Word, Term, or Saying Origin

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It's probably an easy one since I know the answer, but how about:
Checkmate

That's a hard one -- the king is trapped, dead ?? - not sure -- did Chess originate from India or China and maybe it's a translation from their language?
 
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"Balls to the Wall", "Shotgun" and "Dashboard"!
 
"Balls to the Wall", "Shotgun" and "Dashboard"!
Balls to the wall - turn around to the wall so the cops can cuff you ? :laugh4:Not sure ?? No idea.

Shotgun -- as in riding shotgun? So jumping next to the driver of stagecoach to be the shooter?

Dashboard - was that from the old horse & carriage that had a vertical board up to prevent mud and other debris flying up from the horses hooves? Dash of salt -- dash of mud ?

:thinking:
 
That's a hard one -- the king is trapped, dead ?? - not sure -- did Chess originate from India or China and maybe it's a translation from their language?
I suppose like all things there is a debate where it started, but it's commonly agreed that "checkmate" is derived from Persian term shah mat which means "the king is frozen"
 
I suppose like all things there is a debate where it started, but it's commonly agreed that "checkmate" is derived from Persian term shah mat which means "the king is frozen"

Cool. Not far off. Persia ? ... as in the Prince of Persia :laugh4:

KmQulCT.gif
 
"Real Estate"
once known as "Royal Estate"
....in fuedal Europe, you couldn't own land unless you were at least knighted, or married into a titled family.
....or, you were Holy Mother Church.

....in other news, I got a call from a man who bought 100 acres south of my town that overlooks a nice river valley, and wants to build a 10,000 s.f. 2-story house. Prolly gonna cost him about $1.5m to $2m to build.
 
Close enough on the dead heat one. It comes from horse racing. They only tracked wins. If a race or "heat" ended in a tie, it didn't count - therefore it was considered dead.

Saved by the bell - boxing? Is it when a boxer survives a potential knock out by the bell ending the round?

In the old days when the plague was killing millions they used to double up family members in the same coffin. They would dig up a coffin to put someone with their family members.

Occasionally they would see scratch marks on the inside of the coffin. They realized they were burying people who weren't dead. So they cut a hole in the coffin and attached a string that went up the surface attached to a bell. If someone they thought was dead wakes up they could pull the string and alert the grave keepers that someone was alive. Hence the term, saved by the bell.

Which brings us to a bonus term. Someone would have to stay in the grave yard all night in case the bell rung. The term for that job was called the graveyard shift.