Posted by Wayne on June 13, 2001 at 13:58:20:
In Reply to: Re: Under Water Communication posted by randy54 on June 13, 2001 at 13:43:43:
I was told it was an acronym for "FOR UNLAWFUL CARNAL KNOWLEDGE" and was used as an abbreviation in the papers to euphemistically refer to adultery in the early days of European settlement of America.
I think the best of these expressions having taken on new meanings are the ones associated with steam engines and thier Watt Governors (fly-ball governors). Running fast was "running balls-out". An uncontrolled overspeed condition usually caused by a broken belt would cause a failure of the rods which hold the weights. They would shout: "BALLS TO THE WALL!" as a warning. We often hear these expressions and think they mean something different, but they are descriptive terms of late 19th century manufacturing technology.
Wayne