I've always really liked cliches, idioms, proverbs, and common phrases we like 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 In that time, they've either become outdated or seen their words adopt new meanings.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 Dog hard at work Giphy 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 Close up of pigs.Image via CanvaThis 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 bullet A person holds a plate of bullets.Image via Canva 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 horse A horse making a funny face. Image via Canva 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 baby A baby with glasses sleeping on a moon pillow.Image via Canva 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 clam Ocean Seafood GIF by Lorraine Nam Giphy 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 pudding Chocolate pudding.Image via Canva.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 mouth Smiling horse. Giphy 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 whistle A young boy blows a whistle. Image via Canva 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 bootstraps Two women laugh looking at a laptop screen Image via Canva 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 too Slice of cake. Giphy 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 heels tears for fears 80s GIF Giphy 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 envelope Two women at a gym push an oversized envelope. Images via Canva 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!

If you Google "smartest dog breeds," most lists that pop up put Border Collies in the No. 1 spot, followed in some order by Poodles, German Shepherds, and Golden Retrievers. But a 2023 study of canine cognition from the University of Helsinki puts a whole different breed at the top of the ladder—one that most of us have probably seen before but haven't heard the name of—the Belgian Malinois.Best known as a police or security dog, the Belgian Malinois is a shepherd breed that looks very similar to a German Shepherd. Both breeds are of similar height and coloring, but the Malinois is lighter weight and its ears are more triangular-shaped, according to the American Kennel Club. The Belgian Malinois is a shepherd breed often used for police and security work.Tomás de la Maza/Wikimedia Commons So, what is it that makes the Belgian Malinois more intelligent than other dog breeds?The study published in Scientific Reports analyzed 1,002 dogs from 13 different breeds using a battery of smartDOG cognition tests. These tests involve food reward tasks that determine a dog's capacity for memory, problem-solving, impulse control, reading human gestures, copying human behavior, and logical reasoning. Despite a wide field of research on dogs, only a handful of studies have examined cognition of specific breeds instead of breed groups. Additionally, not much empirical research has been done on nonsocial cognitive traits such as memory, inhibitory control, spatial problem-solving, and logical reasoning—all of which were covered in this study. Belgian Malinois scored 35 out of 39 points on three key tasks in the study. D. Williams/Wikimedia Commons The researchers identified a few different tests as signifying high intelligence. For the most significant measure of intelligence—logical reasoning—the study revealed no significant difference between the dog breeds. So, according to The Telegraph, the three tests the authors singled out instead for measuring and comparing intelligence were:- A V-detour test, in which a dog had to detour around a transparent V-shaped fence to get to a food reward, showing some problem-solving ability.- A human gesture reading test, in which a dog's response to five gestures—constant pointing, brief pointing, pointing with the foot, pointing at something while facing another direction, and following a human's gaze—was measured.- An unsolvable task test, in which a dog tries to access food in an unopenable box, measuring independence and how quickly a dog asked a human for help.The Belgian Malinois scored 35 out of a possible 39 points on these three tasks, making it the top scorer for high intelligence overall. Border Collies came in second with 26 points and hovawarts came in third at 25 points. Border collies are often listed as the smartest dogs, but they scored lower than the Belgian Malinois on key tests.Photo credit: CanvaThe study authors point out that there are strengths and weaknesses in most breeds. Some score very high on some tests and very low on others. Some breeds saw middle-of-the-road scores across most tests.According to IFLScience, one weakness the Malinois showed was in the cylinder test, in which a dog is taught to retrieve a piece of food from inside an opaque cylinder. The opaque cylinder then gets replaced with a transparent one to see if the dog will go around to the end of the cylinder to retrieve the treat, as it did with the opaque one, or try to go directly through the side of the cylinder to get to it. This test measures inhibition, and the Malinois scored among the lowest of all breeds on it.Every dog has its bright and dim spots, but it's clear why the Malinois is a dog of choice for security work: high intelligence is necessary, of course, but even being low on inhibition can be seen as a plus for a working dog that needs to be highly responsive and act quickly when needed. Belgian Malinois are highly responsive. Giphy GIF by VTM.be “The Belgian Shepherd Malinois stood out in many of the cognitive tasks, having very good results in a majority of the tests,” study author and owner and CEO of smartDOG Dr. Katriina Tiira told The Telegraph.“Border Collies also performed well in many of the tests," she added. Nice to throw the dethroned Border Collie a bone, there. This article originally appeared two years ago.

