As Brexit Rolls On, Enjoy These Westminster Tales

You probably don’t tune in to watch debates in the Houses of Parliament. Why should you when most MP’s and Lords don’t bother to turn up for most of their own proceedings?

Brexit built our political passions and just as quickly tore them down. Now we’re right back to the same old apathy. But what comes out of Parliament isn’t always archaic blather. In fact, there are some curious titbits that have found their way from Westminster into our everyday speech.

Heard the phrase “toe the line”? Perhaps you got a little big for your boots at your Saturday job and were expected to zip it, follow the rules and listen to your elders. This phrase originally came from the House of Commons.

If you’re not familiar with the main chamber the major parties sit facing each other on opposite benches. The front benches are on the same level and you can still see two lines drawn on the floor in front of them.

The distance between these two lines is just longer than twice the length of an arm holding a sword. Parliament used to be a lot more fun to watch and if the debate got overheated things could get physical. So to keep the two sides a safe distance apart the Speaker would call out anyone who crossed it, ordering them to “toe the line”

Another phrase you’ll know well is to have something “in the bag”, used when the outcome is a dead cert. This is another classic from the Commons, as  petitions signed by voters used to be brought to the House by MP’s and placed in a hessian sack hanging on the back of the Speaker’s chair.

If voters asked their MP what had become of their petition he would say “Don’t worry, it is in the bag.”  A symbolic velvet bag still hangs from the chair today.

Our final etymological fact from Westminster doesn’t come from inside the House but out. There was a famous case in Victorian London when a Horse Guard was accused of sleeping on duty. This was a serious charge and there seemed precious little he could do to prove his innocence.

The only evidence he could produce was that at midnight, when he was supposedly snoozing, he heard Big Ben strike – not the usual 12 but 13 times.

The accusation was grievous enough that the clock was checked. Lo and behold, they found a cog was out of place, producing 13 chimes at midnight. The guard was proved innocent, freed, and was forever known as having been “saved by the bell”.

The post As Brexit Rolls On, Enjoy These Westminster Tales appeared first on Felix Magazine.