President Trump just wrote a long post about his pardon of Henry Cuellar and why he did it, but added that he never thought Cuellar would be running again as a Democrat, . . .

The guitarist and singer Lita Ford continues on the road in 2026 and has many scheduled tour dates across the United States and Canada. In January, February, March, April and August she will play in Davenport, Orillia, Calgary, Airway Heights, Lake Charles, Medina, Shipshewana, East Greenwich, Newton, Miami, Harpers Ferry and Gatlinburg. She will have as special guests on selected dates Dee Snider, Lynch Mob, Steelheart and Fire House. Lita Ford 2026 tour dates January 23 - Davenport, IA, United States - Rhythm City Casino Resort February 13 - Orillia, ON, Canada - Casino Rama Resort Entertainment Centre 14 - Calgary, AB, Canada - Grey Eagle Resort and Casino 18 - Airway Heights, WA, United States - Northern Quest Casino (with Dee Snider) 20 - Lake Charles, LA, United States - Golden Nugget Lake Charles (with Dee Snider, encore performance) March 07 - Medina, MN, United States - Medina Entertainment Center (with Lynch Mob) 27 - Shipshewana, IN, United States - Blue Gate Theatre (with Steelheart) April 09 - East Greenwich, RI, United States - The Greenwich Odeum 10 - Newton, NC, United States - Newton Performing Arts Center (with Dee Snider) 12 - 17 - Miami, FL, United States - Monsters of Rock Cruise (Miami – Puerto Plata – Great Stirrup Cay) 18 - Harpers Ferry, WV, United States - The Amp (with FireHouse) August 22 - Gatlinburg, TN, United States - Monsters on the Mountain Possible setlist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC8c5ntVGrY&pp=ygUObGl0YSBmb3JkIDIwMjU%3D Since Lita's most recent album is "Time Capsule" released in 2016, her setlist might be similar to the previous ones. Besides her hits and Runaways tracks, she also often plays a few covers, including songs by Elton John, Sex Pistols and Alice Cooper. Gotta Let Go Larger Than Life Restless The Bitch Is Back (Elton John cover) Playin' With Fire Can't Catch Me Drum Solo Cherry Bomb (The Runaways song) Black Leather (Sex Pistols cover) Only Women Bleed (Alice Cooper cover) Close My Eyes Forever Kiss Me Deadly The post Lita Ford 2026 tour dates appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.

The Van Halen vocalist David Lee Roth returned to the stage last year and revealed a massive American tour for 2026. Although it is a solo concert, during his past shows he only played Van Halen material. He will play from April to August in Airway Heights, Grand Ronde, Anaheim, Tucson, Albuquerque, Lubbock, Austin, Memphis, Orland, Nashville, Wilmington, Greensboro, Washington, Glenside, Niagara Falls, Boston, Schenectady, Hampton Beach, Huntington, Fort Wayne, Battle Creek, Rapid City, Moorhead and Sturgis. David Lee Roth announces 2026 tour dates April 16 - Airway Heights, WA, United States - Spokane Live 18 - Grand Ronde, OR, United States - Spirit Mountain Casino 20 - Anaheim, CA, United States - House of Blues 22 - Tucson, AZ, United States - Rialto Theatre 25 - Albuquerque, NM, United States - Revel 27 - Lubbock, TX, United States - The Buddy Holly Hall of Fame Performing Arts Center 29 - Austin, TX, United States - Austin City Limits Live May 01 - Memphis, TN, United States - Graceland Soundstage 03 - Orlando, FL, United States - Hard Rock Live 06 - Nashville, TN, United States - Ryman Auditorium 12 - Wilmington, NC, United States - Wilson Center at Cape Fear Community College 14 - Greensboro, NC, United States - Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts 16 - Washington, DC, United States - Warner Theatre 19 - Glenside, PA, United States - Keswick Theatre 21 - Niagara Falls, ON, Canada - OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino 24 - Boston, MA, United States - House of Blues 26 - Schenectady, NY, United States - Proctor’s 29 - Hampton Beach, NH, United States - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom 31 - Wallingford, CT, United States - Toyota Oakdale Theatre June 03 - Port Chester, NY, United States - The Capitol Theatre 05 - Asbury Park, NJ, United States - Stone Pony Summer Stage 07 - Huntington, NY, United States - The Paramount 09 - Huber Heights, OH, United States - Rose Music Center 11 - Fort Wayne, IN, United States - Foellinger Theatre 13 - Battle Creek, MI, United States - FireKeepers Casino Hotel 15 - Rapid City, SD, United States - The Monument 17 - Moorhead, MN, United States - Bluestem Amphitheatre 20 - Milwaukee, WI, United States - BMO Pavilion August 07 - Sturgis, SD, United States - Buffalo Chip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHT8Y9XTjxc&t=129sThe post David Lee Roth announces 2026 tour dates appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.

