WD-40

In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair.
Commonly, a long, wide board was folded down from the wall and used for dining.
The "head of the household" always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor.
Once in a while, a guest (who was almost always a man) would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal.
To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge.
Sitting in the chair, one was called "the chair man."
Today in business we use the expression or title "Chairman" or "Chairman of the Board."
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Needless to say, personal hygiene left much room for improvement.
As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood.
The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions.
When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face, she was told "mind your own bee's wax."
Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a smile."
Also, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt, and therefore the expression "losing face."
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Ladies wore corsets that would lace up in the front.
A tightly-tied lace was worn by a proper and dignified lady as in "straight-laced."
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Common entertainment included playing cards.
However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards, but only applicable to the "Ace of Spades."
To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead.
Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full deck."
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Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what was considered important to the people.
Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars and they were
told to "go sip some ale and listen to people's conversations and political concerns.
Many assistants were dispatched at different times.
"You go sip here," and "You go sip there."
The two words "go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term "gossip."