The Dark & Surprising Origins of Everyday Phrases

Every day we toss around phrases without thinking twice about where they came from, what they originally meant, or how disturbingly specific they once were. A lot of these little idioms sound innocent now. No wonder, as they’ve been smoothed over by centuries of use. But scratch the surface, and you’ll often find something… well, darker. Or at the very least, weirder. So, here’s a dive into some of the sometimes dark, but always surprising origins of everyday phrases.

Saved by the Bell: Not a School Thing

This one sounds cheerful and high school-y thanks to that ‘90s sitcom, but the original phrase is way more morbid. During the height of premature burial panic in the 18th and 19th centuries, people were so terrified of being buried alive (which, fair) that they started adding “safety coffins” to graves. We have a whole article covering this topic, if you’re curious.

These often included a string tied to the buried person’s hand, connected to a bell above ground. If the dearly departed wasn’t quite as departed as everyone thought, they could tug the string and ring for help. Hence: saved by the bell. Of course, nobody seems to have any concrete evidence of this actually saving anyone, but the phrase stuck.

Bite the Bullet

When you tell someone to “bite the bullet” today, you’re usually telling them to suck it up and do something unpleasant. Originally, this was a lot more literal and a lot more painful. Before the wonders of anesthesia, soldiers undergoing surgery (often amputations) would be given something to bite down on to keep them from screaming or swallowing their tongues. Sometimes it was a leather strap. Sometimes it was a literal bullet.

Let the Cat Out of the Bag

This one’s almost charming compared to the others, if you squint. Back in the day, dishonest market sellers would offer to sell a piglet to unsuspecting buyers. Said piglet would be tied up in a sack. The trick? Sometimes it wasn’t a pig at all, but a cat. If someone checked the sack too soon, they’d literally “let the cat out of the bag,” exposing the scam. Over time, it morphed into a metaphor about revealing secrets or spoiling surprises.

Mad as a Hatter

You’ve heard this one. You’ve probably used this one. But you might not have known how grim it really is. Hat makers in 18th and 19th-century England often worked with mercury nitrate to cure felt. Over time, the mercury exposure led to tremors, slurred speech, hallucinations, and erratic behavior, symptoms that looked an awful lot like madness. Hence: mad as a hatter.

Cold Turkey

“Going cold turkey” sounds like it could be food-related. But the real origin is tied to the physical symptoms of withdrawal, especially from opioids. Skin going pale and goosebumpy was said to resemble the flesh of a plucked, cold turkey. So the phrase isn’t about quitting suddenly just because. It’s about the very literal, very uncomfortable state of a body in shock. Fun, right?