The German guitarist Michael Schenker is back on the road in 2026 and has a lot of tour dates scheduled from January to July in Japan and Europe. In his continent he will play in Germany, Netherlands, France, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Norway and Sweden. He will continue to promote the album ‘My Years With UFO’, on which he re-recorded some UFO songs from his era in the band with special guests. His current band is formed by Steve Mann (Keyboards), Bodo Schopf (Drums), Barend Courbois (Bass) and Erik Grönwall (Vocals). Michael Schenker 2026 tour dates January 26 - Tokyo, Japan - NHK Hall 28 - Tokyo, Japan - Nippon Budokan 29 - Osaka, Japan - Festival Hall February 18 - Plauen, Germany - Festhalle 19 - Bremen, Germany - Modernes 20 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle III 22 - Hamburg, Germany - Große Freiheit 36 23 - Cologne, Germany - Die Kantine 24 - Tilburg, Netherlands - Poppodium 013 26 - Heerlen, Netherlands - Parkstad Limburg Theaters 27 - Paris, France - Le Trianon 28 - Amnéville, France - Seven Casino March 01 - Ingolstadt, Germany - Eventhalle Westpark 03 - Frankfurt, Germany - ZOOM 05 - Leipzig, Germany - Täubchenthal 06 - Potsdam, Germany - Waschhaus 07 - Warsaw, Poland - Progresja 09 - Vilnius, Lithuania - Compensa Koncertų Salė 10 - Tallinn, Estonia - Helitehas 11 - Helsinki, Finland - Kulttuuritalo 12 - Tampere, Finland - Tampere-talo 13 - Jyväskylä, Finland - Paviljonki 14 - Vaasa, Finland - Olvi Club 15 - Luleå, Sweden - House of Culture 17 - Trondheim, Norway - Byscenen 18 - Oslo, Norway - Vulkan Arena 20 - Stockholm, Sweden - Kägelbanan 21 - Falun, Sweden - Magasinet 22 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Trädgår’n April 07 - Frankfurt, Germany - Rock Meets Classic, myticket Jahrhunderthalle 08 - Kempten, Germany - Rock Meets Classic, bigBOX Allgäu 09 - Nuremberg, Germany - Rock Meets Classic, Arena Nürnberger Versicherung 10 - Passau, Germany - Rock Meets Classic, Dreiländerhalle 11 - Regensburg, Germany - Rock Meets Classic, Donau-Arena 12 - Munich, Germany - Rock Meets Classic, Olympiahalle 13 - Ingolstadt, Germany - Rock Meets Classic, Saturn Arena August 22–23 - Ćmielów, Poland - Sound Of The Ages Festival, Stratocastle Zamek Ćmielów https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEhVayklXH4&time_continue=0&source_ve_path=NzY3NTg&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Frockandrollgarage.com%2F Formed in London, England in 1968, UFO became in the following decades one of the most influential Hard Rock bands of all time. Besides Phil Mogg on vocals, some of the other classic members of the band were Pete Way (Bass), Andy Parker (Drums) and Michael Schenker (Guitar). In almost five decades of career, the band released 22 studio albums, the final one being “The Salentino Cuts” (2017). They were a huge influence to famous bands like Iron Maiden, for example. For decades, the Metal band plays their song “Doctor Doctor” as the intro of their concerts. The band’s leader, the bassist Steve Harris is a huge fan of UFO.The post Michael Schenker 2026 tour dates appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.

