This is an I-Heart podcast.

And we continue with our American stories.

The story of the English language is itself something we cover, and we've been doing

it with a remarkable author, Andrew Thompson, who's written a terrific book, Hair of the Dog,

to paint the town red, the curious origins of everyday sayings and fun phrases. Here's Andrew,

with some more stories about phrases we all know,

but don't know why we use them. Sold down the river means to be betrayed or cheated or misled,

and it derives from the times of slavery in America. In the early 19th century when the slave trade

was in full swing, wealthiest state owners in northern

Mississippi would handpick the best slaves to live and work on their properties.

These slaves were in close contact with the families and lived in, relatively speaking, comfortable situation.

They're often treated well and sometimes seen his respected members of the family. But any slave who caused trouble or was considered unsuitable for the landowner's family

were put on a boat and sold down the river to the slave plantations on the lower Mississippi.

There the conditions were much harsher and life was cheap, so the slave was sold down the river.

Son of a gun is usually said to someone in a friendly way, and life was cheap, so the slave was sold down the river.

Son of a gun is usually said to someone in a friendly way, sort of a young rogue, you son of a gun.

And it's yet another nautical phrase.

Centuries ago, the British Navy allowed women to join sailors on long voyages and live on the ships.

Sometimes the women were partners of the sailors and sometimes they were prostitutes.

Pregnancies were common

and most babies were born in a designated area

behind the ship's gun.

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