Why do we say 'daily grind', 'rule of thumb', or 'grist for the mill'? There would once have been hundreds of mills through-out the Yorkshire Dales - corn mills, cotton mills, woollen mills. You can still see many of the former buildings or spot place names related to mills.
I live in a former corn mill and love how so many English expressions relate to mills. When I moan about my 'daily grind', it harks back to the much harder and monotonous job the miller in my house once had - grinding corn every day.
Farmers and others would have brought their grain here to be ground, sometimes in a hurry but they would each have to 'take their turn', waiting for the millstones to turn and grind the grain. 'First come, first served'.
To make good flour, you need to 'separate the wheat from the chaff' - the chaff being the seed casing which isn't good to eat. Once the grain was separated from the chaff, it' became 'grist for the mill'...
I might wish I didn't have to keep 'my nose to the grindstone' and work so hard but sitting at my desk is nothing compared to the miller's dangerous task. They had to keep their nose to the grindstone or at least watch out/smell potential burning. If the grindstones became over-heated in a mill which was full of wood, fire would break out.
An architectural historian pointed out a huge old wooden beam, slightly charred and lodged in the wall of the wheelhouse (wheels no longer there) of the former mill I live in. They explained that mills frequently burnt down, and then had to be re-built, when the miller would use whichever materials were unspoilt. The historian suggested that chunk of wood is up to 800 years old, when a mill was first built on this site.
You might sometimes complain about a 'millstone round your neck'? Not something you'd really choose - millstones were of course very heavy to carry and the task was difficult.
Millers also had to apply their skill and judgement with a 'rule of thumb' - taking a pinch of flour after they'd ground it to rub between finger and thumb to decide if it was fine enough.
I'll share some other expressions relating to wool and cotton mills another time.
I took this video of a man-made waterfall which I believe once served a corn mill, in a hidden spot - see tomorrow's post to find out one of my favourite little places in the Dales (although I'm still in two minds about sharing it...
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