The meaning behind the old sayings……

wash tub baths

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house always had the privilege of the nice clean water, then the sons and other men. Next the women and finally the children, with the babies last. 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!”

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof….Hence the saying “It’s raining cats and dogs.”

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and the guest got the top, or the “upper crust.”

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a “wake.”