Instead of focusing on the issues at hand, the presidential race has become a childish game of "hurting each other's feelings". Barrack Obama referred to John McCain's policies as putting lipstick on a pig in a speech in Ohio. Obama claims that he meant that McCain was using Bush's same policies, trying to make them look more attractive under the guise of change. McCain's camp reacts by saying that Obama has sunk to new lows, making fun of Sarah Palin. This doesn't even make sense since Palin used the same sort of saying in her speech with the joke: "What's the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom? Lipstick". And McCain himself used the exact saying "lipstick on a pig" in a speech in May of this year referring to Hillary Clinton's ideas. The candidates should be explaining their policies and viewpoints instead of engaging in this debate over language.
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Since they started it, let's take this time to look at the meanings and origins of 6 funny sayings involving pigs.
"Lipstick on a pig"
Meaning: The act of trying to make someone or something unattractive more appealing to others even though it will obviously remain unattractive.
Origin: There has been similar sayings to this tracked back as far as 300 years with the similar saying "making a silk purse out of a sow's ear". The exact phrase itself "lipstick on a pig" has been tracked in newspaper articles to as early as 1955 when a representative of Colorado called overhauls to child-support amendments cosmetic... "It's like putting lipstick on a pig. When you're through, it's still a pig". Similar sayings include: "lipstick on a donkey" and "lipstick on a frog".
"Pig in a poke"
Meaning: An offer or deal that is accepted foolishly without being examined.
Origin: The earliest example of this saying that has been found is in Richard Hill's Common Place Book from 1530, which gave this advice to market traders: "When ye proffer the pigge open the poke." This makes no sense until you realize that a poke is a small bag and is the origin of the word pocket. I guess that a piglet could be carried perfectly in such a small bag. When you buy something you should make sure it's what you wanted to buy and not just a pig.
"Pearls before Swine"
Meaning: A high quality item which is offered to someone who cannot appreciate it.
Origin: The earliest example of this saying is in the King James Bible: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet". If you offer something of high value to someone who is uncultured they will surely ruin it.
"Pig's Ear"
Meaning: There are two distinctly different meanings of this term. The first is cockney rhyming slang for beer. The second meaning is a mess or muddle.
Origin: The earliest origin is from the cockney rhyming slang. From W. Barrett's Book Life and Work Among Navvies in 1880: "Now, Jack, I'm goin' to get a tiddley wink of pig's ear." I'm not sure what the tiddley wink is referring to but he's definitely telling Jack he's going to get a beer.
"Pig and Whistle"
Meaning: Pub. It's a common name for British or British-style pubs.
Origin: Has been found as early as 1794 to refer to going to pigs and whistles meaning falling to ruin. In the Scottish poem Har'st Rig: "For he to pygs and whistles went, And left the land." A "pig" has also been known to mean an earthen ware pot or pitcher. There's a pig and whistle in the city I live in. Theme bars have appropriate the name world wide.
"High on the Hog"
Meaning: Affluent or luxurious.
Origin: The earliest use of this is from Henry Louis Mencken in 1941 in the Nevada State Journal: "There was the customary amount of tear-shedding over business, but certain shows prospered. Among those still eating high on the hog - to filch a dandy from Mr. Mencken - are 'Sons of Fun', Let's Face It'..." Eating high on the hog means doing very well.
