WHERE: Have you ever wondered where some phrases came from? For example, close but no cigar. The website https://www.ranker.com/ delved into the origin of common phrases, letting us know that this one came about when cigars were offered as carnival prizes.

Burning the midnight oil came from the time before electricity, and literally burned lamp oil late at night.

Jumping on the bandwagon — According to the website, “In the mid-1800s, circuses would parade around town before setting up, with bandwagons leading the parade. They drew large crowds, and politicians started renting space on the bandwagons to get face time with an audience. Over time, politicians would make calls of action not to ‘jump on the opponent’s bandwagon,’ and the phrase took on a negative connotation, meaning to mindlessly go along with whatever became flashy or popular.”

Time to face the music — “In Great Britain and the early American colonial era, disgraced military officers were drummed out of their regiment when discharged. Nowadays, this implies that we have to face the fallout of our misdeeds.”

Bite the bullet — “When no painkiller was available (in makeshift battlefield tents, for example), soldiers literally had to bite down on a bullet during surgical operations. To bite the bullet now just means to endure something necessary but unpleasant.”

Straight from the horse’s mouth — “Purchasing a horse was an expensive endeavor and unless you knew where to look, you could easily be swindled. A horse’s teeth, however, could tell you all you needed to know: the age, health, and general condition of the horse. So, literally, the horse’s mouth told you the truth. While ‘To hear it from the horse’s mouth’ is no longer literal, it means that you are getting the truth from an indisputable source.”