Go to the link to get the background on the words
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/12-old-words-that-survived-by-getting-fossilized-in-idioms
1. Wend
You rarely see a wend without a way.
2. Deserts
The desert from the phrase "just deserts" is not the dry and sandy kind, nor the sweet post-dinner kind.
3. Eke
If we see eke at all these days, it's when we "eke out" a living,
4. Sleight
"Sleight of hand" is one tricky phrase.
5. Dint
Dint comes from the oldest of Old English, where it originally referred to a blow struck with a sword or other weapon.
6. Roughshod
Nowadays we see this word in the expression "to run/ride roughshod" over somebody or something,
7. Fro
The fro in "to and fro" is a fossilized remnant of a Northern English or Scottish way of pronouncing from.
8. Hue
The hue of "hue and cry," the expression for the noisy clamor of a crowd,
9. Kith
The kith part of "kith and kin" came from an Old English word referring to knowledge or acquaintance.
10. Lurch
When you leave someone "in the lurch," you leave them in a jam, in a difficult position.
11. Umbrage
Umbrage comes from the Old French ombrage (shade, shadow), and it was once used to talk about actual shade from the sun.
12. Shrift
We might not know what a shrift is anymore, but we know we don't want to get a short one.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/12-old-words-that-survived-by-getting-fossilized-in-idioms
1. Wend
You rarely see a wend without a way.
2. Deserts
The desert from the phrase "just deserts" is not the dry and sandy kind, nor the sweet post-dinner kind.
3. Eke
If we see eke at all these days, it's when we "eke out" a living,
4. Sleight
"Sleight of hand" is one tricky phrase.
5. Dint
Dint comes from the oldest of Old English, where it originally referred to a blow struck with a sword or other weapon.
6. Roughshod
Nowadays we see this word in the expression "to run/ride roughshod" over somebody or something,
7. Fro
The fro in "to and fro" is a fossilized remnant of a Northern English or Scottish way of pronouncing from.
8. Hue
The hue of "hue and cry," the expression for the noisy clamor of a crowd,
9. Kith
The kith part of "kith and kin" came from an Old English word referring to knowledge or acquaintance.
10. Lurch
When you leave someone "in the lurch," you leave them in a jam, in a difficult position.
11. Umbrage
Umbrage comes from the Old French ombrage (shade, shadow), and it was once used to talk about actual shade from the sun.
12. Shrift
We might not know what a shrift is anymore, but we know we don't want to get a short one.