Regardless of the profession, everyone has had at least one terrible boss or colleague in their life. Jethro Tull leader Ian Anderson had some unpleasant experiences with famous Rock stars who built a reputation for not being nice in the business. One of them is Van Morrison, known for being a member of Them and for solo hits such as "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Moondance". Speaking to Classic Album Review in 2025, Anderson described Morrison as “truly bad, like really unpleasantly not nice.” Why Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson hates Van Morrison "I have yet to meet, apart from Chuck Berry, Van Morrison and one other person who escapes me at the moment, who snubbed me. I've yet to meet someone who wasn't actually a nice person and a warmth and a humor about them. All the bad guys in Rock and Roll, some of them are my pals. I mean, the baddest people in Pop and Rock, they turn out to be really nice and fun guys. Even if their exterior (don't show) that." "Ritchie Blackmore (for example), perfect gentleman, nice guy. They don't live up to the bad PR reputation which they have all been blessed and cursed, which obviously maintain their credibility as bad boys. But the only ones who are truly bad, like really unpleasantly not nice (like) Van Morrison... We befriended at a time when he was really down in the dumps in Montreux. My wife cooked dinner for him and his girlfriend because he was really in a depressed state about his career, his future and whatever." He continued: "We were all nice to him and he wasn't exactly fun and joy to be with. But you know, he was ok. But subsequently, he really snubbed me. All it takes is just to say 'Oh, hi' and then you're on your way. He just snubbed me in a not nice way and that happened to me two or three times only in all my musical life. Most of the time all the bad boys turned out to be usually pretty good boys. At least with me, they're always very polite. All of Emerson, Lake & Palmer had terrible reputations, all really nice guys." "(...) (With Chuck Berry) I just went over to say hello to him, it was a festival somewhere. He was sitting in an open top Mercedes, which apparently he had demanded from the promoter. (...) Chuck Berry was sitting in his car having refused to go to a dressing room. He just sat in the car until it was his turn to go on stage and then drove away straight away afterwards. I saw him and just wanted to say hi. 'Hello, Mr. Berry, I'm also playing at the festival and you know, great to see you here. Used to hear your music when I was a teenager and started playing'." Ian Anderson continued: "Whatever I would have said, I didn't get the chance to say because he just gave a cold look and turned away. He didn't react or said anything, just turned away. I think Chuck Berry was pretty unfriendly guy to most people. Van Morrison is unfriendly even to members of his own band. I mean, he's notoriously disgruntled, angry person. He can't help the feel that he's angry with himself or something. There's something weird about Van Morrison. The only time I interact with him back in Montreux, whenever it was back in 73, 74. He seemed (to be) in a state of real depression. I mean, (with a) damaged psyche and yet he was still close to the peak of his acceptance particularly in the USA, where he was a big star." "But something wasn't right and he was a lost soul. Some people are like that and I dare say, before I let you go that I'm sure there are people who could deliver similar stories about me. So I shouldn't forget if somebody approaches me at the wrong moment, at the wrong time, I may not be in a particularly friendly mood to have to do a selfie or shake hands with somebody. I try to tell me to (be nice), it doesn't cost me anything to say: 'Oh hi, nice to see you. Thanks for coming to the show,'" Ian Anderson said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). Anderson almost recorded a song with Van Morrison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpHX44EdD5M&pp=ygUaIHZhbiBtb3JyaXNvbiBtb3VudHJleCAxOTc%3D Ian Anderson said in an interview with My Planet Rocks in 2021 that the Johnny Kid and The Pirates song "Shakin' All Over" was one of his favorites of all time. He recalled that he once tried to record a cover of the track with Van Morrison, but it ultimately did not happen. “It was the first song that really grabbed me out of the three-minute pop song stuff. It sounded a bit angry. I remember many years later persuading Van Morrison, who was at a bit of a loose end. So I said, you know, ‘let’s go and record ‘Shakin’ All Over’ and he said ‘yeah, okay’. So we all rehearsed and got everything together.” “Then for some reason I think he chickened out. We never did do Van Morrison remake of ‘Shakin All Over’. But it would have been great. It was just absolutely the right song for him,” Ian Anderson said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). Van Morrison is two years older than Ian Anderson, he was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and started his career in 1958. He first achieved fame as the frontman of Them, band known for hits like "Gloria", "Baby, Please Don't Go" and "Here Comes The Night". Morrison became even bigger a solo artist with songs like "Brown Eyed Girl", "Into the Mystic" and "Moondance". He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 1993 by The Band's guitarist Robbie Robertson. Over the decades Morrison became a good friend of Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page. The post Why Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson hates Van Morrison appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.

