Do you know what you're saying?

Everyday, where ever you go, you hear people using idioms. Idioms, or as they're usually known; common sayings permeate our languages. I doubt there is a single language in the world that doesn't have hundreds of sayings in active use.

Some, like Bee's Knees and Cat's Pajamas (both mean “a good thing”) were popular in the 1930's but have since fallen out of use.

However, a great many have survived through the years, sometimes even through centuries – yes hundreds of years – though their meanings can have changed radically.

I thought it'd be fun to look at some common ones.

Saved by the bell. To be saved at the last moment.

This one has dual origins. Some think it comes from the practice of burying people with a string running through the coffin lid and attached to a bell, allowing a person who was mistakenly buried alive to signal for help. The problem is that, although this was practiced during a short period of time, there are no records of anyone actually ringing the bell, and thus being saved.

The other possible origin, comes from boxing. A fighter would be a punch away from going down when the bell rings calling an end to the round, thus allowing him time to recover.

The first version probably stems from the 17^th century while the second comes from the 18^th century.

Fair and square. To deal honestly with someone.

We don't know who came up with this one first, but George Puttenham used this phrase in 1589 in his The arte of English poesie, and Francis Bacon said it in Of Prophecies in 1604. In any case, square was used as the definition of honest, as opposed to being crooked and twisted in your dealings. Related to this is Being straight with someone.

To pass with flying colors. To easily succeed at something.

This hails from the Age of Sail (16th to the mid-19th century), when ships had to rely on flags, or colors to communicate, since no one had been bothered to invent the radio yet. To pass with flying colors meant you were openly declaring your allegiance and intent. Compare it's current usage with a phrase like I sailed through the test, in both cases indicating how easy you found it. So to pass with flying colors has gone from complicated maritime communication to finding things easy.

First rate. The best quality available.

Another legacy from the Age of Sail, this idiom originally meant the heaviest class of ship in the fleet. Ships were classed by rates, and a first rate ship was the biggest and had the most cannons. Today restaurants and hotels can be first rate, service and transportation can be first rate etc.

If you want to learn more, google it. The web is full of site dedicated to idioms and sayings, and remember: it ain't over till the fat lady sings.