OpenTube

Why do we say 'bury the hatchet'?

Words Unravelled

316,845 views

Let's explore some idiom origins! 🌏 And get NordVPN 2 year plan + 4 months extra ➼ https://nordvpn.com/unravelled It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! ✌

In this episode, Rob and Jess explore the stories behind a host of common sayings.
🪓 Does anyone actually 'bury the hatchet'?
😈 Was there ever a 'devil's advocate'?
🔫 What is a 'son of a gun'?
🪶 Why would you have a 'feather in your cap'?
These questions answered, and many more, in another idioms episode of Words Unravelled.

👕 OUR MERCH 👚
US SHOP: https://wordsunravelledshop.myspreads...
EU/UK SHOP: https://wordsunravelledshop.myspreads...

👂LISTEN: https://podfollow.com/words-unravelle...
or search for "Words Unravelled" wherever you get your podcasts.

==LINKS==
Rob's YouTube channel: robwords
Jess' Useless Etymology blog: https://uselessetymology.com/
Rob on X: x.com/robwordsyt
Jess on TikTok: tiktok.com/@jesszafarris

#etymology #wordfacts #English

20 Comments

@WordsUnravelled Creator 9 months ago Pinned

👇Give us your favourite idiom origin story. 🌏And get NordVPN 2 year plan + 4 months extra ➼ https://nordvpn.com/unravelled It’s risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee! ✌

@jesseglenturner 9 months ago

The metal part of an axe is called a "head." So, "flying off of the handle" might simply be construed as "losing your head."

@EumenesOCardia 9 months ago

I always thought carrot vs stick was about incentives, the carrot being encouragement, the stick being punishment.

@TheloniousCube 9 months ago (edited)

I think when the head of an axe flies off the handle it becomes a danger to others and to things not the target of the axe stroke - so i think the idea is that one's anger becomes undirected and dangerous to anyone in the vicinity

@kalleguld 9 months ago

"Losing your temper" could be a reference to tempering, a form of heat treating metals. You have to control the temperature precisely, and if you get too hot, you lose your temper.

@Phi1618033 9 months ago

I wonder if they've ever noticed that "Sex, drugs and rock n' roll" is just an updated version of "Wine, women and song".

@matthewlong9369 9 months ago

You should do "pulling out all the stops". It is the only pipe organ idiom of which I am aware

@joelledurben3799 9 months ago

"Son of a gun" and "shotgun wedding" go together in my mind

@archereegmb8032 9 months ago

The Devil was the seam where the ship's hull planks meet the keel (bottom center) or sometimes the difficult seam between the deck and the ship's side.
'Paying the Devil' was the act of caulking these seams with tar (pitch) and oakum.
This was often done while the ship was sailing, and you wouldn't want to get between the 'Devil' and the deep blue sea.
Having more than one string to your bow, refers to archers always having several spare bowstrings which they sometimes kept inside their hat, to keep them dry. Hence, (possibly) the origin of 'keep it under your hat' 😊

@JiveDadson 9 months ago

Words Unraveled is not just a flash in the pan. They are straight shooters. I buy everything they say, lock, stock, and barrel.

@EterPuralis 9 months ago

Couldn't "son of a gun" be a reference to gunshot weddings? Like, you're only "technically" not a bastard, but only technically

@NYYFanSince1968 9 months ago

"Carrot OR stick" is what I always heard and used -- a choice (one or the other) in how someone was motivated. "Carrot on a stick" was used to describe a reward-based motivation that was illusory.

@Kurogane-san 9 months ago (edited)

As a non-native english speaker, the first time that I saw the phrase "carrot and stick" was as a translation of 飴と鞭 that is a japanese idiom that means "offering rewards in order to persuade people to do something and punishments if people refuse to do it "

@jald910 9 months ago

A small magnifying glass used by jewelers is called a loupe. It’s still spelled that way.

@robertsirois486 9 months ago

There's a mountain in Maine called Hatchet Mountain where the Mi'kmaqs and Wawanocs concluded a peace between their tribes. They buried the hatchet and built a cairn over it, each stone represented a prayer or intention.

@NHL633 9 months ago

Before you left the gun theme, you should have covered: Going off half cocked, Flash in the pan and Lock stock and barrel.

@carternotsteve2242 9 months ago

"losing (one's) temper" is also an idiom from chisels. When sharpened, a chisel will lose its temper (like in tempered glass) and become more susceptible to chipping and breaking. To prevent this, smiths and woodworkers will harden or retemper the chisel by setting it in the fire to heat, then put it in cold or tepid water to quench the edge, and it thus regains its temper.

@Reppetixx 9 months ago

When the cap feather thing came on, I was like "surely it's not Hungarian. I know we have a tradition like that, but surely it originated somewhere else." Well apparently not

@kinslor 9 months ago

I love Jess' and Rob's smiles of delight when the other shares something new. See Jess's face light up at the origin of cut the mustard at 20:50. They love their etymology but also enjoy it, if you know what I mean