One day I will have compiled all of my favorite phrase origins into one book, (despite the many that are already out there.) For now though, I shall settle on informing you of how old so many of things you say everyday really are. Some are expected, others are surprising, and still more have changed so often that they now mean the opposite of how they started.
My favorite to tell people (because everybody says it) is good-bye. It is a comment on the tendency of us all to shorten and familiarize ourselves to one another. I often think the more you care for a person the shorter their name. My full name is Alexandria, my family calls me Ali and my best friend calls me Al. She also calls her husband "D" which speaks volumes in my book about how much he means to her.
Back to the point, good-bye, I don't know the exact date but it must have began after the spread of Christianity or not to much later, like I said I don't know and couldn't find a date. Upon departure from pleasant company people said "May God be with you." Thus my rough estimate of the spread of Christianity. Sources say that by the late 1500's (The time of Shakespeare and Elizabeth I) it was shorten to "God by you", or "Godbwye". Which then of course has morphed into our everyday use of good-bye.
To Tie the knot, this expression is interesting simply because it means the opposite of what it says. The Geeks tied the knot ahead of the ceremony. The bride would use the Herculean knot to fasten their undergarments and on the wedding night the groom would pray for a fruitful marriage while untying it. Hercules supposedly fathered 50 children in one night! Another ancient ceremony has the family members literally tying the bride and groom's garments together. So of course that could be the origin... History isn't an exact science, at least not until someone invents a time machine.
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