On January 3, the US launched an illegal attack in Venezuela that resulted in the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Attorney General Pamela Bondi wrote via Twitter-X that the couple has been indicted and will "soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts." For Vice President JD Vance, because "Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States for narcoterrorism," these military strikes were legal. This, despite the fact that these strikes were conducted without congressional approval in a clear violation of the Constitution and the separation of powers.

Death remains a very difficult topic for scientists to study. While there are some reports of near death experiences (NDEs) or people being revived after being declared dead, we've never been able to definitively confirm what happens beyond the grave. Further complicating things, death is often either sudden and unexpected, or a slow and drawn-out process. It's hard to get accurate readings and measurements at the exact moment someone passes away.However, in 2021, researcher Dr. Raul Vicente and his colleagues at the University of Tartu, Estonia, became the first people ever to record the brainwaves of someone in the process of dying, and what they’ve come to realize should be very comforting to everyone. “We measured 900 seconds of brain activity around the time of death and set a specific focus to investigate what happened in the 30 seconds before and after the heart stopped beating,” Dr. Ajmal Zemmar, a neurosurgeon at the University of Louisville, US, who organized the study, told Frontiers. Brain scans at the exact moment of death are rare. Photo by Keith Tanner on Unsplash Fascinatingly, the discovery was a complete accident.The patient who died while having his brain waves measured was 87 years old and had epilepsy. While researchers were studying his brain to learn more about the condition, the man had a heart attack and passed away. “Just before and after the heart stopped working, we saw changes in a specific band of neural oscillations, so-called gamma oscillations, but also in others such as delta, theta, alpha, and beta oscillations,” Zemmar said.The findings were so special and rare because the man just happened to be hooked up to machines that could measure his brain waves; a miraculous coincidence. - YouTube www.youtube.com The different types of brain oscillations that occurred in the patient before and after the heart attack were associated with high cognitive functions, including dreaming, concentrating, memory retrieval, and memory flashbacks. Therefore, it’s possible that as the patient was dying, they had their life flash before their eyes. What an amazing and comforting experience right before leaving this mortal coil.“Through generating oscillations involved in memory retrieval, the brain may be playing a last recall of important life events just before we die, similar to the ones reported in near-death experiences,” Zemmar speculated. “These findings challenge our understanding of when exactly life ends and generate important subsequent questions, such as those related to the timing of organ donation.”The positive findings line up with reports of NDEs and first-hand observations from hospice workers. Medical workers who work with dying folks report they often have visions of visitations and conversations with deceased loved ones, almost as if those relatives and friends are preparing to guide them over to the other side. Many people who have been declared dead and lived to tell the tale, or suffered an extreme NDE, report feelings of calm and peace rather than fear and pain.How long are people conscious after they are technically dead?Science has found that people can remain conscious up to 20 seconds after they are declared dead. Even after the heart and breathing have stopped, the cerebral cortex can hang on for a little while without oxygen. So, some people may experience the moment when they hear themselves declared dead, but they aren’t able to move or react to the news. In cases where someone performs CPR on the deceased person, the blood pumped by the compressions can temporarily keep the brain alive as well. The brain can remain active for 20 seconds or more after death. Photo by Stephen Andrews on Unsplash Although the experience of death will probably always remain a mystery, we should take solace in the idea that, in many cases, it may not necessarily be a miserable experience but an ecstatic final burst of consciousness that welcomes us into the great beyond. “Something we may learn from this research is: although our loved ones have their eyes closed and are ready to leave us to rest, their brains may be replaying some of the nicest moments they experienced in their lives,” Zemmar concludes.This article originally appeared in February. It has been updated.

