Phrases and their origins

Common Scams in the Old West

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Recently, a friend of mine was complaining about the number of scams she’s hit with on daily basis. I doubt there’s anyone who can say they don’t regularly receive suspicious phone calls from someone claiming to be with the IRS or emails from foreign “multi-millionaires” wanting to share their fortune with us. All we need to do is provide these people with our personal banking information which will either erase our debt or make us rich.

While these particular scams are relatively recent, deceiving people out of their hard-earned money has been around for centuries, if not since the dawn of civilization. What’s the old saying? If you believe that, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you.

Scams in the old West were no exception and abounded. Who hasn’t heard of The Lost Dutchman’s Mine—a popular legend here in Arizona where I live? One of the reasons the unproven story of the mine’s existence (to this day at least) gained such traction is because industrious scammers drew up and printed fake maps which they then sold to unsuspecting and gullible fortune hunters. Not only were wannabe prospectors sent on wild goose chases, many, sadly, met their deaths.

The Lost Dutchman’s Mine wasn’t the only scam of its kind during the days of gold fever. The practice of selling fake mining claims thrived. A common scheme called “salting” was used to dupe eager individuals looking strike it rich. Ore from a producing mine was scattered over a barren area. The soft ore would embed into the rock and give the appearance of a valuable claim. If done right, these salted areas often passed inspections by assayers but then, after the sale was complete, the poor buyer discovered no gold other than what the unscrupulous seller had scattered about.

Another old West scam was the origin of what eventually became a popular saying that still endures. I can remember my grandmother referring to a local real estate agent as no better than a snake oil salesman. And while she was using the term to refer to con men in general, a snake oil salesman is actually someone who proports to have a miracle cure. One of the first and most renowned snake oil salesmen was Clark Stanley, nicknamed the Rattlesnake King. While he claimed his tonic contained rattlesnake oil, it did not and was completely worthless. On a side note, Chinese laborers who came to the U.S. to work on the railroads did bring snake oil with them as an ancient medicinal treatment, which is likely where old Clark Stanley got the idea.

A different, popular scam along these same lines was the traveling medicine show which, if you think about it, was an early infomercial combining entertainment with hyped up sales techniques. These tonics, like Stanley’s snake oil, were worthless and made from common household items like castor oil, ginger, and alcohol. I did a bit of research, and there were several movies made featuring traveling medicine shows. Here’s just a few oldies but goodies:

Paradise Canyon with John Wayne

Sante Fe Marshal with William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy

Riders of the Dawn, a musical western (I think I need to see this one)

Prairie Badmen with Buster Crabb

And the scams don’t end there. Really, there are just too many for me to list in detail. Land fraud was abundant with fake deeds being sold to families coming out West and desperate for a fresh start. Even the poor, noble horse, a necessity back then, was often used to separate the naïve and trusting from their money. A young and healthy horse was sold but an old, broken down nag was swapped out. There were crooks who cheated at poker with hidden cards (an Ace up the sleeve) and loaded dice. Gullible people were fleeced by shell games and other slight-of-hand tricks. And lets not forget the psychics who claimed to see the future or speak with deceased loved ones.

Sadly, there will probably always be disreputable individuals who find new and innovative ways to take advantage the easily influenced. The most we can do is be on the lookout. Remember that the next time someone tries to sell you some oceanfront property in Arizona 🙂

Warmest wishes,

Cathy McDavid

P.S. – don’t forget to check out of Facebook Reader Page at:

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Let’s Ring in the New Year!

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Happy New Year, Friends!

By now you have either put away your holiday decorations or are procrastinating, waiting for January 6th, the 12th day of Christmas.

But before you pack away that last box of ornaments, here a few fun facts how New Year’s traditions came about.

Since New Years’ Eve is celebrated around the world, there are a lot of interesting New Years’ facts. From the giant party in New York City to smaller celebrations around the world. There are many traditions that have become popular with bringing in the New Year.

