“On cloud nine” is another way to say that you’re experiencing pure bliss. Imagine your happiest moment — maybe it’s time with your dog, taking a vacation to a new country, or eating your weight in potato chips. Whatever your road to happiness may be, there’s a long-standing connection between contentment and clouds, so let’s learn why cloud nine is the most joyous of them all.

The Online Etymology Dictionary notes that this idiom was coined by 1950, though it may have originated in the late 19th century. The International Cloud-Atlas was published for the first time in the 1890s, categorizing clouds into 10 types. The ninth type was cumulonimbus — notable for a fluffy appearance that may evoke feelings of comfort and happiness in cloud watchers. But even with the numerical categorization, there’s no direct proof that the International Cloud-Atlas inspired the idiom “on cloud nine.”

So what did? Well, there are some similar mid-20th-century idiomatic examples combining clouds with numbers. One of the earliest instances appears in Albin Pollock’s 1935 slang dictionary The Underworld Speaks, which reads, “Cloud eight, befuddled on account of drinking too much liquor.” By 1960, “cloud seven” implied happiness — the Online Etymology Dictionary suggests a potential connection to the idyllic “seventh heaven.” A reference appeared in The Dictionary of American Slang: “Cloud seven — completely happy, perfectly satisfied; in a euphoric state.”

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While many types of clouds evoke a dreamlike, euphoric state, “cloud nine” eventually became more popular than “cloud seven” and “cloud eight,” and we might find the answer as to why in pop music. “Cloud Nine” was a popular 1968 Temptations song, earning Motown Records its first Grammy. Almost 20 years later, in 1987, former Beatle George Harrison released an album titled Cloud Nine.  It’s fair to assume people are more likely to remember these musical references than they were to read any mid-20th-century slang dictionary, which may help explain cloud nine’s enduring popularity.

Some people will do anything to avoid confrontation. You might try “smoothing things over,” “keeping the peace,” or “turning a blind eye.” But if you want to display some of your displeasure or dislike, while still avoiding a direct confrontation, you might “give someone the cold shoulder.” 

This idiom refers to demonstrating indifference or anger through being rude or entirely ignoring someone else. It’s not the best method to deal with a problem, but it’s far from the worst.  

The origin of “cold shoulder” might come from old-fashioned dining etiquette. If you have a guest and serve them a cold shoulder of mutton, you’re giving them a negative experience. In one sense, cold mutton was once considered a poor man’s meal, but if a dish was intended to be hot and it came out cold, it could be a sign your host doesn’t think much of you and doesn’t put care into the service. 

The Scottish poet Walter Scott used cauld shouther (“cold shoulder” in the Scots language) in his 1816 novel The Antiquary. His affinity for the phrase came up again in his 1823 novel St. Ronan’s Well: “I must tip him the cold shoulder, or he will be pestering me eternally.” Since these two written references were not about food, and instead about the physical action of turning your back on someone, it’s likely the idiom comes from a more literal usage than the former theory. 

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You can use “cold shoulder” as both a noun and a verb: “To cold-shoulder someone” has the same meaning as “to give someone the cold shoulder. Even though it can be rude, cold-shouldering is employed regularly on sitcoms to heighten the comedy effect between characters. The dynamic between April Ludgate and Ann Perkins on Parks and Recreation is all about April giving Ann the cold shoulder through indifference or deliberately misunderstanding her. It makes it all the more satisfying when Ann and April have an emotional moment or work on something together. 

Outside of TV shows, the cold shoulder might feel right in the moment of conflict, but it’s always better to use your words.

If you’re a fan of The Office, the phrase “spill the beans” might conjure up the hilarious image of Kevin Malone spilling his bean-filled chili all over the floor. But for at least a hundred years prior, this idiom was used when someone revealed a secret, often too early or unintentionally. One of the most common theories about “spill the beans” suggests the phrase is rooted in ancient Greece, though that may not be as credible as some people imagine.

The theory comes from an ancient Greek voting method using black and white beans in a jar. Marvin Terban, author of the Scholastic Dictionary of Idioms, supports this theory, claiming the idiom came about because if the jar were knocked over, it would reveal the result before voting was complete. But linguist Laurel Brinton casts doubt on this theory (despite it being offered as a credible origin story in multiple places online). She told Reader’s Digest, “There’s just no evidence connecting it to the 20th-century examples.” 

While linguists may disagree on the origin of the idiom, we can trace its usage. The verb “to spill” has been used as an alternative for the verb “to divulge” since 1577, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. However, the phrase “to spill the beans” appeared in print in the early 20th century, in the context of political figures upsetting stable situations, either through their actions or by talking openly out of turn. By 1919, “spill the beans” had finally taken on the colloquial secret-revealing meaning it maintains today.

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But the early references don’t explain why “beans” were chosen, and there may not be a clear answer. However, there’s a possible connection with the early 19th-century slang “not to know beans,” referring to when people didn’t know anything about a certain topic. Beans were chosen for being small, like the tiniest details, so perhaps that connotation carried over into the early 20th century. Whether the origin is in ancient Greek voting systems or warnings about divulging knowledge, the phrase remains a popular idiom today. 

It’s hard to turn the other way when someone offers up enticing details, but as we all know, gossip often turns out to be false or exaggerated — you might even say it should be “taken with a grain of salt.” This popular idiom is used to preface information you’re not totally confident in. For example, if Betty tells you there’s a rumor a new manager will be hired, you might cautiously repeat that information, but with a disclaimer to “take it with a grain of salt.” The expression also can be used in more formal contexts, such as, “The data seems skewed, so take these results with a grain of salt.” The intention remains the same: The statement has a degree of doubt.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, an early recorded instance of this phrase is seen in J. Trapp’s mid-17th-century Commentary on Epistles and Revelation: “This is to be taken with a grain of salt.” But the expression is centuries older than that, originating from the Latin phrase cum grano salis, of the same meaning. 

One prevailing origin story posits that Roman author and naturalist Pliny the Elder was the source of the earliest version of the Latin phrase, written in his Naturalis Historia (77 CE). An excerpt of the translated text, which allegedly describes a recipe for an antidote to poison, reads: “Take two dried walnuts, two figs, and twenty leaves of rue; pound them all together, with the addition of a grain of salt; if a person takes this mixture fasting, he will be proof against all poisons for that day.” Some historians suggest that Pliny believed taking the mixture with a grain of salt would mitigate the effects of the potentially unpleasant concoction.

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The exact phrase Pliny used, addito salis grano (“after having added a grain of salt”), became cum grano salis (“with a grain of salt”) after being translated into modern European languages. However, the leap from the literal ingesting of salt to the contemporary metaphor is fuzzy. Like most metaphors, it was probably a natural progression. Just as Pliny’s antidote called for salt to lessen the effects of something questionable, we now take words “with a grain of salt” when they come from dubious sources.