This expression dates back to the days when craftsmen and labourers would travel for work, sometimes working on a project for just a few days before moving on.The deception would only be revealed when the buyer arrived home and let a ‘cat out of the bag’.Thomas Gray alluded to this meaning in his 1747 poem ‘Ode On A Distant Prospect Of Eton College’ in the lines ‘Thought would destroy their paradise / No more where ignorance is bliss / Tis folly to be wise’.The French word for inches is 'pouces', which translates as 'thumb', meaning the rule of thumb remained a standard unit of measurement until metrification.Such a feat is rarely seen on a cricket pitch, but the phrase passed over into football, where witnessing a hat trick is more common.Meaning there is a lot to be done and a difficult task lies ahead, the phrase stems from the craft of tailoring.In 1904 the tailor established their first hire shop in Chesterfield, making it possible for men to hire a suit for special occasions, and also to hire a complete outfit of suit, shirt, tie, shoes and socks.The actual origin is much older. To lose one’s marbles is equally American and the same comment applies. Lost Your Bottle Origin. It only takes a minute to sign up.It definitely has positive uses, and there is a citation:I always understood after living in Hackney in the 1970s that the rhyming slang for bottle and glass was class rather than arse. Looks like your computer is running a operating system we no longer support, but you can still download and play your games using an older version of Origin. These days of course, we just flip a coin.The phrase originates with a long poem, rather than a song, called ‘The Faerie Queene’, presented to Queen Elizabeth I by Edmund Spenser.
The US still prefers their own version - 'chicken out'. What's the origin of the phrase 'Bottle out'? All this for a song?’ The Queen, much to Burleigh’s dismay, insisted the money was handed over.The phrase ‘lost his bottleman’ was later shortened and is now widely used to describe cowardly behaviour.Used to describe a good, nutritious dinner, it is a nautical phrase dating back centuries.Meaning a false or misleading clue, often in a detective story. Sometimes a bottle man would be asked to disappear when a fighter was taking a beating, to give him an excuse to quit the fight.In the 18th century herring was one of the most widely caught fish in the seas around Britain.
Given how many terms are of nautical origin there may be a sailing connection here, but like most widely used but rarely recorded terms it would be very easy to extrapolate it's story in a hundred different ways. There is a term, "rag haulers" for sailing boats. To lose ones courage - to chicken out of a situation, in face of (real or imagined) threat or repercussion - to voluntarily fail to complete a challenge, even self imposed challenge or task Sometimes a bottle man would be asked to disappear when a fighter was taking a beating, to give him an excuse to quit the fight. That is, to let loose ones rage, which I think has a biblical reference... something like "The Lord shall let loose his rage".There is a term, "rag haulers" for sailing boats. A message in a bottle (abbrev.MIB) is a form of communication in which a message is sealed in a container (typically a bottle) and released into a conveyance medium (typically a body of water).. The origin of the phrase is Scandinavian, not Scottish, and the word ‘scot’ meaning ‘payment’.As opposed to being fired, which was to be disgraced and left unable to work, being given the sack meant workers could simply carry their tools to another place of work.Used to indicate that something is cheap and priced well below its true value.When a person reacted to something without blinking or showing any signs of surprise, they were regarded as ‘not even bateing an eyelid’, which later mutated into the phrase we use today.
I would guess your bottle is 1940s or 50s.
To lose one's bottle, to lose one's arse (incontinence produced by fear). Best not to try and Google 'bateing'.‘I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like I am and not flatter me at all. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader.You might also remember the Milk Marketing Board's slogan "Milk's gotta lotta bottle".Possibly not rhyming slang or other more complex suggestions, maybe related to early advertising. The UK expression 'bottling out', also called 'bottling it' or 'losing your bottle', appears to have nothing directly to do with bottles. Our best info on plumping, repairing and smoothing lines - at your fingertips with Tricia Collins-Christian, Origins Field Executive.