Baby New Year

The tradition of Baby New Year has been around since ancient Greece. During New Years’ celebrations for Dionysus, a baby was paraded through the streets as a symbol of the rebirth of the year. In more recent times the New Years Baby has been paired with Father Time as a companion.

Times Square Celebrations

The Times Square celebration started in 1904, but the first Ball Drop happened in 1907 to celebrate the New York Times building.  Back then, they used a simple iron and wood ball with just 100 light bulbs. Today, we marvel at the high-tech crystal ball that features an incredible 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles. The modern ball illuminates the sky with 32,256 LED lights, creating billions of patterns and colors that mesmerize everyone watching. Over 200,000 people showed up for the opening of the building. Now the crowd grows to over 1 million people each year.

The ball has dropped each year since 1907. With exceptions made during WWII due to lighting restrictions in 1942 and 1943. During those years the ball did not light up at all.

More Than Just a Ball Drop

Even though most people are familiar with the famous ball drop in Times Square. Many cities have their own unique way to usher in the New Year. There is the Pickle drop in Mt. Olive, North Carolina, a boot drop in Prescott, Arizona. And a giant Moon Pie in Mobile, Alabama. These are only a few of the weird things that different places drop-in celebration of New Years’.

New Years Kiss

This is a tradition that has been around since Roman times too. It dates back to the festivities of Saturnalia. Which celebrated the god Saturn, god of times. Many of the traditions from this festival were later incorporated into Christian celebrations of Christmas and New Years’.

New Years Food

There are many different foods that are considered to be good luck to eat on New Years’. One of the most popular is Black Eyed Peas, Leafy Greens, and Cornbread.  Followed by pork dishes and grapes and round foods. In Spain, they celebrate by eating 12 grapes right at midnight.

Drink Up

Over 360 million glasses of sparkling wine/champagne are consumed on New Year’s Eve. Followed by beer and mixed drinks.

New Years Resolutions

Over 41% of people make some sort of New Year’s resolutions. Most of them have to do with eating healthy and exercising. Others involve saving money and lowering stress.  Most people give up by February. But there are a few people each year that actually manage to hold out and complete their resolutions.

New Years Song

“Aude Lang Syne” is the traditional song of New Years’. It was written in 1788 by the poet Robert Burns. The name means roughly “times long past” and the poem is about old friends meeting again.

Most of us are familiar with Canadian-born American dance-band leader, Guy Lombardo whose New Year’s Eve radio and television broadcasts with his Royal Canadians became an American tradition for 48 years. https://youtu.be/59JMuE-djvY

 

New Year’s Eve is one of the biggest holidays of the year and most people around the world celebrate it. From food to bring luck in the New Year to odd traditions that people have. Fr

From my family to yours, I wish you new beginnings, simple pleasures, and beautiful moments. Happy New Year!

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Giveaway!

What are your favorite parts of celebrating New Year’s Eve?  Do you make any resolutions? Let me know in the comments.

One random winner will receive her/his choice of one of my 2024 holiday ebooks.  

A Sleigh Ride For Claire  – CLICK HERE

Ivy – Christmas Quilt Brides – CLICK HERE

Holly In His Heart – CLICK HERE

 

 

What Exactly is a Maverick? Are You One?

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I know you’ve all heard of the word Maverick. Politicians are fond of saying they’re one.

What does the term that was first used in 1867 mean? Independent minded happens to be the definition.

But do you know the origin?

I didn’t until I recently got an Electric Co-Op magazine out of my mailbox and read about Texan Samuel Maverick.

 

Wouldn’t you know he’d be from Texas? Seems we gave the world just a little bit of history.  🙂

Anyway….Samuel Maverick (1803-1870) was a lawyer, politician, land baron, and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. He was at the Alamo with the defenders but slipped out the day before it fell in a desperate bid to find reinforcements. Of course, we know what happened.

