2007-01-29 01:23:12 · 3 answers · asked by rd1551@sbcglobal.net 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Graveyard shift comes from the people sitting in the grave yard all night listening for a "dead ringer"....
dead ringer comes from the bell they tied to a "dead" person's foot that would ring if they started moving... this is before embalming so it was quite possible for someone to be buried alive... then the person on the grave yard shift woudl dig them up...
don't know about the bridal stuff though
2007-01-29 01:26:00 · answer #1 · answered by J-Rod on the Radio 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, the above explanations are false stories that have been passed around. Go to this page from Snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/1500.htm
It has a passage at the top with those phrases, as well as a few more and the false story of how they were created. Then under that box, they go on to explain where the phrases really came from.
Edit: Snopes is a reputable web site that debunks urban legends. They also list references at the bottom of each page so you know where you could find the information for yourself, unlike a lot of other pages that discuss things like this.
2007-01-29 13:24:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
J-Rod's got it nailed
2007-01-29 09:31:12 · answer #3 · answered by Jed 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