Small Things Count

With so much bad stuff going on in the news, from possible corruption in Olympic skating judging to Ukrainian politics and rioting to the ever-present Justin Bieber (will he please go away?!), I thought a diversion was in order for today’s posting.  Therefore, I give you…the history behind the old American saying “It will cost an arm and a leg.

Blame it on the artists.  When it was time to do a likeness of George Washington, it had to be painted or sculpted because there were no cameras back then.  No problem.  Bring in an artist.  Then negotiate a fee.  Such a fee was determined not by, say, the number of people to be painted but by how many arms and legs would be included, because they’re harder to paint.  That’s why the Father of Our Country was depicted as sometimes with an arm held behind him, his lower half hidden behind a desk, or showing both arms and legs, depending on how much was in the budget.  When a fuller portrait was desired, the artist would say, “Okay, but it will cost you an arm and a leg.”