People are only just realising the origins of the phrase ‘bite the bullet’
People are only now realizing the origin of the phrase “bite the bullet” – and it’s grim
It’s a phrase you probably use regularly when talking about taking on an unenviable task. but people are only now realizing where the term ‘bite the bullet’ comes from.
A history buff, who is supposedly from the US and known as @AlookBackInTime on TikTok, explained the history in a video.
The clip, which has been viewed more than 6.8 million times, explained that the phrase was coined during World War I.
She explained, “During combat, there was no time to administer anesthesia during operations.
“That’s why patients had to bite bullets to distract themselves from the pain.
Social media users only just realized the origin of the popular phrase ‘bite the bullet’ – and it’s grim
The history buff concluded: ‘They had to bite through’
Sharing even more interesting facts, the TikToker also revealed the origin of another popular saying: giving someone ‘the cold shoulder’.
She said, “In the early 1800s, when you were no longer welcome at a dinner party, the host might serve you cold pork or beef shoulder.
“They’d wring your neck.”
The history buff went on to explain the phrase “show your true colors” and again, it dates back to wartime.
She said, “To confuse their enemies, warships would use multiple flags.
However, the rules of warfare dictated that the stores had to display their actual flag before firing.
So they had to “show their true colors”.
A history buff, known only as @AlookBackInTime on TikTok, explained the history of common expressions in a video
Many people were amazed at the historical facts and flocked to the commentaries to leave their thoughts.
One person wrote, “Oh I love figuring this stuff out, very interesting.”
Another wrote, “ok, this is now the content I want.” While someone else said, ‘I like this kind of thing. Please post more.’
While others in the comments revealed some of their own origins of popular expressions.
Many people were amazed at the historical facts and flocked to the commentaries to leave their thoughts
While others in the comments revealed some of their own origins of popular expressions
One person wrote: ‘The whole nine yards meant they used a full belt for the machine gun. (The belt was 30 feet)’
Another said, “We say ‘God bless you’ because sneezing was a symptom of the plague, so they’d say ‘OMG, God bless you!’ thinking you’re going to die.”
While someone else wrote, “Graveyard shift: When they buried people who didn’t know whether they were dead or in a coma, they attached strings to their hands with bells on the end and someone had to sit and listen for the bells toll.”