Its use in Ivanhoe subsequently helped popularized it throughout the English speaking world. I did but tie one fellow, who was taken redhanded and in the fact, to the horns of a wild stag. The first documented instance of the expression morphing from “red hand” to “red handed” was in the early 19th century work Ivanhoe, written by Sir Walter Scott: It subsequently popped up numerous times in various legal proceedings in Scotland, nearly always referring to someone caught in the act of committing some crime, such as “apprehended redhand”, “taken with redhand”, etc. That the offender be taken reid hand, may be persewed, and put to the knawledge of ane Assise, befoir the Barron or Landeslord of the land or ground, quhidder the offender be his tennent, unto quhom the wrang is done or not… And uthers not taken reid hand, to be alwaies persewed befoir the… The first known documented instance of “red hand” is in the Scottish Acts of Parliament of James I, written in 1432: Given the context it was often used in the earliest references, the phrase “red hand” or “redhand” probably came about referring to people caught with blood on their hands. His widely publicized explanation for why he aided the British in this battle included the proverb “blood is thicker than water”.ģ) Origin of Caught Red Handed: This expression has its origins in Scotland around the 15th century. Tattnall decided to aid the British in a naval battle with the Chinese in 1859. “Blood is thicker than water” is thought to have been popularized by U.S. The first instance of something like this phrase popped up in 1180 in Reynard the Fox by Heinrich der Glîchezære: “Kin-blood is not spoilt by water.” It later appeared in its more modern form “blood is thicker than water” in John Ray’s 1670 work “Proverbs” and then in Sir Walter Scott’s novel Guy Mannering in 1815, with Scott generally being credited as the one who “invented” the exact phrase, though in truth the sentiment was borrowed from older proverbs. The phrase is thought to have its origins either in blood rituals made between people, forming a bond or covenant with one another by shedding blood, or between soldiers who fought and whether literally or figuratively shed blood together on the battlefield. In the beginning, it meant something to the effect of “a bond or covenant I’ve made with someone I’ve shed or shared blood with (sometimes literally) is stronger than one I have with someone I’ve shared the womb with.” Obviously today it’s interpreted the other way, that the bond between family members or blood relations is stronger than one between people only connected by water.

In the late 19th century, this spread to the phrase being used in a figurative sense of “biting the bullet” when you are about to do something unpleasant.Ģ) Origin of “Blood is Thicker Than Water”: This is one that’s completely flipped its meaning over the centuries. At the time, it was a common practice during emergency, battlefield surgeries to have the person being operated on bite down on a lead bullet to help distract them from the pain of surgery without anesthesia, as well as to cut down on the screaming. This is a guest post by for more interesting lists, subscribe to their newsletter here.ġ) Origin of “Bite the Bullet”: This phrase was first attested in the late 18th century in the military.

Another phrase for biting the bullet