Idioms: Blood, Sweat and Tears
What is the origin of the idiom “Blood, Sweat and Tears?” (two are correct)
1. From Winston Churchill’s famous speech to the House of Commons in 1940 when British morale was at its lowest point after the failure at Dunkirk. He spoke with brutal honesty when he said, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”
2. From the John Dunne poem of 1611 in which he spoke of the travails and glories of love,
“It is with thy tears, or sweat or blood
Nothing is worth our travail, grief, or perishing
But those rich joys which did possess her heart.”
3. Attributed to Queen Elizabeth who publicly professed herself a “woman wanting both wit and memory,” in keeping with the chauvinist sentiment at the time, but she also privately wrote, “this crown only stays on my head with blood, sweat and tears,” referring to the constant palace intriques.
4. From the Bible, Book of Job, God tests the faith of the righteous man Job, by destroying Job’s property, killing off his family and then afflicting him with loathesome sores. Job exclaims, ” And yet I will persevere through these blood, sweat, toil and tears.”
