Do you ever wonder where some of our odd commonly used words, sayings and phrases came from? Why is going off on a rant referred to as “getting on your soap box”? How did the term “the bees knees” originate? How did the phrase, “Hey you guys”, come to refer to a group of people regardless of genders?
Today we’re kicking off a new series where we endeavor to discover some of the fascinating origins of the English language, while also exploring some featured items on sale now at IMC Merch! We begin the series with an examination of the phrase, “by the same token”. A hat tip to mentalfloss.com and language expert Arika Okrent for the following adaptation.
Bus token? Game token? What kind of token is involved here? Token is a very old word, referring to something that’s a symbol or sign of something else. It could be a pat on the back as a token, or sign, of friendship, or a marked piece of lead that could be exchanged for money. It came to mean a fact or piece of evidence that could be used as proof. “By the same token” first meant, basically “those things you used to prove that can also be used to prove this.” It was later weakened into the expression that just says “these two things are somehow associated.”
Today’s featured product:
Butt Lifting Anti-Cellulite Leggings
Only $14.95 with FREE SHIPPING!
Original source: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/548109/origins-of-common-phrases