There's the Boomers, the Millennials, Gen X, and now the Xennials. Never heard of Xennials before? You're not alone! It just so happens that the term Xennial first appeared in an article for GOOD Magazine by writers Sarah Stankorb (who coined the term) and Jed Oelbaum. It was described as "a micro-generation that serves as a bridge between the disaffection of Gen X and the blithe optimism of Millennials." Other unique terms have come to describe this group (roughly estimated to have been born between 1977-1983).These include The Star Wars Generation, The Oregon Trail Generation, and Generation Catalano (the latter suggested by Slate writer Doree Shafrir in reference to Jordan Catalano on the hit 90s TV show My So-Called Life). Xennials have a unique place in the world, as they straddle the line between growing up in an analog world and transitioning to the internet as teenagers. Xennials may take selfies but feel a little weird about it and probably really don't like QR code menus, but aren't going to have a meltdown over it. During his recent Netflix is a Joke special, comedian Nate Bargatze gave us the reasons Xennials are truly awesome and unique. Here are a few hilarious takeaways from Nate's bit on the topic: "When I was a kid, it felt like the '50s. You'd go outside and your parents just didn't know where you were. We went to school to school and played Oregon Trail on a computer at school! No one had a computer at home - it's like what are you a Zillionaire?"Xennials had privacy growing upWhile Nate confirmed he got AOL, a home computer, a beeper, and a cell phone in high school, he didn't have social media until he was 26 with Myspace."Whatever I did in high school is a rumor. It can't ruin my life!" - YouTube www.youtube.com Bargatze had a hard time explaining Chromecast to an older manOn a hotel stay, the Chromecast on his TV stopped working so he called the front desk. "The oldest voice I ever heard answers the phone. This guy was a Civil War survivor. I mean, he was the age where you just go 'Thank you for your service.' So I tell him my Chromecast is not working and I could have just made up a word. I mean, he's never heard of that. I could have said 'My beep bop broke.' He goes, 'Look, I don't know what this is. But there's a younger guy, I'm gonna send him up, he'll be able to help you."A guy shows up, Nate mused, and he's "his dad's age." Nate immediately determined that if he can't fix it, this guy can't either. "But he's the generation that still wants to give it a try. So he comes into my room, sits on my bed, just a little too far back, I thought."He then said the guy grabbed the remote and just started pressing everything. Nate suggested, "I'm gonna turn the shower on, open a window, let's try everything!"The "pressing all the buttons" tactic shockingly doesn't work. Nate shared that the guy finally says, "Alright, there's a younger guy. He's about to come to work. And at this point, I'm like 'I'm the younger guy, man. It's alright dude, I don't need it.' And he goes, 'No, no, no, it's a Millennial." And I was like 'Alright, now we're getting somewhere. This is what the Millennial does. He was born with technology, he's gonna know how to fix this!"So the guy said the Millennial will arrive to work in an hour. And Nate quipped, "Let me tell you. You know how quick that Millennial fixed it? Well, I'll never know because he just didn't come to work that night."And guess who relayed this message. "I found out because the old guy called me. He was supposed to fill in for him. He was furious, dude. He hates that Millennial. He goes 'He never comes to work. He doesn't take it serious. He's got a peanut allergy.'"In the end, it took a Xennial to figure it out. "I ended up fixing it myself, because it was just unplugged. So that's yeah…that's my fault."Watch the full bit below: - YouTube www.youtube.com Just like Generation Jones, Xennials have unique qualities that don't necessarily fall in to either surrounding age group. If you tend not really relate to your prescribed generation, it might be worth seeing if you relate more to those lesser-known age groups in between.This article originally appeared last year.

