HARVEST SOME KNOWLEDGE!

Don't have a cow about these 10 farm-related idioms!

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A quote often attributed to American author Herman Melville says: "They say you can’t make a living on farming, but doing anything else isn’t really living at all." We are pretty certain that anyone who has tasted the joys of farm life will at least partly agree with this mentality. Life in the countryside can surely be hard work, but the feeling of waking up to the first light of dawn shining over golden fields of hay can’t be compared to anything else.

Farms are truly the backbone of many nations, and their influence can even be seen in the way we speak. We have compiled ten of our favorite idioms based on farm life for your enjoyment. So make hay while the sun shines and take a look!

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The year was 1990 and a family of animated yellow characters was taking the world by storm. At the peak of their popularity, The Simpsons were featured in any promotional object you could think of: coffee mugs, frisbees, and, most importantly for this story, t-shirts. Bart Simpson t-shirts were a staple of the early 90s, usually featuring the laidback enfant terrible saying his now iconic phrase: "Don’t have a cow, man!"

Whenever someone says this idiom, it usually means that someone is overreacting and should calm down. While its exact origins are not clear, they can be traced to at least the 1950s.

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If, for whatever reason, someone decides to show their affection by gifting you an equine companion, you’ll be glad to have this idiom to teach you the proper etiquette for receiving such a gift. Don’t worry, no need to thank us.

This idiom means that you shouldn’t show ingratitude or a lack of appreciation after receiving a gift. Curiously, its first usage comes from the writings of St. Jerome, on which a Latin version of this idiom can be found. Apparently, the practice of looking into a horse's mouth was done in order to determine its age.

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While it is fairly common, most people fail to address how heartbreaking this idiom is. After all, how adorable would a little piggy flying around be? But alas, that’s what this idiom mercilessly describes: a complete impossibility.

This idiom can be traced back to at least the 17th century: its first recorded use comes from a 1616 dictionary by lexicographer John Withals. Most famously, English author Lewis Carroll included it in his iconic book Alice in Wonderland.

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A brief disclaimer: no donkeys were hurt in the making of this article.

Sometimes that chatty coworker who doesn’t seem to be able to stop talking seems like a menace. Well, if we take this idiom at face value, the danger of amputation seems to be a real possibility of being caught in an endless monologue about past holidays.

However, this idiom, which obviously means to talk incessantly, might actually be less violent than what it sounds. Some believe that it comes from Ireland, and that it originates from the fact that donkeys don’t usually sit down on their rear ends. In that sense, the phrase, which is a direct Gaelic translation, would actually mean talking so much that you made an exhausted donkey sit down.

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We won’t blame you if you, like us, are not particularly proficient in using farm tools. Having said that, you are probably familiar with this idiom, which is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as "a difficult situation to deal with."

Its origins date back to 19th century America, where a big portion of the population was a farmer or worked on farms. Interestingly, folk hero Davy Crockett used this idiom in his Tour to the North and Down East, written in 1835. In it, he states: "I never opposed Andrew Jackson for the sake of popularity. I knew it was a hard row to hoe, but I stood up to the rack."

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We understand if you aren’t as happy in the mud, but it can’t be denied that pigs seem to love it. The idiom’s meaning is fairly self-explanatory: it simply means to be extremely happy, enjoying a situation that brings joy to your heart.

Other variants for this idiom exist, and some can be traced as far back as the 19th century. According to these other versions, pigs are also happy in clover, puddles, or muck

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An idiom that means to face a difficult situation in a brave manner, to take the bull by the horns certainly sounds like the most dangerous idiom in this list. At the very least, this idiom does give a certain wild and exciting sense to that task you keep pushing back.

The origins of this idiom are certainly debatable. Many believe that it comes from Spanish matadors, although wrestling down a bull by the horns doesn’t seem like a standard matador practice. Most agree that it likely originated in American barnyards, and from a 19th century sport called "bulldogging."

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This idiom brings to mind the image of an Old West poker table, on which a farmer decides to bet his entire farm on that poker of aces that certainly can’t lose. And while that might certainly be the case, the truth is that the origins of this idiom are uncertain.

Some believe that the meaning of this idiom, which is to take a substantial risk, comes from the fact that farm life involves a great deal of risk-taking itself. For farmers, choosing the best time to grow a crop or when to harvest it might mark the difference between profitability and financial ruin.

