Davidson, State Farm, Working Forest Initiative
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