Few people understand kids better than elementary school teachers. Not only do they spend all day with kids, but teachers get to know their students' 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. (And let's be real: what parent hasn't gotten a call from their child's teacher to discuss their *questionable* behavior in the classroom?)Teachers are full of wisdom about kids, which is why TikToker @elenanico22 interviewed her mom Lisa, a retired elementary school teacher, in an advice video. She asked her mom to share her insights on the question: "What's one thing you saw people messing up with their kids?"And her 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 Of course, Lisa fully accepted her own daughter, and turns to Elena in the video and says, "I enjoyed you."And the comments were flooded with positive replies from parents to her response. "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 with her son on her back.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." And another teacher chimed in with, "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 ♥️." And another professional shared, "As a pediatrician, I agree."The video concluded with another piece of strong advice from Lisa, who also dropped this nugget: "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. A little girl enjoying her lunch.via Canva/Photos"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. And plenty of parents offered their thoughts on this. "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 in January 2025.

The actor found a surprising contract loophole.

A June 5 report by the Congressional Budget Office has found that illegal immigrants have received billions of dollars in taxpayer money, far outweighing their net contributions.  The report covers 2021 to the end of 2023, and attributes the surge of illegal immigration during this period to the Biden administration’s open border policies. The Federation for American Immigration Reform and the CBO have estimated the influx to be approximately 4.3 million individuals over the three-year time period.  According to this report, illegal immigrants paid roughly $10.1 billion in federal taxes; however, $7.1 billion of this figure included sales tax.  The Federation for American Immigration Reform notes that actual economic growth due to the surge of migrants, as reflected in income tax, amounted to only $1.6 billion, and that this lackluster growth is in part due to “a lack of English language and other skills limiting illegal aliens’ work prospects and thus their contributions to the economy.” The addition of this revenue to the U.S. economy is largely overshadowed by the fact that these millions of immigrants have enjoyed the full benefits of taxpayer funding, to the tune of $19.3 billion in the studied timeframe. Even when counting sales tax revenue as fiscal gain, the CBO reports that the net cost to state and local governments was $9.2 billion in the report’s sample. The expenditures by governments within the sample include services such as health care, policing, and other social services. Many states are required to provide shelter to illegal immigrants, which costs $3.3 billion in 2023 alone. According to the CBO, this amount was twice what the same group of immigrants provided in income taxes.  The Federation for American Immigration Reform states that current legal precedent requires schools to afford the same level of education to illegal immigrants as to U.S. residents. The schooling allowances tallied $5.7 billion, the largest expenditure in the study.  A September 2024 study by the Manhattan Institute revealed other ways in which Biden’s mass acceptance of undocumented immigrants would cost the United States over time. The study, which analyzed the costs of illegal immigration to the economy, states, “The real concern from this finding is that the fiscal future of the U.S. is dire.”  Results were also extrapolated to the long term: “This report finds that the border crisis will cost an estimated 1.15 trillion over the lifetime of the new unlawful immigrants.” These high expenses associated with the influx of illegal aliens into the U.S. highlight the monetary consequences of the Biden administration’s lax border, and how American taxpayers are paying the bill.  President Trump’s immigration policy, on the other hand, has resulted in an immediate and continuous reduction in the number of illegal entries to the United States. The National Immigration Forum concluded in April that Trump’s immigration approach “contributed to record-low border encounters, with just 7,181 apprehensions in March 2025, a 95 percent decrease from March 2024.” READ MORE: Illegals Posing as Minors Imperil Our Children Media Focused on South While Cartels Move to the Northern Border Sanctuary Cities: The Dangerous Illusion of Virtue The post CBO Finds That Taxpayers Footed Massive Costs of Illegal Immigration Under Biden appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Get access to TheQuartering meetup and Range Day - https://lukeunfiltered.com/ ARREST of Elon Musk Coming?! Tucker Drops Spying BOMBSHELL We're moving into a new type of STATE that will be in EVERY aspect of your life.

by R. Cort Kirkwood, The New American: Far-left Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom will sue the Trump administration to stop its federalizing the National Guard to quell what President Trump is calling an insurrection in Los Angeles. The insurrectionists attacked federal immigration and other agents, and then local police, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested illegal-alien […]

by George McClellan, America Outloud: In case you didn’t realize it, consider the unintended consequences to US-Russia treaties that may have been shattered because Ukraine, in a demonstrably clever sneak attack, destroyed 42 Russian strategic bombers as they sat exposed on their airfield pads. “Exposed” is the clue word. Since Reagan’s day, they sat out […]

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