Which one do you use?

Calling someone a “basket case” is far darker than you think. Slang 101

Image: Nick Fewings

A lot of slang terms and everyday words have surprisingly rich backstories tied to real historical events and practices. From dire situations to the flicker of oil lamps, these expressions once described literal experiences before turning into figures of speech. You probably use quite a few of these, but did you know what they really mean?

Image: Oleksandr Voloshchenko

"Run-of-the-mill" these days means something ordinary or unremarkable, like in the sentence: The film on television last night was very run-of-the-mill.

Originally, the phrase referred to ungraded lumber coming straight from a sawmill—nothing selected or special, just the standard output.

Image: GR Stocks

To have a chip on one’s shoulder means acting defensively or aggressively, as if expecting to be mistreated, like in: He’s hard to deal with; he’s always had a chip on his shoulder about his lack of education.

The phrase comes from the old practice of a man placing a wood chip on his shoulder, daring others to knock it off and start a fight.

Image: Mallory Johndrow

The idiom a witch-hunt refers to the unfair pursuit or persecution of people with unpopular views, often without proper evidence.

It comes from real witch-hunts in history, especially in the U.S., where many were accused of witchcraft during periods of mass hysteria.

Image: David Popkov

The idiom have an axe to grind means having a personal or selfish reason for getting involved in something, as in: I have no axe to grind, I just want to help.

It likely comes from a story Benjamin Franklin told about a man who tricked someone into sharpening his axe under the pretense of curiosity.

Image: Robert Gramner

The idiom bark up the wrong tree means to make a wrong assumption or take the wrong approach, like in: You're barking up the wrong tree if you think you can influence the judge.

It comes from raccoon hunting, where dogs sometimes mistakenly barked at the wrong tree, thinking the raccoon was there.

Image: Sergio Arze

The idiom on the breadline means living with barely enough money, as in: The widow and her children were living on the breadline.

It dates back to the Great Depression, when the poorest queued for free food at soup kitchens run by groups like the Red Cross and Salvation Army.

Image: Bernard Tuck

The idiom burn the midnight oil means to work late into the night, often while studying or finishing tasks.

It comes from the time before electricity, when people used oil lamps for light. Though the lamps are long gone, the phrase is still used.

Image: Steve & Barb Sande

The phrase make the grade means to meet a required standard or succeed, though many assume it comes from school.

But it originates from railroads, where powerful trains had to climb steep gradients—if they reached the top, they "made the grade."

Image: David Trinks

The idiom show your true colors means to reveal your real character or intentions, often after hiding them.

It comes from pirate ships that sailed under false flags to trick their targets, only raising their true flags when ready to attack.

Image: Unseen Histories

The idiom the time is ripe means the moment is ideal for action or change, drawing from the image of perfectly ripe fruit: sweet and ready, but quick to spoil if missed.

Martin Luther King Jr. used this phrase in his 1968 speech Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution to stress the urgency of social action.

Image: Omar Roque

The term basket case began during World War I, referring to soldiers who lost all four limbs and had to be carried in baskets.

Over time, it came to describe someone seen as helpless, overwhelmed, or mentally unstable, often due to extreme stress or anxiety.

Tango, Bravo

Codewords decoded: How many did you know?

In situations where clear communication is paramount, especially when lives are at stake, professionals often rely on standardized codewords and phonetic alphabets designed to prevent confusion. Either from movies or from personal experience, it's probable that you've heard at least some of these before, and many have found their way into everyday conversation. Let's find out how many of these code expressions you can recognize.

Mayday is the international distress call used when the sender is in immediate, life-threatening danger. Pilots and mariners use it to signal that they require urgent assistance due to situations such as engine failure, fire, flooding, or medical emergencies.

The word was introduced in 1923 by British radio officer Frederick Stanley Mockford, who based it on the French phrase m'aider, meaning "help me," in an attempt to make it internationally recognizable. Hearing this transmission immediately alerts emergency responders that every second counts.

Not every emergency is severe enough to warrant a mayday call. When a crew faces a problem that is urgent but not immediately life-threatening, the appropriate codeword is Pan-Pan.

Like mayday, it comes from French: it derives from panne, meaning a breakdown or mechanical failure. A Pan-Pan call might be used if an aircraft loses an engine but can still fly safely, or if a ship experiences equipment problems while remaining under control. It tells responders that assistance is needed, but that the situation has not yet become critical.

Few emergency signals are as universally recognizable as SOS. Contrary to popular belief, the letters do not officially stand for "Save Our Ship" or "Save Our Souls." It was adopted in 1906 because SOS is an extremely simple, easy-to-transmit, and unmistakable pattern in Morse code.

SOS remains one of the world's most enduring distress signals, and it's still recognized by rescue organizations all around the globe.

In the NATO phonetic alphabet, each letter is assigned a unique word to eliminate confusion when radio transmissions are distorted by noise or poor reception. If you've ever heard someone spell a name as "Mike Alpha Romeo Yankee," you've encountered the NATO phonetic alphabet.

The system was officially adopted by NATO in the 1950s and is now widely used by militaries, airlines, emergency responders, and many police departments worldwide. Using it greatly reduces the chance of misunderstanding important information over radio.

Roger dates back to the early days of radio communication, when the letter R stood for "received." Before the adoption of the NATO alphabet, the US military used Roger instead of Romeo to represent that letter_._

Although modern communications systems have changed and the US military has fully embraced the use of the NATO alphabet, Roger remains standard aviation terminology, and it's one of the best-known radio acknowledgments in the world. It conveys a very simple but important meaning: "I have received and understood your message."

Although many people assume Roger and Wilco mean the same thing, they actually convey different messages. Wilco is short for "will comply." In other words, it tells the sender not only that the message was received and understood, but that the instruction will be carried out.

Saying both Roger and Wilco is technically redundant in proper radio communication, since complying necessarily implies understanding, but the combination is often heard in movies and television.

In the NATO phonetic alphabet, Tango simply represents the letter T. However, US military personnel have also adopted it as a shorthand when referring to a target or a hostile.

This secondary meaning became widely known through military operations in the twentieth century and has since appeared in countless books, films, and video games in phrases like "We've got one Tango moving north."

Oscar Mike, NATO for the letters O and M, is military shorthand for "On the Move." It's a quick way of reporting that a unit has begun moving toward its objective.

The expression is especially common in the US military and has become more familiar to the general public through documentaries, memoirs, and films. It's finding its way into civilian life, meaning simply "I'm heading out."

Ten-codes were developed during the 1930s to allow for brevity and standardization of message traffic in radio communications. They were widely adopted by US public safety departments and by radio enthusiasts.

While the system is being slowly phased out in favor of plain language communications, many local police, fire, and sheriff departments keep using it, and it is still strongly associated with radio culture by the general public. One of the most famous ten-codes is 10-4, meaning "received and understood."

Hospitals around the world use color-coded announcements to communicate emergencies without causing unnecessary panic among patients and visitors. Perhaps the best known is Code Blue, indicating that a patient is experiencing cardiac or respiratory arrest and requires immediate medical assistance.

While some hospitals use their own custom color codes, Code Blue has become so widely recognized that it now appears frequently in television dramas and everyday conversation whenever someone refers to a life-threatening medical emergency.