During the gold rush people were trying to make fortune panning rivers, looking for nuggets of gold. But few rivers ever panned out enough of the stuff to make them rich, but the practice did enrich the English language with this phrase, plus, another one: "Flash in the pan", a hint of something valuable that turns out to be short-lived and disappointing, probably from the flashes of what were thought to be chunks of gold in your pan, but turn out to be other, worthless metals.
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Origin of "Pan Out" and "Flash in The Pan"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
-
Look at the heart in the nose for around 10 seconds. Then look at a white or light wall blinking your eyes. You will be amazed. -
Many people think that this euphemism for dying comes from the last action of someone about to hang themselves, kicking away the bucket on w...
No comments:
Post a Comment