10 Everyday Sayings with Surprisingly Violent Origins

Let’s face it—most of us fling around idioms like confetti without the slightest clue what we’re actually saying. Ever told someone to “bite the bullet”? Congratu-freakin-lations, you’ve just endorsed primitive battlefield dentistry. And when Aunt Carol says she got “caught red-handed” sneaking cake at 2 a.m.? Yeah, that phrase once meant literal blood on your hands—usually not from dessert.

Turns out, a lot of the sayings we drop into everyday conversation have roots that are, well… alarmingly stabby. Some come from war zones, others from public hangings, and one even involves a whip with nine tails (and no, it’s not from an off-brand Fifty Shades sequel). So buckle up, language lover—because once you know where these phrases come from, you may never say them again without a grim chuckle or a nervous glance over your shoulder.

Here are 10 innocent-sounding expressions with unexpectedly violent pasts. You’ve been warned.

Related: 10 Intriguing Origins of Popular Sayings

10 Bite the Bullet

We’ve all said it. Your Wi-Fi’s out, your dentist wants to chat during a root canal, or you’ve just agreed to go jogging at 6 a.m.—you sigh and “bite the bullet.” But this cheery little phrase comes from a time when biting a bullet was literally the best-case scenario.

Back in the days before anesthesia (aka medieval nightmare mode), wounded soldiers who needed surgery were sometimes handed a metal bullet to chomp on while someone sawed off a limb. No morphine. No numbing gel. Just grit, gristle, and a prayer. The bullet kept them from biting off their own tongues—though some historians point out that leather or wood was more common, this metal image stuck in popular imagination.

So the next time someone tells you to bite the bullet, be glad it’s not followed by “while we amputate your leg with a rusty saw.” Honestly, if they’d had stress balls back then, this phrase might be a lot less metal.^[1]

9 Caught Red-Handed

You know that feeling when you get busted mid-cookie-theft, crumbs all over your shirt, and someone goes, “Aha! Caught you red-handed”? Cute, right? Except the original version wasn’t so charming.

This one goes all the way back to medieval Scotland, where “red-handed” meant you’d just murdered someone—or at least slaughtered a deer that wasn’t yours—and you were still covered in blood. That’s it. No metaphors. Just you, a corpse, and some very awkward explaining to do.

The phrase shows up in legal documents as “taken with red hand,” which is old-timey lawyer-speak for “yeah, this guy definitely did it.” Over the centuries, it mellowed into the less-stabby version we use today. So when your boss catches you red-handed watching cat videos at work, take a moment to be grateful: at least you’re not facing execution for having suspiciously red fingers. Just maybe a passive-aggressive email. Small wins.^[2]

8 Pulling Someone’s Leg

When someone says they’re “just pulling your leg,” you assume they’re joking—maybe teasing you about your terrible haircut or pretending they won the lottery. Harmless fun, right? Well, not originally. One theory behind this phrase’s origin is a little more… muggy. As in, 18th-century street thieves in London would literally yank on someone’s leg to trip them, knock them off balance, and rob them while they were flailing around on the ground.

Another, even darker theory links it to public hangings, where friends or executioners would pull on the victim’s legs to speed things up. Neither has been definitively proven, but they’ve both stuck around in popular retellings. Thankfully, the modern version is all jokes and zero strangulation.

So next time someone’s “pulling your leg,” maybe don’t reach for your wallet. But also—maybe check if you’re standing near a trapdoor.^[3]

7 Mad as a Hatter

Calling someone “mad as a hatter” today usually means they’re a little eccentric—like, talks-to-their-plants level weird. But the original hatters weren’t just quirky—they were genuinely, chemically, dangerously unwell.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, hat makers used mercury to stiffen felt, which was great for shaping top hats but terrible for the human brain. Prolonged mercury exposure caused tremors, slurred speech, paranoia, mood swings, and what doctors politely called “mercurial erethism”—aka full-blown madness. These poor souls would be seen stumbling around town, muttering to themselves and twitching like they’d mainlined espresso and regret.

Lewis Carroll’s famous Mad Hatter wasn’t just a creative character—he was practically a medical case study. So while your slightly odd neighbor with ten cats might get labeled “mad as a hatter,” he’s got nothing on the poor 19th-century milliner high on toxic fumes and unintentionally inventing performance art.^[4]

6 Rule of Thumb

We all use this phrase. “No need to measure the rice, I just go by the rule of thumb.” Sounds innocent enough, right? But like many everyday sayings, this one has a sketchy origin story—and it’s not exactly kitchen-friendly.

