Meaning: Something that is costly to obtain or maintain and provides little benefit or value.
Example: The London Bridge became a white elephant. The bridge was relocated to Havasu City Arizona, where it now remains as a tourist attraction.
Origin: From the Burmese belief that albino elephants are sacred. They can't be used for work and they must be lavished with the ultimate amount of care.
Giving a gift of a white elephant would be done to someone considered an enemy. The idea being that you would eventually wipe out your enemy's wealth with the care of the sacred elephant.
Why would anyone accept such a gift from an enemy? Better yet, why would anyone buy a white elephant for oneself?
In the late 1800's P.T. Barnum of circus fame did precisely that. Barnum heard of a sacred white elephant in India. Thinking it would be an excellent attraction, he sent an agent to buy it sight unseen.
When the animal arrived in Bridgeport, CT, Barnum was horrified to see that it was covered with large pinkish splotches and was not white at all. The public was not impressed and Barnum had to keep his "white elephant" hidden from public view in a stable while he tried to decide what to do with it. Although it was useless to him, he had actually paid a lot of money for it.
Incidentally, the elephant died later when the stable in which it was hidden accidentally burned to the ground.
Meaning: With a healthy dose of skepticism, suspicion, and caution.
Example: Dave has been known to stretch the truth a bit. Take what he says with a grain of salt.
Origin: Salt is now an inexpensive and readily available commodity. But it was once very valuable due to its high demand as a food preservative and relative scarcity.
Salt was thought to have healing properties and to be an antidote to poisons. To take (eat or drink) something "with a grain of salt" was to practice preventive medicine. One would do this if they were suspicious that the food might be poisonous or may cause illness.
Example: Not to worry about your new suit, any detergent worth its salt can remove blood stains.
Origin: Today salt is inexpensive and universally available, but that wasn't always the case. Salt has been a valuable commodity in many cultures throughout history.
Salt is sodium chloride. It can be obtained from mines or the oceans. Today salt is commonly mined from large deposits left by dried salt lakes. Modern mining and transportation methods have made salt an inexpensive commodity.
Salt is an effective food preservative and before refrigeration was widely available, the demand for salt as a preservative was much greater. The human body requires salt for the regulation of fluid balance. Salt used as a seasoning adds to the taste of many foods.
Because of salt's high value, it was used as a method of exchange. Roman soldiers received a salt allowance as part of their pay. In fact the word "salary" is derived from the Latin "salarium" meaning "of salt".
To say that someone is "worth his salt" is to say they have earned their pay.
Example: When I was a young man my hairline formed a widow's peak, now it is more like a divorcee's horseshoe.
Origin: The hair of a person laying on their back in an open coffin would tend to fall back over the head, thereby exposing the hairline and making evident the peak.
Example: Some occasions call for you to be wearing your heart on you sleeve, and for other occasions you need to clam up.
Origin: The heart is often used as a symbol of ones feelings of love and passion. To fully display the heart in a conspicuous place like the sleeve is to make ones feelings clearly visible. Why the sleeve is chosen as the place to display the emotions is unclear.
The phrase is used in Shakespeare's Othello, in a line spoken by Iago: "I will wear my heart upon my sleeve" (1.1.65). Iago's plan, in context, is to feign openness and vulnerability in order to gain the trust of Othello, psychologically a powerful move on Iago's part, then use this trust to destroy Othello.
Iago's usage is consistent with the modern usage, except that Iago's intent was to deceive.
Alternatively,
This phrase originating from the middle ages. When a king's court would hold a jousting match, and a knight was dedicating his performance that day to a woman in the court, he would be given her colors, or a kerchief or something to tie around his arm, to show he was representing her.
Hence the term wearing one's heart on one's sleeve, because knights would joust to defend the honor of a woman they loved or cared for.
