Strange origin stories of three famous phrases  

A lot of times we use phrases that don’t have any literal meaning. But we end up using them as they have been around and for ages. We do not really know their origin and who brought them into practice. There are many of them such as the walls have ears, raining like cats and dogs, bigwigs, over the moon, breaking a leg, turning a blind eye, etc. Want to know how they came into use? Let’s find out interesting stories behind three of these idioms.  

The walls have ears 
Imagine you want to gossip about someone with your friend and you think that you are alone in the room and no one might know what you are about to say in private. Your friend instantly warns you sensing the threat of someone eavesdropping by saying ‘Sshsh…the walls have ears’. What he means is that even if you think you are telling the secret in all privacy, there may still be someone spying on you. Ever wondered how this phrase came to be used in everyday language? Any guesses?   

Some word experts say this warning comes from the story of Dionysius, an ancient Greek ruler of Syracuse who existed between 400–367 BC. He constructed a cave in the shape of an ear connected between the rooms of his palace so that he could hear what was being said from another room. This form of eavesdropping became common practice with rulers and over the years, other historic places, including the famous Louvre Palace in Paris and Hastings Castle in England also installed such listening posts. However, in English, the phrase "the walls have ears" was first recorded in its present form in the 1600s. 

Bigwigs 
A lot of times we refer to a really influential and rich person as a ‘bigwig’. But did you know that this word that you commonly use comes from an age-old wig fashion trend that started with the kings of France? If rumours are to be believed, King Louis XIII, the ruler of France in early 1600, went prematurely bald and began wearing a wig. By the time of King Louis XIV who ruled till 1715, wigs had become an essential status symbol for the noble class. In fact, in the 17th and 18th centuries, many European noblemen wore big wigs to show off their wealth and status. Some of them would be simple, a few full of curls, some falling past the shoulders or some piled up high. All these designs meant extra wig hair and more work to fashion it and would cost a lot of money, of course. That’s how ‘bigwig’ became associated with the very wealthy.  

But this fad faded away as quickly as it had come with the advent of the top hat, though it lives on in the large ceremonial wigs seen in the British courts. Interesting, isn’t it?  

Turn a blind eye 
Ever used this one? Suppose you approach a group of friends and ask for 500 rupees urgently. Some may be quick to hand it over to you but there may be that one person who just leaves saying he has a class to attend. That is something like he ‘turned a blind eye’ meaning that he chose to ignore what you said.  

Again, what brought it into use? The origin of the expression can be found in the 1801 naval battle of Copenhagen. Admiral Horatio Nelson, the British naval officer, who was blind in one eye led the main attack against a fleet of Dutch and Norwegian ships. Admiral Hyde Parker, Nelson’s superior officer signalled him to withdraw but Nelson pretended not to see the flagship's signal. Nelson took out his telescope and looked through it using his blind eye and said, “I have only one eye, and I have the right to be blind sometimes.” His men continued fighting, and a few hours later, he emerged victorious. The actual usage of the phrase was put into print by the British novelist Francis Lathom in Men and Manners, 1800.