Few people understand kids better than their teachers. Not only do they spend all day with their students, but teachers get to know their kids' parents pretty well, too. From parent-teacher conferences to field trips and snack days, it's a collaborative relationship meant to foster their child's development into a fully functioning adult. With the teacher-student relationship comes insight beyond their academic strengths and struggles, though. They also pick up on how their kids' parents are helping, or hindering them, as they grow. One TikToker, @elenanico22, is the daughter of a retired teacher, so she interviewed her mom Lisa in early 2025 to get some insight on the question: "What's one thing you saw people messing up with their kids?"Lisa's response was simple: "They didn't enjoy them." Elena asks her mom to elaborate, and she goes on to share, "Kids are fun. You’ve got to enjoy them. They wanted them to be something that—most of us aren’t exactly what other people want us to be—so enjoy the kid you have." @elenanico22 Lisa says it like it is #momlife #momsoftiktok #momwisdom #momtok #momhumor #parenting #parentingwisdom To drive the poignant point home, Lisa turns to Elena in the video and says, "I enjoyed you."The comments were flooded with positive replies from moved parents: "Kids aren’t a chore, they’re a joy. ?," one wrote. Another added, "Parents are stressed, and they don’t realize how quickly childhood goes by." A mother and daughter embrace.via Canva/PhotosThe post also resonated with other teachers and professionals who work with kids. "This is so true. I work in childcare and lots of parents literally cannot stand their kids. They get so angry when we close. They can’t wait to drop them off and pickup last minute. Breaks my heart," one commented. Another wrote, "Toddler teacher. Same. So heartbreaking. I saw it a lot when I worked with highly educated parents with high incomes." One teacher shared her own experience, writing, "So true. As a elementary teacher sometimes playing Barbie Dreamhouse with my 4 y/o is the last thing I want to do but I always do because I know I'll be wishing for it one day ♥️." Still another professional shared, "As a pediatrician, I agree."The video concluded with another piece of strong advice from Lisa: "Never send your kid to school with carrots." The reason? She explained a story involving a prominent doctor at her school who was "super strict" with what his kids could and could not eat at school."So, of course, what did the kids want? Everything they couldn't," she said. You are bound to have kids who are going to have food issues." Psychology backs up the retired teacher's thoughts on sending your kids to school with carrots for lunch. It's called reactance theory, which states that when people feel their freedom is being restricted, they are more likely to do the opposite of what is being asked of them. So, parents who want to raise healthy kids who turn into healthy adults should allow them to eat treats in moderation. - YouTube www.youtube.com Plenty of parents offered their thoughts on this last tidbit. "Omg I love her! Please post more. As a mom I’m enjoying time with my kids, loving their personalities and so anti food restriction teaching them intuitive eating. Because I wasn’t taught those things," one commented. Another shared, "The food statement is so true. My son shared that a boy from his class (who has food restrictions) steals the other kids snacks at school! ?❤️?"This article originally appeared last year. It has been updated.

