1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,080 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, there's Chuck. 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:10,200 Speaker 1: Jerry's out there fiddling around somewhere in the ether neet 3 00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: of the internet and the whatever, and this is short stuff. 4 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: Let me just stop talking. Let's go. Yeah. This is 5 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: something we've done before and we will do again because 6 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:24,600 Speaker 1: as everyone knows, we like phrase origins. I especially love 7 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: phrase origins, and I think we're doing three today, the 8 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:31,319 Speaker 1: second one which can be summed up in like a 9 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:35,120 Speaker 1: single sentence, probably, But we're gonna start with a grain 10 00:00:35,159 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: of salt. Take it with a grain of salt, buddy, 11 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:40,120 Speaker 1: I will take it with the grain of salt because 12 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: I've just ingested some poison. No salt won't help that. 13 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,239 Speaker 1: Oh well, according to Pliny the Elder, it would. And 14 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: they think that that's where the phrase take this with 15 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:53,840 Speaker 1: a grain of salt really finds its origin. And by 16 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: the way, take something with the grain of salt means that, um, 17 00:00:56,960 --> 00:00:59,600 Speaker 1: you should be skeptical of what you're about to hear 18 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 1: or see or whatever. Um that that there's this information 19 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: that you're about to receive is of dubious origin. Right. Um, 20 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: That's that's the current understanding of take it with a 21 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:12,680 Speaker 1: grain of salt, or a pinch of salt, or a 22 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: dose of salt, however you put it. That's the current 23 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:17,280 Speaker 1: meaning of it. But they think as far back as 24 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: uh Pliny the Elder's naturalist hystoria um, that that that's 25 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,560 Speaker 1: where it finds its origin. That's actually kind of a 26 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: referential thing to that to a recipe he gave under 27 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 1: the walnuts section. Yeah, take two dried walnuts, two figs, 28 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: and twenty leaves of rue. Pound them all together with 29 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: the addition of a grain of salt. If a person 30 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: takes this mixture fasting, he will be proof against all 31 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: poisons for that day. So if you were if you 32 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: thought you were going to be poisoned that day, before 33 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 1: you eat breakfast, eat this concoction that includes a grain 34 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: of salt, and no poison will befall you. Yeah, but 35 00:01:57,160 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: here's the deal. That explains nothing about this phrase other 36 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: than he said the words grain of salt in his language, 37 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: which was com grano salis okay, because it's not metaphorical, 38 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: it's literal. If you want to talk about metaphor um, 39 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: you need to flash forward quite a bit. Until John 40 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: Trapp used it in a book called The Commentary Commentary 41 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 1: on Old and New Testaments Colon Boring, No fright. I 42 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: just made that part up. And he said this is 43 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 1: to be taken with a grain of salt, but we 44 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: still aren't sure what he meant by that. I want 45 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:41,480 Speaker 1: to hazard a guess here. I think what John Trapp, 46 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 1: who has a great name by the way, um, what 47 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 1: he was saying is that this the following is very 48 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 1: difficult to to hear or it's um hard information to swallow, 49 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: a k A poisonous Okay, so you would have to 50 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: take this with a grain of salt. That's my guess. Now, 51 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:04,679 Speaker 1: I'm putting this out there everybody, because this is a 52 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: short stuff. I did not go to the trouble of 53 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 1: reading John Trapp's commentary on the Old and New Testaments. 54 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,320 Speaker 1: So it's a guess. But man, oh man, it is 55 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: a good guess. Yeah, that makes sense. And it did 56 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,560 Speaker 1: pop up since then, but usually again referring to actual 57 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: grains of salt than in in the A and A. 58 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:29,240 Speaker 1: Um it's a literary journal. Had this line are reasons 59 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: for not accepting the author's pictures of early Ireland without 60 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 1: many grains of salt, which I can even make heads 61 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:38,640 Speaker 1: retails of that sentence period. No, but I think they 62 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,480 Speaker 1: were wailing on the photographer, which it's like, just don't 63 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: accept the pictures, don't make fun of them in the 64 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: in the magazine. That's like us criticizing how Stuff Works 65 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:51,119 Speaker 1: articles that we based episodes on. We'd never do that. No, 66 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: just be mean, but this doesn't. And I think this 67 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:59,480 Speaker 1: one frustrated me because even that it still doesn't say 68 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: where it came from, like or why they started saying 69 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,800 Speaker 1: grain of salt to mean what they meant metaphorically. Yes, 70 00:04:06,120 --> 00:04:09,880 Speaker 1: because it was terribly written in this House Stuff Works article. 