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"Beef up" is a pretty common idiom that means to build up or increase something. You might be wondering what, for example, an airport that recently strengthened security has to do with adding cuts of cow’s meat. However, when put into context, this idiom is fairly straightforward.

Apparently, the phrase "beefing up" comes from American college students from the 1940s, who exercised in order to increase their mass. Therefore, to beef up would literally mean adding more muscle (or strength) to something.

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We’ll end this article with a tasty entry. Bacon is definitively a breakfast staple and, according to this idiom, a synonym for bringing money home. Nowadays, someone who can "bring home the bacon" is someone able to provide for themselves or their family.

Etymologists are not entirely sure about the origins of this phrase, but most agree that it originated in a 1906 telegram sent to boxer Joe Gans by his mother, in which she urged her son to "bring home the bacon" and win a difficult fight. Apparently, sports journalists were fascinated by this idiom and they quickly popularized it throughout their articles.

LESS IS MORE

10 Of The Best Six-Word Stories Out There

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They say that brevity is the soul of wit, and when the complex art of storytelling is distilled into only six words, you end up with some fascinating literary artifacts. An example of a curious genre called flash fiction, these minimalist tales offer brief glimpses into all kinds of worlds and situations.

Kindred to short-form poetry, popular jokes, and other types of oral literature, six-word stories can be truly enthralling. But crafting a narrative with such limited space requires a masterful touch. Here we gathered some of the best for your enjoyment. Maybe it will even inspire you to write your own!

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A mother's worst nightmare. Many times erroneously attributed to Ernest Hemingway (another master of succinctness in his own way), this brief masterclass in storytelling only needs six words to indirectly imply a heartbreaking story of loss and unrealized dreams.

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A story of betrayal. You know what they would say about jumping off a cliff with your friends. And it doesn’t need to be a real cliff even, because what actually hurts the most is trusting someone to stay by your side, only to find out in the worst possible moment that they weren’t truthful.

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Authored by award-winning sci-fi writer Orson Scott Card, better known for his 1985 novel Ender's Game. Blending humor with an ominous theme, this intriguing short story leaves us thinking in what kind of world such a phrase could be uttered and pondering about what makes us human.

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Kind of bragging, really, but goes to show that it is even possible to write a romantic comedy—sort of—in this very limited space. Or a crime thriller, perhaps, if you take the metaphor literally. This one also serves as an example of a telegram-style narrative, using very few words per sentence.

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Another tearjerker, and even without knowing anything about the two main characters of the story, you can feel the pain of losing a brother or sister. On the other hand, you could certainly argue that this one is not entirely grammatically correct—and you would be right—but part of the fun in this type of short story is to let go of the usual rigidness of language and convention.

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A playful sci-fi parody of the classic "baby shoes" story, it gives us a different perspective from the usual science-fiction cliches. It leaves readers to wonder what could have happened to prevent someone from trying such an amazing scientific discovery. Maybe a time machine is not really worth it, after all. Or maybe it just doesn't work.

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Why is this genre so full of heart-wrenching stories? This one could be a lone entry in a personal diary or a whispered confession to a worried friend. It manages to condense the myriad of tragic details and everyday actions that can remind us of a person who, for whatever reason, is gone from our lives.

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Another story set in the realm of speculative fiction, this one introduces us to a classic trope of the genre: Teleportation. But have you ever thought about how the machine actually works? Maybe it is just destroying you and making an exact replica somewhere else, with all your memories and thoughts. But it just isn’t you anymore, because the original was vaporized instantly. And even if that existential problem is out of the way, what happens if it malfunctions? Well, I’m not buying a teleporter any time soon. Beware, early adopters!

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From strangers to lovers, then strangers again? Sadly, an almost universal experience! This six-word narrative traces the arc of a relationship with an economy of words that's as powerful as it is poignant. And while a bit depressing, it can be an honest timeline of how most human relationships go.

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This one could work great as the ending of a noir fiction novel or as the departing words of an antihero protagonist who ultimately decides to sacrifice himself for the greater good. It’s no wonder this is the tone that this short story conveys because its author is none other than comic book wizard Frank Miller, known for his dark stories and brooding characters.