I've always really liked cliches, idioms, proverbs, and common phrases we tend to use over and over. They can get repetitive at times, but they're crucial tools in communication. They allow us to convey so much meaning in so few words—a commonly understood shorthand that can get complex points across quickly.The only problem is that many of the most popular idioms in common use date back hundreds of years. In that time, they've either become outdated or seen their words adopt new meanings. In some cases the idioms have been shortened or reversed, losing important context. So when someone tells you to "bite the bullet," you may inherently know what they mean—but if you really stop and think about it, you have no idea why it means what it means.If you're a word nerd like me, you'll be absolutely fascinated by the origin and evolution of some of these common idioms, and how they came to mean what they mean today.1. Sick as a dog / Working like a dog May this dog never get sick or have to work. media0.giphy.com Ever have a cold and tell someone you're "sicker than a dog?" Kind of rude to dogs, in my opinion, and a little strange. I've had dogs my whole life and can't remember any of them coming down with the flu.Sick as a dog actually originates hundreds of years ago, if not longer. Some explanations say that in the 1700s, stray dogs were responsible for the spread of many diseases, along with rats and other gutter critters. There are also references as far back as the Bible to dogs eating their own vomit—sounds pretty sick to me.What about working like a dog? Dogs are the laziest creatures around! For this one you have to remember that dogs as "pleasure pets" is a relatively recent phenomenon. Before that they had to earn their keep by working tirelessly on the farm to herd and protect the animals.2. Sweating like a pig The math isn't mathing on this one. media3.giphy.com This is an extremely common idiom that we all use and accept. There's just one problem with it: Pigs don't sweat!So...what gives? You might be surprised to hear that 'sweating like a pig' actually has nothing to do with farm animals.According to McGill University: "The term is actually derived from the iron smelting process in which hot iron poured on sand cools and solidifies with the pieces resembling a sow and piglets. Hence 'pig iron.' As the iron cools, the surrounding air reaches its dew point, and beads of moisture form on the surface of the 'pigs.' Thus, 'sweating like a pig' indicates that the 'pig' (i.e. iron) has cooled enough to be safely handled. And that's a 'pig' you wouldn't want to eat."3. Bite the bulletBite The Bullet Adam GIFfrom Bite The Bullet GIFs Biting the bullet refers to sucking it up and doing something hard, something you don't want to do but is necessary, and accepting the difficult consequences and/or pain that comes with it. But what does that have to do with biting a bullet?There are different theories on this. One common explanation is that in the olden days it was common for soldiers on the battlefield receiving surgery to bite down on a lead bullet. You've probably seen people in movies biting down on a piece of wood or leather strap. Since lead is a softer metal, it would give just a little bit between their teeth and not damage them. So the idiom 'biting the bullet' means, "Okay, this is going to suck, just bite down and get through it."4. Healthy as a horseBojack Horseman Memefrom Bojack Memes This one has always confused me. As a layman, it seems like horses are prone to injury and have trouble recovering when they hurt themselves. More research shows that horses can not vomit, which means they are highly at risk for deadly colic episodes. Doesn't sound super healthy!The best explanation I can find for healthy as a horse is that, again, in the olden days, horses were symbols of health and strength and vitality. Which checks out—they're really powerful, majestic creatures.5. Slept like a babyGood Night Memefrom Good Night Memes To many parents, this common idiom is rage-inducing. If babies sleep so well, why am I so exhausted all the time?!Yes, babies are notorious for waking up every few hours or at the first sign of hunger or a dirty diaper. It puts their parents through the wringer (another strange idiom!). But to the outside observer, a sleeping baby is pure bliss. They are so innocent and blissfully unaware of anything going on around them—after all, if they're not sitting in a dirty diaper they really don't have too many other things to worry about. Also, despite all their shenanigans, babies do sleep a lot—around 17 hours a day or so. When you put it that way, the idiom starts to make a little sense.6. Happy as a clamAlice In Wonderland Oysters GIFfrom Alice In Wonderland GIFs Clams are a lot of things. Some people find them delicious, others disgusting. One thing I think we