Where words and phrases come from is a fascinating subject, full of folklore and historical lessons (continuing phrases beginning with C)

Bear the Cross - affliction or misfortune we have to tolerate

Origin - An allusion to Christ’s being required to carry the cross on which he was to be crucified, an event still re-enacted in some modern ceremonials.

Cross the Rubicon - make a fateful decision from which there is no turning back

Origin - The Rubicon was a small river, which formed part of the boundary between ancient Italy and the province of Cisalpine Gaul (now northern Italy). In 49 BC, Julius Caesar took the decision to cross this to march into Rome. In the political circumstances of his day, this precipitated war between him and Pompey and led to his dictatorship and eventual assassination.

Cry wolf - raise a false alarm

Origin - This is from a fable by Aesop. A shepherd boy cried ‘Wolf, Wolf ‘ for the fun of seeing people come running from the village to help stave off the danger; when a wolf actually did come, nobody took any notice of the boy’s cry and his sheep were killed.

Cuckoo in the nest - misfit; a person not conforming to their group

Origin - The cuckoo removes and eats one egg from a number of nests built by other species, replacing it with an egg of her own. She then migrates, leaving an unsuspecting foster parent to hatch and rear her offspring. Shortly after hatching, the nestling cuckoo - which hatches earlier than the other birds - destroys the other eggs in the nest by tipping them out. It then rapidly outgrows the entire nest.

Curate’s egg - a thing which has good and bad parts.

Origin - The phrase originates from a famous cartoon in Punch in 1895 showing a bishop entertaining a curate to breakfast. The bishop apologizes that the curate’s egg is bad: the curate humbly replies that parts of it are excellent. As a bad egg is of course bad all through, the curate’s reply owes more to courtesy than good sense.

Curry favour - Seek favour by fawning or flattery

Origin - Originally Favel was the horse in the Roman de Fauvel (1310), a French satiric poem that was a dominating literary influence in the 14th Century. In the story, Favel was an ambitious and cunning horse, who deceives and corrupts the greedy leaders of church and state.

To curry a horse is to comb or dress it with a metal comb, called a curry-comb; in the poem, the rich and powerful humiliate themselves by bowing down and combing the coat of the false leader, i.e. by ‘currying Favel.’ In the course of time, ‘Favel’ became the more familiar and obvious ‘favour’

Cut and dried - completely decided; fixed beforehand

Origin - Now used of decisions, arrangements, opinions, etc., which are the subject of no further change. Originally applied to cutting herbs in the field and then drying them, so that they could be sold cut and dried, ready for immediate use