71 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: Well did you find a real reason because I couldn't. 72 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:15,800 Speaker 1: I didn't. I didn't. It just kind of suddenly, is 73 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:18,359 Speaker 1: like it just appeared. And I get the impression that 74 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 1: the grain of salt is kind of appeared out of nowhere, 75 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:24,520 Speaker 1: that it was um not appeared out of nowhere, that 76 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: they have kind of traced it back. But there's not 77 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: any real clarification. I'll tell you what has a clarification 78 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: check a clear lineage, and that is the phrase close 79 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,599 Speaker 1: but no cigar. Yeah, this one's easy. Uh, And we 80 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: can definitely get this in in the next minute and 81 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: twenty seconds before our break because it's super easy. Uh, 82 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,279 Speaker 1: in the early twenty century when you went to these 83 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 1: traveling carnivals and they had these rip off games where 84 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:54,320 Speaker 1: you would throw a ring on a coke bottle or 85 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: shoot a basketball into a hoop that's barely the size 86 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: of a basketball, which I didn't figure out sold. I 87 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:03,320 Speaker 1: was way too old that that was not a standard hoop. 88 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: Did Gray, Hairy Body? Then I did, Uh, you're you're 89 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:10,159 Speaker 1: meant to not win those games generally, or to come 90 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,400 Speaker 1: close and want to spend more money. And that's the 91 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:15,560 Speaker 1: whole idea. But back then, what was the prize or 92 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,720 Speaker 1: one of the prizes that you would get a cigar? 93 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,800 Speaker 1: That's right. So if you were sitting there throwing, you know, 94 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:26,719 Speaker 1: doing a ring toss around some glass bottles and you 95 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:29,160 Speaker 1: missed and you missed, and you missed, you ran out 96 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:33,840 Speaker 1: of rings, the carnival barker would say close, but no cigar, 97 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: No cigar. So that's where that origin comes from, where 98 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:39,760 Speaker 1: that phrase comes from it, which is great because it's 99 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 1: a nice, tidy package. There's no controversy, no disputing it, 100 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 1: and it's just done. It's not like that ugly, horrible 101 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:52,440 Speaker 1: grain of salt origin. Yeah, and kids. It's six year 102 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,480 Speaker 1: olds everywhere would go will I never get the cigar, 103 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 1: and their dad would say, here you go, son, have mine. 104 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: That was great. Should we take a break? Yeah, I 105 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: thought that was implied by the pregnant pause. All right, 106 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: we'll talk about South pause right after this. That's why 107 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 1: SKA you should know, y ska that you should know, nose, 108 00:06:19,080 --> 00:06:35,840 Speaker 1: but Josh Clarks watch sks you should know. Alright, Chuck, 109 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:38,559 Speaker 1: we're talking South pause. And this one's like a neat 110 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:43,799 Speaker 1: combination between horrible, ugly grain of salt and beautiful perfect 111 00:06:43,880 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 1: close but no cigar because there's a lot of different 112 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 1: ideas that that um are competing for the origin that 113 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: aren't necessarily right, but aren't necessarily wrong either. So there's 114 00:06:55,120 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: a lot of great info involved, that's right. Uh, And 115 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 1: and it kind of comes down to a couple of sports. 116 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 1: South paul Is um has long been linked to boxing 117 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: and baseball. Rocky Balboa was a south Paw, no, was he? Yeah? 118 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,120 Speaker 1: I think so right. I don't know. I don't pay 119 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,080 Speaker 1: that clothes of attention. I'm just enthralled by the action. 120 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:22,520 Speaker 1: You were just all about those muscles. Yeah, yeah, I 121 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:23,600 Speaker 1: think it was. I think it was kind of a 122 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: deal that he was a southball. Uh So you've long 123 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 1: heard it to be about boxers in baseball, but generally, 124 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: even um, more specifically, it's been associated with pitchers. A 125 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: left handed pitcher is known as a southball. Okay, yes, 126 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: now that's that's the one I've always heard it from. 127 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 1: I'm never Oh no, I'm sorry, I was about to 128 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: say the reverse of the truth. I've always heard it from, right, Um, 129 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:51,520 Speaker 1: the the I've always heard of it being associated with boxing. 130 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 1: I've never heard of associated with baseball. Okay, yeah, baseball pitchers. 131 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:57,600 Speaker 1: Generally it's you know, it's an old school term, but 132 00:07:57,640 --> 00:08:00,720 Speaker 1: I've I've definitely heard it before. So even before necessarily 133 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: it was involved in boxing, or it was involved with boxing. 