THE CAT'S PAJAMAS LI

Tad Tuleja

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

HIGH AND DRY

In the Old West, the most desirable farming land was the well-drained "bottom" land near the rivers. When a new area was opened for settlement, naturally this fertile land was staked out first. Late arrivals were left with the less desirable plots sloping up and away from the water - land that was literally high and dry. Gradually this agricultural expression, describing forsaken land, took on the sense of being abandoned in general - being left high and dry.

FREELOADER

In group drinking in British pubs, an unwritten rule governs payment: One person volunteers to buy the first round, a second volunteers for the second, and so on until the circle is completed and it is again the initial buyer's turn. A person who accepts drinks from his mates but leaves the pub before his turn is due is is called a "pint shyer" in the north and a "free-loader" in the south. Such a shirker is always "shy" his pint of beer, and has gotten drunk, or "loaded," for free.