Since we are going on about things like pulling the plug... I'm wondering about the origin of two phrases:

Kick the bucket -- generally meaning to die. There are some "not for public consumption" meanings but I'm not referring to those, thank you.

Pull the wool over his eyes -- Does this originate from the "wolf in sheep's clothing" from Aesop?

quote:

There are some "not for public consumption" meanings but I'm not referring to those, thank you.

Pity, because you've roused my curiosity now! I must have led a sheltered life not to know what you're on about.

I heard once - can't remember where or when - that 'kick the bucket' might come from makeshift hangings, where the victim stands on something which is kicked away from under them once the noose is tightened.

I have my doubts about this, but I've never looked it up to see if it can be verified. It's certainly very inventive, even if untrue.

World Wide Words has an article on kicking the bucket.

[URL=http://www.word-detective.com/021605.html#pull wool hoodwink]The Word Detective[/URL] has an article on pulling the wool over one's eyes.

EDIT: The word Detective's URL doesn't seem to be recognised as such by the forum software, so you'll need to copy & paste the address into your browser.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: arnie,

Well, that is very strange, arnie, because I know I have posted links from there before. Yet, I too tried to post the link, and it just came up with a home page. I wonder what is wrong!

quote:

Pull the wool over his eyes -- Does this originate from the "wolf in sheep's clothing" from Aesop?

Wellll, I've heard that a wolf is a guy who goes out with a sweet, innocent girl who's wearing a sweater, and he pulls the wool over her eyes.

What is wrong with the URL is the spaces between the words at the end: pull wool hoodwink. A properly formed URL has no spaces.

Works for me. You just need to percent escape the space character. See the spec for the explanation.