Some of today's most popular phrases have some truly tragic origins.
Certain common sayings are rooted in deep prejudice or gruesome old traditions.
Plenty of them are just plain bummers.
Come along on a linguistic adventure through the origins of the saddest phrases in the
English language.
If you've ever called yourself a "basket case," figuring that it's just a funny way to explain
how stressed out you are about the holidays, get ready for some upsetting news.
As with so many terrible things, this phrase was created by war: World War I, to be exact.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, American soldiers who lost all four limbs
were referred to by their fellow troops as "basket cases," the implication being that
they'd now have to be carried around in a basket.
By the mid-20th century, the term also came to describe people living with mental illnesses,
usually as a way to ignore their struggles.
Essentially, writing someone off as a basket case implies that you're not going to bother
paying attention to them or be helpful in any way.
No matter how you look at it, the phrase "basket case" has a history of marginalizing people
in pain.
This one goes out to all you procrastinators out there.
Have you ever spent a long night staring at a glowing screen, praying that a second wind
catches you soon?
For you folks, the word "deadline" is already the most depressing entry in the English dictionary.
But those deadlines aren't so bad when you compare them to the original "dead lines"
from the 1860s.
During the American Civil War, "dead lines" were literal lines in the dirt, rather than
metaphorical ones.
These boundaries were drawn either in or around Confederate prisons, where captured Union
soldiers were kept.
If one of the prisoners of war decided to walk over the line, he would be shot.
No extensions, no debates.
"Dead" really meant dead.
Needless to say, these prisons became infamous for their harsh conditions and poor treatment
of soldiers.
The origin of the phrase "mad as a hatter" seems easy to pinpoint.
After all, one of the most popular characters in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is that
jolly little fellow with the big hat, defined by his mad outlook.
But it turns out that author Lewis Carroll didn't invent the term.
His Mad Hatter character was based on the phrase, rather than the other way around.
"Mad as a hatter" is an example of stereotypes regarding real hat-makers in the 18th and
19th Centuries, most of whom used a certain substance called mercury nitrate as part of
the hat-making process.
It turns out that when you combine that toxic chemical with poor workplace safety protocols,
you end up with mercury poisoning.
That causes lifelong ailments ranging from hallucinations to speech difficulties to tremors.
It wasn't until the 1940s that using mercury for hat production was finally banned, and
by that point, these negative associations had plagued hat-makers for more than a century.
Every generation has complained that kids are breaking cultural taboos and ruining their
minds with violent movies like that one 1988 Christmas flick starring Bruce Willis.
But these complaints sound silly when you consider that almost anything that today's
culture deems "gruesome" is a lot less violent than some of the things our ancestors did
for fun.
Case in point: Public hangings, and the phrase "die-hard."
Not that long ago, families would line up to cheer as the latest convict was choked
to death in front of them.
Back in the 1700s, these hangings didn't yet use the well-known "drop" method.
No quick drop meant that hangings took longer and were more painful, which resulted in a
lot of individuals thrashing about and struggling to survive as the rope tightened around their
throats.
These folks came to be recognized as "die-hards," since they died hard, rather than easily.
By the 1800s, the term spread to the battlefield, as "die hard" evolved to mean fighting to
the bitter end.
The general connection between dying hard and stubbornness persisted to the present
day, though the violent connotation has since worn off.
If you've ever unwrapped a massive birthday present that you don't want but that's too
big to get rid of, that's what you call a "white elephant."
Actual white, or albino, elephants are beautiful creatures, but they have a reputation for
being difficult to take care of.
The "white elephant" metaphor first hit print in the 1850s to describe a rather peculiar
custom in Siam, in which the king would "reward" a difficult subordinate with one of these
giant, pale animals.
Because white elephants were regarded as sacred animals, their owners had to provide access
to anyone who wanted to worship them, in addition to special food, care, and maintenance.
In other words, if the King of Siam gave you a white elephant, he was trying to make you
go bankrupt.
It's hard to say if this sort of exchange actually happened.
But the myths surrounding it definitely inspired the phrase, thus giving us a handy way to
describe those ugly presents that will be occupying too much space for years to come.
People usually use the phrase "off the reservation" to describe someone who is doing the opposite
of what they're supposed to be doing.
The problem is that the negative connotations of this phrase are rooted in the centuries
of mistreatment that North America's indigenous population has suffered at the hands of the
government.
Historically, reservations have been increasingly small spaces that the United States restricted
the native population into under severe limitations that indigenous leaders were forced to sign.
While the government has violated these treaties multiple times, the marginalized people have
been expected to stay put without complaint.
Hence today, if any person is doing something that isn't culturally accepted, they are accused
of being like a native individual who is "off the reservation."
So not only does this phrase have a bloody history, it also perpetuates harmful stereotypes
regarding oppressed peoples.