134 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,920 Speaker 1: Um and this there was a political cartoon that was 135 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:11,520 Speaker 1: referencing boxing, and we just didn't realize it. Um. There 136 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: the earliest one of the earliest mentions of the left 137 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: hand especially involved in delivering a punch, being called the 138 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 1: south paw, comes from eighty eight editorial cartoon that showed 139 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:27,800 Speaker 1: um a candidate named Lewis Cass who was running for 140 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: the Democrats. He had just laid out Zachary Taylor and 141 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 1: Taylor's running mate Millard Fillmore, UM and Millard Fillmore as 142 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:39,679 Speaker 1: a black eye. And there's a quote coming from him 143 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:41,600 Speaker 1: which Chuck, I think that you would be really good 144 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 1: to read this quote. Curse the old hoss. What a 145 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: south Paul he has given me. That's that was one 146 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 1: of the best Millard Fillmore impressions I've ever heard in 147 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:54,959 Speaker 1: my life. W ot watt I'm gonna bring that one back. Yep. 148 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 1: So Millard Fillmore is calling Um at the very least 149 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: the punch that lew his cast landed on him a 150 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:04,080 Speaker 1: south paw. If not Lewis Cass a south paw for 151 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 1: using his left hand, who knows, but the idea is 152 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,400 Speaker 1: south paw and knocking a person to the ground with 153 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,400 Speaker 1: your fists was associated at least as early as eighteen 154 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: forty eight, at least as politics is concerned. Yeah, there 155 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:19,840 Speaker 1: was UM. There were more specific boxing references. There was 156 00:09:19,880 --> 00:09:24,040 Speaker 1: one in eighteen sixty in a bare knuckle um fight, 157 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:28,240 Speaker 1: I guess or boxing match pugilists squaring off against one another, 158 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: it's another way to put it. In the New York Herald, 159 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:36,320 Speaker 1: the reporter David woods Um reported that in the ninth round, 160 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:40,040 Speaker 1: uh I'm sorry, David Woods was the boxer. David Woods 161 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: planted his south paw under the chin, under his opponent's chin, 162 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:47,920 Speaker 1: laying him flat as a pancake. And that wasn't calling 163 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:51,160 Speaker 1: him a south ball, but called his fist his south paw. 164 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:55,280 Speaker 1: To words right, So okay, So that's that's good enough 165 00:09:55,320 --> 00:10:01,240 Speaker 1: for me, I say boxing. But unfortunately, there's some contemporaneous 166 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:04,720 Speaker 1: use of south paw as far as um pitching goes 167 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 1: as far back as eighteen fifty eight. In the New 168 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:12,320 Speaker 1: York Atlas, there's mention of left handed first basement, who's 169 00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:16,200 Speaker 1: called the south paw That predates that boxing reference, although 170 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:20,920 Speaker 1: it comes after the Millard Fillmore quote. Um. There's some others, 171 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,559 Speaker 1: like in eight seventy five edition of St. Louis newspaper UM. 172 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:27,440 Speaker 1: So it seems to have been associated not just with pictures, 173 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:29,440 Speaker 1: but the pictures are the ones who have the great 174 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:34,880 Speaker 1: origin story of associating left handedness with being a south paw. Yeah, 175 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,559 Speaker 1: and there was you know, some people said that ballparks 176 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 1: were oriented in the eighteen hundreds with home plate um 177 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 1: facing west, which meant that a lefty player facing west 178 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:49,679 Speaker 1: would be pitching with his south paw but you know, 179 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:52,280 Speaker 1: not all baseball stadiums were oriented that way, so that 180 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 1: seems a little flimsy to me. Um. I was seeing 181 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: of the boxing thing. If you're a boxer, you've got 182 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: your right hand sort of up as your lead hand, 183 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:05,959 Speaker 1: and your left hand would be south so that might 184 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:08,480 Speaker 1: be your south paw. But if you are a south 185 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:10,200 Speaker 1: ball then your left hand is up, so that doesn't 186 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:13,600 Speaker 1: really make sense. That's right, that's right. It's not sensible 187 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:16,480 Speaker 1: at all, which means it's not solved. We have no 188 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,280 Speaker 1: idea what the true origin of south paw is, but 189 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 1: at least there's a lot more information about it that 190 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:24,120 Speaker 1: we can choose from and make your own decision. So 191 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:27,120 Speaker 1: are we one for three on this one? No, we're 192 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:30,120 Speaker 1: two for three. I'm including South Touth because it's so 193 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 1: great close but no cigars literally perfect, And then I 194 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:36,640 Speaker 1: don't even want to bring up the other one again. Yeah, 195 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:40,120 Speaker 1: I'm gonna go on assault free diet for the next 196 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:43,839 Speaker 1: week because of this episode. Yeah, that'll show salt um. Well, 197 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:46,240 Speaker 1: if you want to show salt uh, well, you do 198 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:49,079 Speaker 1: that same thing yourself. And because we have run out 199 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:56,200 Speaker 1: of things to say, everybody short stuff is out stuff 200 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:58,320 Speaker 1: You should know is production of I Heart Radios How 201 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:01,360 Speaker 1: Stuff Works. For more podcast My Heart Radio, visit the 202 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 203 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:14,040 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows. M h m hm