"A Pig in a Poke"

A pig in a poke is an item or an idea that seems to be one thing but might well contain something different. In medieval England, small pigs were sold at market in pokes, or little bags. At times, however, some crafty farmers took to putting a cat in the bag and tried to sucker someone into buying the pig without looking inside the poke. If they looked, the farmer would warn, the pig might run away. Those skeptics who did look invariably "let the cat out of the bag."

"The Whole Nine Yards"?

"She had clowns, ponies--that kid's party went the whole nine yards." Is there some sport where nine yards is a lot of yards? If not, why is the whole nine yards used as an example of generous excess? One theory is that the phrase originally referred to the amount of fabric on an entire bolt of cloth. For a particularly elaborate garment, all nine yards of cloth would be used.

"Angst"

You're 14, and you just realized you've bought the wrong kind of sneakers. Or your 24, and you don't know what you're doing with your life. Angst is German for "anguish" and signifies psychological suffering. The word is sometimes prefaced by "existential," which gives it a deeper, more troubled tone. If you suffer from existential angst, you don't need the sneakers to turn you into an anguished puddle. The mere fact of existing in this world is torment enough.

"Flotsam' and 'Jetsam'"

Flotsam and jetsam is a fancy way to refer to junk, waste or unimportant loose ends. The term refers to cargo from a ship that ends up in the sea. Flotsam is goods lost in a wreck that float on the water. Jetsam is goods tossed overboard (jettisoned) in order to stabilize a ship. Jetsam sinks. According to maritime law, flotsam and jetsam forever belong to their original owner, but if someone else finds the stuff, he or she is entitled to a salvage award.

"No Man's Land"

During the middle ages, no man's land was located outside the north wall of the city of London, where criminals were displayed. Since even minor crimes were punishable by death, there were plenty of bodies--hanged, beheaded, impaled--to serve as a warning for others.
Eventually, a gallows was built inside the city proper. Years passed, and all around London land was settled and fields were cultivated--except for the former execution grounds, which were claimed by no man. No man's land was the term used to describe the area, and only later, around 1900, was the phrase picked up in military parlance.

"The Three Musketeers"

  They came from the mind of Alexander Dumas the Elder. He wrote the novel The Three Musketeers in 1884. The setting is 17th-century France, and the musketeers-- Athos, Porthos, and Aramis-- are swordsmen who serve King Louis XIII. Together they defeat Cardinal Richelieu in his plot to embarass the royal family. The confusion about whether the musketeers were real arises because Louis XIII and Richelieu did indeed exist. But like many authors, Dumas used historical figures as foils for his fictional characters.

"Maven"

Mavens pop up all the time on the tube. The airwaves are alive with fashion mavens, wine mavens and, of course, media mavens. Maven is Yiddish for "expert," but keep in mind that the word is often used sarcastically:  "Baseball mavens predicted the end of the strike this week, but the mavens struck out."

Liberals to the left and Conservatives to the right, Why?

In 1789 the First French National Assembly convened after the Revolution. The assembly was packed with 1177 deputies. As it happened, the liberal or radical members were seated to the left of the speaker, and the conservative members to the right. The practice spread, and the terms left wing and right wing are still used around the world to denote the two political beliefs,
liberalism and conservatism.

The difference between a gourmet and a gourmand is?

  Discretion. Pickiness. Taste. Knowledge. Put simply, a gourmet is a conoisseur of fine food and wine; a gourmand is one step short of a glutton- "one who is excessively fond of eating and drinking."