For years, people believed it came from an old English “law” that allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick, as long as it wasn’t thicker than his thumb. Yeah. That’s… dark. The whole “wife-beating guideline” thing isn’t backed by any actual law books. However, the association stuck hard enough that people still side-eye the phrase today.

More likely, it came from tradesmen—like carpenters and brewers—who literally used their thumbs for rough measurements. So yes, it’s probably more about woodwork than domestic abuse… but the debate’s still out there. Either way, maybe next time you use it, throw in a disclaimer. Or just say “guesstimate” and spare your thumb the historical baggage.^[5]

5 Sold Down the River

We say this when someone betrays us. Like when your teammate throws you under the bus, or your friend tells your secret for laughs. But this phrase didn’t start with office politics. It started with slavery.

In the 1800s, enslaved people in the U.S. were sometimes sold to plantations in the Deep South. Being sent “down the river” meant harsher conditions, longer hours, and almost no chance of escape. It also meant being torn from your family, sometimes forever.

It was one of the worst things that could happen to a person. The phrase stuck. People started using it for any kind of betrayal, and most forgot where it came from. So now we use it casually, like it’s just another way to say “they did me dirty.” But once you know the real meaning, it feels heavier. And maybe it should.^[6]

4 Wreak Havoc

This one sounds dramatic, but pretty harmless. Your dog tears up the couch? “He’s wreaking havoc.” Your toddler dumps cereal in the washing machine? Same thing. But the original meaning? Way more brutal.

In medieval times, “havoc” wasn’t just a fun word for chaos—it was an actual military order. Commanders would shout it when they wanted their troops to let loose. It meant, basically, “go ahead and destroy everything.” Loot the town, burn the homes, take what you want. No rules.

It was so bad that rulers eventually banned the use of the word in war. That’s how destructive it got. Over time, the phrase lost all that weight. Now we use it for mild disasters, like a broken vase or a messy kitchen. But the original version wasn’t cute. It was real, sanctioned violence—and everything that came with it.^[7]

3 Bury the Hatchet

“Let’s bury the hatchet”—man, doesn’t that sound like something you’d blurt out after your best friend finally admits they were the one who nuked your Mario Kart data? These days, it’s all about patching things up, but if you go back, it was way more hardcore.

This isn’t just some random turn of phrase. Nope, it comes straight from Native American traditions, especially the Iroquois and Algonquian folks. Back then, when two tribes decided, “Alright, let’s not try to kill each other anymore,” they didn’t sign a treaty or shake hands—they literally buried their weapons. Like, actual tomahawks. Picture it: dig a pit, chuck your hatchet in, pat the dirt, and boom—peace.

Fast forward a bit, and of course, the Europeans show up, hear the story, and—surprise!—totally water it down. Now “bury the hatchet” is what you say after a spat over who left the empty milk carton in the fridge, or when you and your date agree to pretend that awkward dinner never happened. But the OG version? That was a real gesture, man. Not just “Hey, we’re cool,” but a full-on truce between people who’d been at each other’s throats.^[8]

2 Break a Deadline / Deadline

Deadlines, man. These days, it’s just the thing your boss nags you about—miss it, and you’re toast (or at least, you get that “we need to talk” email). But get this, the word “deadline” used to mean something way gnarlier.

Way back during the Civil War, prison camps would literally draw a line in the dirt. Not a metaphor. Actual line. If a prisoner so much as put a toe over it? Bam—guards had full permission to shoot first, ask zero questions later. Cross it, and you’re done for. Brutal, right?

So yeah, deadlines started out as, well, lines where people died. Wild how now it just means “turn in your report by Friday or face mild disappointment.” Still annoying, but not exactly life or death.^[9]

1 No Room to Swing a Cat

Ever heard someone grumble there’s “no room to swing a cat”? Sounds kinda adorable, right? Like, what are we talking about here—cats doing gymnastics in your studio apartment? Nope.

The most popular theory traces this to the British Navy (think wooden ships, rum, and terrible dental hygiene), where they had this monstrous whip called the “cat o’ nine tails.” The thing is, you actually needed some elbow room to let that thing fly. Otherwise, you’d probably take out a lamp or, I dunno, another unfortunate soul nearby. Some linguists think the phrase could have more literal, non-violent roots, but the whip story stuck in the public imagination.

So when folks said there wasn’t enough room to “swing a cat,” they weren’t talking about chasing Mittens around the kitchen. They meant, “Hey, it’s so packed in here, you couldn’t even swing a torture device properly.” Fast forward to today, and now we just use it to mean, “Man, this place is tiny.” But honestly, knowing where it started? Kinda makes you appreciate your cramped apartment a little more. At least nobody’s swinging whips around.^[10]