Today's Friday Quick Queries episode might have to wait until tomorrow or Sunday. We'll call it a special weekend edition. I'm feeling a little under the weather today, so I'm taking it easy and giving my voice a break.

As part of your light reading for the day, here's a little trivia about where the phrase "under the weather" actually comes from.

The expression has its roots in seafaring language from the 1800s. On sailing ships, rough weather could easily make sailors seasick or generally miserable. When that happened, the sailor was often sent below deck where the motion and wind were a little less brutal. Down there he was literally under the weather affecting the ship above.

So if a sailor said he was "under the weather," it meant he was feeling ill from the storm or rough seas and needed to rest below deck. Over time the phrase lost its direct connection to sailing and gradually became a general way to say you're not feeling quite right.

By the mid 1800s the phrase was already showing up in newspapers and everyday writing with the meaning we recognize today. One example appears in an 1835 newspaper called The Jeffersonian, where the writer casually mentioned that he felt "a little under the weather today."

So originally it could mean seasick specifically, but by the late 19th century it had broadened to cover any mild illness, fatigue, or just one of those days when you're not operating at full power.

Hopefully I'll be back to normal tomorrow and we'll get that Quick Queries episode out. In the meantime, now you know where the phrase came from.

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