Sfoara a fost initial sfara, cuvant provenit din slavul "skvara" insemnand fum gros, inecacios. Expresia pastreaza amintirea sistemului de anuntare a vestilor rele, precum cotropirea sau ridicarea la lupta, prin aprinderea focurilor pe inaltimi. Fumul era dus in directia adierii vantului, lasand nori cenusii pe cer. O sa vedeti in Elizabeth: The Golden Age un exemplu.
Son of a gun
It is said that sailors traveling to the west Indies sometimes raped native woman on ships, which sometimes occurred between the cannons. When a woman gave birth to a son, he was called "son between the guns". This term was used later, using the word "gun" to mean soldier. His son would then be called a "son of a gun."
Raining cats and dogs
The origin of this saying dates back to the 1600s. Poor drainage systems on buildings in the 17th century caused gutters to overflow, spewing out along with water, garbage and a few unexpected critters. It is possible that animals such as rodents lived in the thatched roofs and when it rained heavily, the dead carcasses would fall. Cu siguranta nu era o imagine placuta.
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I really did.
Dar stiam de "a da sfoara in tara". Doar sunt moldovean in suflet ... d00h
England is old and small, and they started running out of places to bury people. So, they would dig up coffins and would take their bones to a house and re-use the grave. In reopening these coffins, one out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a string on their wrist and lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell.
Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night to listen for the bell. Hence on the ‘graveyard shift’ they would know that someone was ‘saved by the bell’ or he was a ‘dead ringer.’