Arts and Entertainment > Language > Crossing the Rubicon
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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : John T Jones, Ph.D.
Did you ever wonder where a common phrase came from? Crossing the Rubicon is such a phrase. This is what it means today: You have taken a step too far. You are at great risk and you can’t go back.
Under ancient Roman law it was forbidden for any general to cross the Rubicon River and enter Italy proper with a standing army. That was treason.
The Rubicon wasn’t much of a river. It was a small stream but to cross over with an army was a dangerous step. Immediate civil war was the result.
In January 49 BC, Caesar crossed the tiny stream. This is what he said, “Let us go where the omens of the Gods and the crimes of our enemies summon us! THE DIE IS NOW CAST!” See: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/caesar.htm
Do you want to know more about the origin of phrases? Then go to: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/index.html
Here are a few common phrases. Do you know what they mean?
A bee in your bonnet
A blast from the past
A dead ringer
Baptism of fire
Barking up the wrong tree
Bated breath
Chew the cud
Donkey's years
Excuse my French
Go and boil your head
Go to hell in a hand basket
Hell has no fury like a woman scorned
In a quandary
Just deserts
Kit and caboodle
Let the cat out of the bag
The real McCoy
No man is an island
Old lang syne
Paddle your own canoe
Peter out
Quid pro quo (tit for tat)
Read the riot act
Shake a leg
The ball is in your court
Up a blind alley
Walk the plank
Your name is mud (Mudd)
You know most of these phrases, right? To find the meaning or origins of these and other phrases, go to: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/424000.html. Click on the letter in the alphabet index and scroll down to the phrase.
Have fun!
John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com, a retired VP of R&D for Lenox China, is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering, humor), poetry, etc. Former editor of Ceramic Industry Magazine, Jones is Executive Representative of International Wealth Success. He calls himself "Taylor Jones, the hack writer."
More info: http://www.tjbooks.com
Business web site: http://www.bookfindhelp.com (IWS wealth-success books and kits and business newsletters / TopFlight flagpoles)
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