Sophie Nieport – Bear’s Mill Manager
In May of 2024, I wrote an article describing the origin of some common sayings, tracing them back to old mills. Mills were a very popular place to be. Folks would gather at the local mill to wait for their flour. Socializing was very common, as was gambling and story-telling! So naturally, we get a lot of sayings from old mills.
One of my favorite gems I have found is using the rule of thumb. The current use of this phrase refers to an approximate method of doing something, based on experience rather than theory. By word of mouth, I was told this phrase originated in mills when millers would rub their product between finger and thumb to test the quality. If the coarseness was too high, the flour would need more sifting, resulting in more waste. A finer flour is more desirable. However, while researching this a little deeper, I feel Millers have falsely claimed the origin of this phrase. Historically the width of the thumb was equivalent to an inch in the cloth trade – so using a thumb instead of a ruler to measure out cloth width was a standard practice. In a much less glamorous meaning, it was rumored that an 18th-century judge stated that a man may beat his wife with a stick no wider than his thumb! I think I’ll stick to my mill origin of this saying.
What do you think of when you hear something is run of the mill? You may think that it is common, ordinary, and does not stand out from the rest. Yes, figuratively, if you work in a factory that makes run-of-the-mill products, you're producing something that is very boring and common – like a plain white light switch. Millions of plain white light switches get installed in new homes and buildings all over the world and are made to go unnoticed – they blend in with their surroundings. The literal origin of this saying comes from all of the material produced by a mill before it was graded and sorted. In other words, the total output from grinding grain before it gets inspected for quality, then sifted for higher-end products.
I also found in my research, a wonderful song written in 1970 by George Harrison, titled Run of the Mill. The beginning lyrics from this song include: “Everyone has a choice when to or not to raise their voices, it's you that decides which way you will turn.” I would recommend listening to his demo version, not the 2014 remastered version. Judas Priest also has a Run of the Mill 1974 song, and the band KUDZU released a whole album titled Run of the Mill in 2005.
I thought for sure, the phrase milling about would have originated from old mills – but I was wrong! The only origin I could find on the World Wide Web, was from a mid-20th-century American sociologist Herbert Blumer, who was interested in how crowds converge during times of uncertainty and restlessness. We use this phrase when referring to crowds that are moving around in a confused manner or with no obvious purpose. When I tried to connect this with the milling process, it seemed obvious to me: old mills were several stories tall, with many machines on different floors operating at the same time, with belts and pulleys moving grain in all different directions. To the untrained eye – this process would appear to be very confusing and it would be difficult to follow the grain and flour through the building, hence, the product seems to be milling about!
As I reach the end of my old mill phrase list, I am tempted to search for more, certain they are out there! But alas, I must focus on preparing for our next big event at Bear’s Mill, the annual Fall Open House on October 12 & 13 from 11:00am-5pm. As we continue to celebrate the Mill’s 175th birthday, we are excited for this year’s open house, as we have more to offer! Cheers to 175 years – now get back to the grind!