can all agree on is that clams don't seem particularly happy, which makes this idiom a bit of a conundrum.The truth is that this phrase is actually derived from the full version: "Happy as a clam at high water."At low water, or low tide, clams are exposed to predators. At high tide, they're safe in deeper water. That's about as happy as mollusk can get!7. The proof is in the puddingFood Making Pudding GIFfrom Food Making GIFs Hey, we all love pudding. But what the heck does this mean? If you're not familiar, it refers to judging something based on the results it generates—but what that has to do with pudding is a bit of a mystery to most people.This is another example of a shortened idiom that makes more sense when you read the full, original line: "The proof of the pudding is in the eating."According to Dictionary.com it "originated as a reference to the fact that it was difficult to judge if the pudding was properly cooked until it was actually being eaten. In other words, the test of whether it’s done is taking a bite."8. Don't look a gift horse in the mouthHorse Mask The Six GIFfrom Horse Mask GIFs I've always been a big fan of this idiom, which basically means that it's rude to over-analyze or criticize something you got for free, especially when it was a nice gesture from a friend or loved one.But here we go with horses again! This phrase likely originated from the fact that you can determine a horse's age and health by looking at its teeth. So if someone were to give you a horse as a gift, it would be rude to immediately try to see how "good" it was by looking in its mouth.9. Clean as a whistleWhistle Blow The Whistle Stickerfrom Whistle Stickers Whistles are objectively disgusting. They collect spit and germs every time they're used. I certainly wouldn't hold them up as a beacon of cleanliness.So what gives with this idiom? There are several possible explanations that have been proposed.First, a whistle won't work, or won't work very well, if it has debris blocking up its inside. So you can think of "clean" in this case as being "empty or free of clutter." Another possibility is that, in this idiom, clean refers to sharpness—as in the sharp sound a whistle makes—and that inference has been lost over time.10. Pull yourself up by your bootstrapsI Pulled Myself Up By My Bootstraps Pulling Myself Up GIFfrom I Pulled Myself Up By My Bootstraps GIFs This phrase is commonly used to describe someone who was "self-made" and built themselves up into a success from nothing. Imagine lying on the floor and hoisting yourself to your feet using only the straps on your boots.The only problem is...that's impossible! And that's exactly the point. This idiom is actually meant to be sarcastic and to imply that "socioeconomic advancement...was an impossible accomplishment," according to Useless Etymology.11. Have your cake and eat it tooGreedy Having Cake And Eating It Too GIFfrom Greedy GIFs Why bother having a cake if you can't eat it? That's the mystery of this extremely common idiom or proverb (sometimes worded "you can't have your cake and eat it, too")The explanation is actually really simple. "Have" in this case really means "keep" or "hold onto." So, in that case, it makes perfect sense that you can't eat your cake and also still have it. "You can't have it both ways," would be another way of saying it. This saying likely began in a letter from Thomas, Duke of Norfolk to Thomas Cromwell in 1538. Thomas wrote,"A man can not have his cake and eat his cake."The quote appeared again in 1546 in A Dialogue Conteinyng the Nomber in Effect of All the Prouerbes in the Englishe Tongue, a book of proverbs by John Heywood:"Wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?"12. Head over heelsOohboy In Love GIFfrom Oohboy GIFs Very rarely do people describe being deeply in love without using this phrase. But it's a confusing one, because isn't your head always over your heels? That doesn't seem to be an extraordinary state of being.The idiom here has actually been flipped over time for unknown reasons. According to Dictionary.com, the saying originally went "heels over head," implying upside down. The saying originated in the 1300s, took its "present form" in the 1700s, and took its present meaning in the 1800s.13. Pushing the envelopeKeyandpeele Envelope GIFfrom Keyandpeele GIFs When I think of radical, risky, or pushing the limits of what's possible, sliding an envelope across a table just somehow doesn't quite capture it for me. But an envelope doesn't have to be just a paper container that you put other paper in. It can actually refer to different parts and practices of an aircraft."Push the envelope comes from aeronautics, where it refers to a set of performance limits that may not be safely exceeded," according to Merriam Webster. Now that's more like it!This article originally appeared last year.