IzzyCohen
  Junior Editor

I agree with the general description in the Etymology section. However, more specifically:

Spent Brewer’s yeast is an ancient hangover remedy. Latin Saccharomyces cerevisiae = Brewer's yeast " Hebrew כּ�
ל�
ב מִנשָׁך שֵׂעַר Sa[K]aR MinShaKh KeLeV = hair bite dog " hair of the dog that bit you, a hangover remedy. Compare Greek CeRBerus, the 3-headed dog that guarded the entrance to Hades. more »

This idiom is probably from a proto-Semitic metaphor: make love = עֲגוֹב [K]aGov + in Paradise = בעִדָן B'[K]aiDen " Hebrew [K]aGav B'3eDen kick (the) bucket. This is still a Middle East (virgins in heaven) euphemism to avoid saying "He died." more »

I disagree with both etymologies presented in the Etymology section.

The "music" in face the music may be from Yiddish maskone = inference, consequence from Hebrew MaSKaNaH מַסְקָנָה = conclusion, inference, deduction. However, based on the discussion of this idiom by Michael Quinion in his World Wide Words blog, it is more likely a reversal of the sounds in “exam(ination)”: eKSaM => MuSiC. more »

Skeleton in the closet. The English word secret was transliterated twice, first to Hebrew miSGeReT מִסג�
ר�
ת (framework, skeleton) and then to SaGaRT סָגַרְתְּ (shut, close, 2 Kings 4:4) or more likely SoGeReS umSooGeReS סֹג�
ר�
ת וּמְסֻגּ�
ר�
ת (shut up, Joshua 6:1) which together produce skeleton in the closet.

Giving the gimel a K-sound and letting the resh rotate to L indicates that miSGeReT and SKeLeTon are cognates and that soGeReS and CLoSet are near homonyms with a semantic connection of “closure.” So it is difficult to tell if the 2nd instance was translated or transliterated to “closet.” more »

The word Blessing was translated to Hebrew B'RaKHa בְּרָכָה which was transliterated to Hebrew BeRekH בּ�
ר�
ך (leg). These Hebrew words were then transliterated to English break and translated to a leg. Compare the German blessing Hals und Beinbruch! = break a neck and leg! Hals is a metathesis of Yiddish (from Hebrew) HatSLakha הַצלָחָה = success. more »

by/with the skin of my teeth.

This idiom is in the bible at Job 19:20: וָא�
תְמַלְּטָה, בְּעוֹר שִׁנָּי = and I escaped by the skin of my teeth.

It means “barely, hardly, with difficulty” because B'3or SHinai (using 3 for the letter aiyin) is a near transliteration of the Hebrew word בְּקוֹשִׁי B'QoSHi at a time when the aiyin had a velar G/K sound. I do not know if this was an existing idiom that Job used or if his words were misunderstood during oral transmission before being written by a later scribe. more »

(Let the) cat out (of the) bag

The original meaning was to tell the truth in a situation where one should not do so.

Aramaic QSHoT (Talmudic QuSHTa@) + BaGaD קושתא בגד = truth + betray, or betray by revealing the truth. It sounded like Ki[T]oT BaGaD " (let the) CaT ouT (of the) BaG.

Spill the beans and doesn’t know beans about

In both of these idioms, beans is a phono-semantic match (PSM) for Hebrew BiNah בִּינָה = understanding; wisdom, intellect. "Spill" is related to SaPeR = to tell, as in a long Yiddish shpiel. more »