Why Do We Say That?

APPLE OF MY EYE
This is another phrase that comes from the Bible. In Psalm 17:8 the writer asks God "keep me as the apple of your eye.

GOLLY GOSH
In the past it wasn't polite to use the exclamation 'God'. Instead people said Golly! or Gosh! Sometimes they said Heck! instead of Hell.

WIDE BERTH
A berth is the place where a ship is tied up or anchored. When the anchor was lowered a ship would tend to move about on the anchor cable, so it was important to give it a wide berth to avoid collisions, Today, to give someone a wide berth is to steer clear of them.

WHIPPING BOY
Prince Edward, later Edward VI, had a boy who was whipped in his place every time was naughty.