And when General Santa Anna again sent troops back into Texas six years later to try to retake it, Samuel and sixty others was captured and forced to march by foot down to Veracruz, Mexico. He was kept chained and given little food. Although he was offered his freedom several times in exchange for publicly stating that Texas belonged to Mexico, he refused. They finally released him and he returned to Texas, bringing his chains with him.

He served twice as mayor of San Antonio and several terms in the Texas House of Representatives, once opposing Sam Houston over a bill and won. He amassed land holdings amounting to something like 110,000 acres.

But the Maverick term came from refusal to brand his cattle, claiming that it was cruel and inflicted pain. Thus, any unbranded cow became known as a maverick. Because of his staunch refusal to brand, he couldn’t protect his herd from thieves, including his neighbors, and they stole from him left and right until he lost almost all of them. He died in 1870 at the age of 67… a stubborn maverick to the end.

Do any mavericks come to mind? Senator John McCain was known for being one. I’m giving away an e-copy of The Cowboy Who Saved Christmas to one lucky commenter.

 

As you know, we have Cowboys and Mistletoe coming up November 29 to December 2! There’s a ton of $10 gift cards to be had AND a Grand Prize of $120!! Everyone please come and play our Mad Lib game! It’ll be so much fun. AND you have lots of chances to win!! So mark your calendars and come over each of the four days to increase your odds of winning.

Where Did Those Old Phrases Originate?

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If you’ve ever read any of my books, you know I use a lot of common phrases. Some I grew up with, having heard my parents or other relatives say so I tend to use them because they’re as natural as breathing. I think they add a lot of flavor to my stories. I sure hope so anyway.

A lot of these go back a very long way. I hope you have fun learning the origins.

IN TALL COTTON – Means successful. Goes back to 1800s. Crops were good and the farmer flush

CAN’T WIN FOR LOSING – 1960s… bad luck keeps showing up to ruin plans

SLEEP TIGHT – In middle ages and later before bed springs, the mattress sat on a latticework of ropes. To keep the mattress from sagging, the sleeper had to keep tightening the ropes.

TOOTH AND NAIL – Fight like a wild beast – with teeth and nails – 1500s origin

HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD – To describe exactly what’s causing the situation or problem

BY AND LARGE – 16th century nautical term – sailing into the wind—means all things considered

RUNNING AMOK – 18th century, wild or erratic behavior

READ THE RIOT ACT – in 18th century England, the Riot Act was a very real document. It was recited to crowds of 12 people or more then the official ordered them to disperse and go home

DIEHARD – Originated in 1700s, describing condemned men struggling the longest when hung

TURN A BLIND EYE – Dates back to Horatio Nelson who held a telescope to his bad eye and proclaimed he couldn’t see a thing

GETTING OFF SCOT-FREE – Originated in Medieval England when a scot was a word for tax. A person who gets off scot free gets away with things.

BURY THE HATCHET – During peace negotiations in early America, the Puritans and Native Americans would bury all the weapons. Now it means to make peace.

BIG WIGS – In old England, the more influential people had the biggest wigs

ONE FOR THE ROAD – During the middle ages, the condemned were taken to their execution down Oxford Street. The cart would stop and they’d give the person a final drink.

GIVE THE COLD SHOULDER – During medieval times in England, the host would cut off a piece of meat from the shoulder and give to guests he wanted to leave.

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR – Originated in late 1800s carnival games that used to be targeted to adults, not children. The prizes were cigars instead of stuffed toys.

WAKING UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE SIDE OF THE BED – Throughout history the left was considered evil. To keep guests from getting out on the left side, the bed was pushed against the wall so the sleepers had to both get out on the right side. Today it means to start the day in a bad temper.

GET ONE’S GOAT – Means to irritate someone. In horse racing, placing a goat in with a racehorse calmed it down. Rivals would steal the goat in hopes of upsetting the horse and winning the race.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these. There are tons more and probably 60 percent go back to the middle ages and earlier.

What ones surprised you the most? I think for me it’s Read the Riot Act and Get One’s Goat.