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The Kitchen Table

Phrase of the day 2/11

jim_1 (Zone 5B)

5 years ago

Rummage sale

The rummage in rummage sale comes from the Middle French word arrumage, meaning to stow cargo in the hold of a ship. Since freighters usually carry a very varied cargo, considerable searching through – or rummaging– is often required before the desired lot is found. So a rummage sale is a sale of varied items of merchandise through which the prospective purchaser searches.

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jim_1 (Zone 5B)
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Another one...

Flea market

This is an open-air or street market that sells a wide variety of merchandise, most of it secondhand and some of it masquerading as antique. The first flea market – then called marche aux puces – was in Paris, but it is now common in all parts of Western Europe and in Great Britain as well. The reason for the name is simply that there were so many secondhand articles of all kinds for sale that they are believed to father fleas.
Jasdip
5 years ago
I'll add to your thread, Jim.

As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October) Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term 'big wig.' Today we often use the term 'here comes the Big Wig' because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.
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