ORMASH

WINDFALL  A windfall is a legacy which is unexpected. it comes in a time you never think about it. The formation of this word is like this; In olden times, some of the English nobility were forbidden by the tenure of their estates to fell timber, as all the trees being reserved for the use of the Royal Navy. These trees, however. which were blown down were excepted, and hence a good wind was often a great Godsend.

PLUS FOURS A number of golfers suffer under the delusion that 'plus fours' as the baggy knickers are known, derived its name from the fact that the tailors added four inches to the usual measurements to ensure extra freedom. The facts are quite different.   The reason why the baggy trousers suit came to be named 'plus fours' is that when  golfers took to wearing the suit, because of the ease and freedom of movements, it was humorously considered necessary to be a first-class player before one would dare to wear such a suit. Before the present British national system of handicapping was introduced, which places the best players at scratch,the club handicap system allowed the having of backmarkers of one or more strokes, the maximum being four so that a par excellence golfer was handicapped plus 4 (or four plus). The plus four which indexed a player's golfing prowess and entitled him to wear the suit eventually became, therefore the name by which the suit ...

The Woolsack: The woolsack is a large red cushion on which the Lord Chancellor sits in the House of Lords.  The origin of the custom is in this way:  During the time of Queen Elizabeth I, wool was considered as a very valuable commodity and was considered as a source of national wealth.  Many people were employed in this industry.  An Act was passed prohibiting the export of raw wool from  England. To remind the judges of this law, the Queen ordered that each of them when in the House of Lords should sit on a cushion or sack stuffed with wool. Hence originates the name woolsack.

'Three Estates of the Realm' The Three Estates of the Ream are:  the nobility, the clergy and the commonality. After their advent, the newspapers have been termed the Fourth Estate.   The Wiseacre; This word is derived from the German word weissage r which means a wise sayer or prophet. Anyway the word has lost its original meaning. Now it is applied to conceited persons, wise only, ''in their own conceit.''

DEAD-HEAT A race to be run again between two horses that have "tied". A heat is that part of a race run without stopping.  Two or more heats  makes a race. A dead heat is a heat which goes for for nothing; it is dead,  as if it had never taken place. At the present day, when two horses reach the winning post simultaneously they are said to dead-heat for the first place and are bracketed winners.

WHICH IS YOURS? BIRTHSTONE: Birthstones have magical powers on their wearers. They are precious stones. Some people have worn this as a talisman. Names of the months and the corresponding birthstones are given  below:- January         .....  Garnet February       .....  Amethyst March            .....  Blood-stone April              ......  Diamond May               ......  Emerald June                ......  Pearl July                 ......  Ruby August            ......  Sardonyx September      ......  Sapphire October         .......  Opal November     .......  Topaz December      ......   Turquoi...

Wiseacre: Wiseacre is a corruption of the then German weissager. The meaning of this word is a wise sayer or prophet.  But this word has lost its original meaning and is applied to conceited persons, wise only, '' in their own conceit.'' 

It is quite interesting to see how some words are originated. 'Quarter': To spare the life of an enemy in one's power- or to grant a quarter to an enemy. Both shows the same meaning.This word originated from an ancient agreement between te Dutch and the Spaniards that the ransom of a soldier should be a quarter of his pay.  This might have meant to 'grant condition'. In this sense quarter was commonly used once. 

It is interesting to see how certain words, phrases etc., derived. A PEDLAR: A pedlar is not a tramp who goes on his feet but a man who carries a ped or hamper without a lid. Fish or other articles are stored to hawk about the streets.

"Hear, Hear" In olden days, when one wished to indicate approval of what another said, one said, " Hear him." In the course of time the word him came to be dropped and the word hear came to be repeated instead.  So we nowadays use 'hear, hear.'

Wool-gathering: Many years ago the wool industry was of the greatest importance in England.  Wool was not plenty and poor people used to go about collecting any scraps of wool they could find by the wayside torn by thorns and bushes from the sheep's back.  In the course of their collection, they could have no set route and so they wandered about aimlessly and appeared to be putting little thought into their work.  In due course. this woolgathering and wandering aimlessly came to be associated together.  Nowadays we use the term to denote people whose minds are not attached or fixed to the subject on hand but wander. 

An Ostrich Buries its Head in the Sand: This is an incorrect belief.  Actually, it does not bury its head in the sand.  It is a popular, but an erroneous idea based on the assumption that if it buries its head in the sand, it could see nothing and so it cannot be seen by anyone else.  What really happens is that at the approach of danger, the ostrich sinks into a heap on the ground, where it is extremely difficult to distinguish it from the surrounding mounds and anthills.

It is very interesting to know how certain words, phrases etc., which we use now come into usage. Let's look at 'Bohemian.' BOHEMIAN: Bohemian is a person who leads a luxurious and carefree life is called a Bohemian. The Frenchman called the gipsies as the Bohemians because they thought that the gipsies who were careless  by wandering by came from Bohemia in Central Europe.  In this way the expression  'Bohemian' came into usage.

It is interesting to know how the present day names, usages etc., have derived. Trade Winds: They are named in this way because they are always trading or trading in one uniform track.  It is a mistake to derive the word from trade (commerce) under the notion that they are ' good for trade.'  The correct derivation is (Anglo-Saxon) Treddle-wind, a treading wind- ie. wind of a specific beat or tread ( from the word tredan- to tread). In the northern hemisphere, the trade winds blow from the north-east and, in the southern hemisphere from the south-east, about thirty degrees each side of the Equator. In some places, they blow six months in one direction  and six months in the opposite. 

'BADGE OF POVERTY': In the reign of William III those who received Parish relief had to wear a badge (with the letter P together with the initial of the Parish)  in red or blue cloth on the shoulder of the right sleeve, whence it is used to denote a poor person.

BACKGROUND: The idea is derived from the language of the artists.  Pictures have three distances called grounds, the foreground where the artist is supposed to be; the middle ground, where the most salient part of the picture is placed; and background or distance, beyond which the eye cannot penetrate.

'PHILOSOPHER'S STONE The meaning of Philosopher's stone is the easiest way to get wealth. The ancient alchemists thought there was a substance which could convert all baser metals into gold.  They called this substance - Philosopher's Stone.   The word stone is used in the sense of substratum which means something in which the experiments stand. Actually it was a red powder or amalgam to drive off the impurities of baser metals. Many experiments and discoveries in Chemistry were made while searching for this.

GOD AND RELIGION     "   Now comes the question: Can religion really accomplish anything?  It can. It brings to man eternal life.  It has made man what he is and will make of this human animal God. This is what religion can do. Take religion from human society and what will remain? Nothing but a forest of brutes."                                                         -Swami Vivekananda

GOD AND RELIGION "In studying books we are sometimes deluded into thinking that thereby we are being spiritually helped; but, we analize the effect of the study of books on ourselves, we shall find that at the utmost, it is only our intellect that derives profit from such studies, and not the inner spirit.  This inadequacy of the book to quicken the spiritual growth is the reason, why although almost every one of us can speak most wonderfully on spiritual matters when it comes to actions and the living of a truly spiritual life, we find ourselves so awfully deficient.  To quicken the spirit, the impulse must come from another soul".                                    -Swami Vivekananda

GOD AND RELIGION     "In worshipping God we have been always worshipping our hidden Self"                                      - Swami  Vivekananda