[Northkeep] Did you know where these expressions came from?

[Jennifer Carlson]

Diarmaid wrote:
> 
> Bring home the bacon -- debated. It may derive from a tradition in Dunmow Flitch rewarding a young couple, it may be from a county fair greased pig competition, 
> 

 
Um, the town is called Great Dunmow, not Dunmow Flitch.  "Flitch" is the word for a side of bacon.  The English tradition of the Dunmow Flitch allegedly goes back to the early 12th century, when the Augustinian Prior of Little Dunmow was approached by a couple who had been married a year and a day to ask his blessing.  Impressed by the marital devotion of the humbly dressed couple, he bestowed on them a flitch of bacon as a gift. (So much for Augustinians sticking to a meatless diet).  Anyway, the couple revealed themselves to be the local nobles, Lord Fitzwalter and his lady.  Lord Fitzwalter then pledged to give his lands to the abbey providing that the abbey on the condition that that any recently married couple who could similarly prove their devotion to each other be gifted with a flitch of bacon.  The tradition continues to this day.  The "Dunmow Flitch" is mentioned in Chaucer's "Wife of Bath's Tale."  Lists of "winners" of flitches date to the mid-1400s.  Today, it is an annual event, in which young couples appear before a "court" (traditionally comprising 6 bachelors and 6 maidens) and testify to their devotion.
 
In period, "bacon" often referred to the entire pig carcass, and this usage engendered the phrase "to save one's bacon," i.e., to escape injury or death.  As a specific reference to flesh-meat, it often meant the side and back meat, whereas today, in this country, bacon is specifically pig's belly.  There has been discussion on the SCA Cook's list that in England in period, bacon as flesh-meat meant everything but the hams (gammons).
 
Pigs have in many cultures over time been the most common meat source, as pigs multiply quickly.  A mature sow can drop multiple litters in one year, as opposed to cattle and sheep, who reproduce generally once a year.  Pigs are omnivorous and forage, so as long as you can keep them out of the corncrib, they do not generally compete with other livestock for pasturage.  So, pork ("brawn" is the English period term) was probably the most common meat on the table, and continued to be even into modern times in many places.  Hence, "bringing home the bacon," may refer to the ability to put food on the table rather than to provide a luxury item.  Classically, ham is the luxury cut of a pig.
 
 
Talana
Whose family estates are overrun with feral pork. Really.  The damn things can ruin a good pasture overnight.  Eating them is an act of revenge as much as it is a pleasure.