I was thinking about the phrase ‘The pot calling the kettle black’. It comes from a time where cooking was done over open fires and cookware would become visibly ashy. (Fun fact: It first appears and was perhaps coined by Cervantes in Don Quixote!)
What are some other idioms that have lost their literal connection to time? What would be a good modern replacement?
I think that many historic trades have been automated to the extent their old terminology is obscure but lives on in idioms.
“To the bitter end” (bitter end meaning the lose end of a rope, from rope-working - not entirely extinct but obscure). Perhaps that one could be “To the edge node”!
“Strike while the iron is hot” (from blacksmithing, again not entirely an extinct craft but largely replaced by automation). Maybe “Cross while the light is green?”
Drinks like coffee and tea can become bitter when you get down to the dregs. That’s what the first saying makes me think of.
Same with distillation, you get the heavies that you don’t really want in your drink so you end the process. Ie the bitter end.
Wow, great examples! I never realised that first one had a historical meaning. I suppose even without the context it still makes sense because of the adjective ‘bitter’.
I wonder if any common sayings nowadays will catch on and become long lived idioms in the future?
That’s very good.