Do you ever wonder where sayings come from ie 'dead as a doornail' or knock on wood'?

Question

Feel free to insert your own, I think origins are fascinating :)

Answer 1

http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?fr=ybr_sbc&p=Old%20Sayings

There are so many! Old sayings passed down from one generation to the next. The link I have put on here goes to Yahoo Search, from there, you can find about any old sayings that you can imagine.

Answer 2

Knock on wood came from a druid belief that when you mentioned misfortune, you then struck the tree to waken its spirit to negate any bad luck you wished on yourself.
Dead as a doornail came from carpenters. Once you tapped a nail out from a hinge or lock, it was compromised and couldn't be used again, so it was considered "dead" (useless)

Answer 3

Zeus was the God of Luck and all wood was dedicated to him, so when people were referring to their luck, they would touch wood in tribute to him. That's why we say knock on wood.

and yes, I love learning why we say things.