This is an IHeart podcast.

This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, and we tell stories about everything here on this show, including your

stories, send them to our American Stories.com.

Up next, we continue with our recurring series about the curious origins of everyday sayings,

the stories behind them.

Here to join us again is Andrew Thompson as he continues to share another slice from his ultimate guide to

understanding these mini mysteries of our precious English language. On Skid Row means a squalid

area where vagrants and derelicts live. And it's an expression that originated in the American

lumber industry of the 19th century.

Large tree trunks were hauled by rolling them along tracks made of greased logs that were laid crosswise.

This was known as the skid road because the trunk skidded across the logs.

The timber industry was booming at the time and many men came to the logging towns to find work.

The large numbers of single men created a demand for bars and brothels which would spring up

in a certain part of the town. This area also became known as Skid Row due to the imagery of

someone slipping or skidding down in society when falling victim to these vices.

By the 1930s, Skid Road had been altered to Skid Row and the wider use was born.

On the Bandwagon means to join in in an already successful venture, as normally said to jump or climb on the bandwagon,

and it has its origins in politics. In the 19th century in America, travelling bands or circuses would parade through towns on brightly coloured, well-decorated bandwagons.

They would often perform at political rallies and attracted large crowds of people.

Because the bandwagons were usually the centre of attention at any given event

cunning politicians often saw an opening and they would climb up on the bandwagon

interrupt the performance and campaign to the captive audience below

...