Meaning: Asked when a person is at a loss for words
Origin: The English Navy used to use a whip called “Cat-o’-nine-tails” for flogging. The pain was so severe that it caused the victim to stay quiet for a long time. Another possible source could be from ancient Egypt, where liars’ and blasphemers’ tongues were cut out and fed to the cats. (Perhaps that's considered a treat for the cats!)
Meaning: Don’t get rid of valuable things along with the unnecessary ones.
Origin: In medieval times baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, next all the other sons and men, then the women, finally the children. Last of all, babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."
Meaning: Being unwelcoming or antisocial toward someone
Origin: In medieval England, it was customary to give a guest a cold piece of meat from the shoulder of mutton, pork, or beef chop when the host felt it was time for the guest to leave. This was a polite way to communicate, “You may leave, now.”
When people rub us up the wrong way, they usually do not know they are doing something wrong.
Meaning: To bother or annoy someone
Origin: Early Americans, during the colonial times, would ask their servants to rub their oak floorboards “the right way”. The wrong way (not wiping them with dry fabric after wet fabric) would cause streaks to form and ruin it, leaving the homeowner annoyed. Alternatively, it could have derived from rubbing a dog's or cat’s fur the “wrong way,” which annoys them.
There are several stories behind this next idiom, but here is one to enjoy...
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