THE CAT'S PAJAMAS XLII

Tad Tuleja 

A collection of the (mostly) true origins of familiar phrases

FACE THE MUSIC

This expression dates from World War I, when the rhythmic rat-a-tat-tat of machine gun fire was known, in a grimly humorous phrase, as "barrel music." The barrel referred to was obviously that of a gun, although there may also have been a connection to the tapping and grinding sounds of the barrel organ. Whatever the origin, to face the music meant to go over the top of the trenches, into the quite unmusical atmosphere of No Man's Land.

HOT SEAT

A torture device of the French Inquisition, the chaise chaude, was the literal origin of hot seat. This was a small metal chair which would be placed over a fire and to which the naked victim would be chained until he confessed to the inquisitor's fantasies. The victims of this torture were known as 

grillees, or "the grilled ones." When modern investigators speak of grilling a suspect, they are figuratively referring to what was once a very real practice.