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The Kitchen Table

Phrase of the day 1/18

jim_1 (Zone 5B)

5 years ago

Knuckle-dusters

Perhaps better known as “brass knuckles,” these are links of chain into the fingers of fist fit. The effect of a blow is greatly intensified and the knuckle-dusters were and still are a favorite weapon of thugs. The term was originally part of American thieves’ slang. One notorious New York gang of the 19th century Tenderloin was called “the Hudson Dusters” from their frequent use of knuckle-dusters when working over their victims.

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Comments (3)

stacey_mb
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Yikes, I'm happy to not know anyone who uses these! lol!
Jasdip
5 years ago
I just learned this:

In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are 'limbs,' therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, 'Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg.' (Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint)
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Funny how the size of the coin doesn't always reflect its value - a nickel is larger than a dime, but worth less. Edited for clarity.
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Handwriting on the wall This phrase is often heard as a portent of doom. “When the candidate saw the early returns from normally ‘safe’ wards, he know they were the handwriting on the wall and that he was doomed to defeat.” The expression was inspired by a line from the Bible (Daniel 5: 25-31). Belshazzar learned that he was about to lose his kingdom when the words “Mene, mene, teckel, upsharsin” magically appeared on the wall of the place “This is the interpretation of the thing . . . God hath number they kingdom and finished it . . . Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting . . . They kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
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Ded tired
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Jasdip, that’s interesting. I always thought it meant some gangster would chop off your arm or leg if you didn’t pay up.

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