Steel nails were so valuable at one time that when a house burned down, people would scavenge the site and reclaim the nails. Since door nails were bent over after being driven through the door, they could not be used; hence, they were dead.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
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2 comments:
I have been teaching a man who speaks Farsi for the last two years through our local adult literacy program. One of the hardest things is explaining expressions to him. Sometimes, it is really funny. One of the things that we work on is his conversational English. Yesterday, he asked me what "Dead as a door nail" meant. I knew the meaning but not the origin of the word. Thanks for your site. It keeps teaching interesting.
Sean Surlow, San Clemente, California
Thanks, Sean. Glad you like it.
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