Two page fold out from a large format magazine. Measures 14 inches tall by 21 inches across.
Who said it FIRST?
There are certain phrases and slogans which express a thought or truth so aptly, say so much in so few unforget¬table words, that they endure as part of the common language. They add friendly warmth to everyday speech, bring forth an affectionate smile when they are spoken. Like well-loved tunes, they play upon the heart strings. A nationally known radio dramatist tells you here how a few of these classic lines started. "Tomorrow the Ghost Walks"
In other words, "Tomorrow is pay day." Tradition traces this popular saying to London and the days when Shakespeare managed his own company of players. Shakespeare played the Ghost in "Hamlet"; he also acted as paymaster. The actors, with British humor, connected ghost and wages.
“A Man's House Is His Castle"
This statement was made famous, over three centuries ago, by Sir Ed¬ward Coke, Chief Justice of England. Sir Edward was sometimes cranky, cruel, crude; but he was also a lover of liberty. If a man's house is indeed his castle today, it is in no small measure due to the life and labors of Sir Edward Coke.
"A Philadelphia Lawyer"
The high reputation of Philadelphia lawyers in solving complicated prob¬lems dates back to 1735 when Andrew Hamilton of Philadelphia, in an ex¬citing and dramatic trial, successfully defended John Peter Zenger, Albany newspaper publisher, against charges of political libel. Thus freedom of the press was born along with a phrase now used the world over.
"The Queen Has No Legs"
Don't be alarmed. She was a Spainish queen who lived three hundred years ago, and there was really nothing; the matter with her. The phrase, a sort of high-light in the history of snobbery, was uttered by a court official when someone dared to over Her Majesty a gift of silk hose. "The Queen of Spain has no legs," he bellowed; and threw the stockings in the donor's face. P. S.—One historian tries to ex¬plain, by saying that the lady stood on ceremony."
"In a Pinch"
In the California Gold Rush days, gold dust was often used for money. A miner buying a drink would hold out his pouch, and the bartender would take a pinch of dust between thumb and finger. Some bartenders could pick up a lot of dust at one time; and even now, discussing finances, we sometimes ask, "How much can you raise in a pinch?"
"Nothing Succeeds Like Success'
These words were uttered by doctors who witnessed the first public use of sulphuric ether in a surgical operation, at the Massachusetts General Hospi¬tal, Boston, October 16,1846. Doubts had been expressed as to whether the patient would be rendered insensible to pain. The first public demonstration dispelled these doubts, and the suc¬cess of ether anesthesia was assured.
"On With the Dance"
This command made its debut in high society when, in 1816, the romantic Lord Byron put it into his poetic work, "Childe Harold," where it appears as "On with the dance, let joy be uncon¬fined; No sleep till mom, when Youth and Pleasure meet to chase the glow-ing hours with flying feet."
"Horse of Another Color"
This phrase originated more than a century ago. Admiral Nagle admired a cream-colored horse in the stables of George IV. Next day the King delighted Nagle by giving him a horse which had been painted the fashion¬able color. It promptly turned black when ridden in the rain. "It's a horse of another color," laughed the court. The King followed his joke a few days later by sending the Admiral a cream-colored horse of great value.
"Turn the Tables"
In the days of Cicero, two thousand years ago, men of fashion spent huge sums of money on tables. Cicero's own table cost about five hundred dollars; one rich man had a table worth its weight in gold. When such men scolded their wives for extravagance, the good ladies would say, "Well, what about your tables?" To this day, when we use a man's own arguments against him, it is said that we are "turning the tables."
"Let George Do It"
In other words, "Push the job off on someone else." The original George lived four hundred years ago. He was an easy-going French politician whose friends were always getting him to do things for them. Their way of passing the buck was to say, "Let George do it."
"Bring Home the Bacon"
Seven hundred years ago, Robert Fitzwalter established an annual cere¬mony at Dunmow, England, in which husbands and wives of one year ap¬peared before a magistrate. Those who could swear that they had not quarreled during that time were given a supply of bacon. The custom is still observed, and the young couples are annually exhorted to "bring home the bacon."
"The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous"
Known to your father and his father before him, this is one of the happiest slogans that ever grew out of a fact. Schlitz had to be good to make a city famous.