Quote:
"its cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey"
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Well it a nautical term from when ships carried cannons and cannon balls. The rack used to store the balls when not in use was made of brass and was called a "Brass Monkey". When it was cold the brass would contract, and the cannon balls would fall off the "brass monkey" hence the phrase.
Quote:
"Kicking the bucket"
"Money for old Rope"
"Pulling your leg"
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These are from the act of public hangings. the first and thord were used when a person wanted to cheat the judge of the sentence of a slow death. By either kicking away the bucket on which the criminal stood early, or by having someone pull on the legs of the hangee they would die quickly and not suffer the full horrors of hanging. Phrase 2 comes from the grizzly act of selling off the hanging rope after the execution. The spectators would buy a section of the rope as a souvenir.
Bit gruesome, but I learned these while visiting Lancaster Castle, one of the last places in the U.K. to perform public hangings I believe.
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Holy Avenger of the OHF and part time Pinguindiebjäger