Where words and phrases come from is a fascinating subject, full of folklore and historical lessons. (Today, we move on to phrases beginning with H)

* Hack-work - drudgery

* Origin: In Old English a hackney was an ordinary horse (ie: not a thoroughbred) suitable for general use, especially for riding by ordinary ladies. The name may have come from Hackney in London, where horses used to be raised. Shortened to hack, the word became a metaphor for a person hired to do low-grade work. This scornful sense is found, in such terms as hack-work (drudgery) and hack-writer as well as in hack in the sense of 'low-grade journalist'.

* Hail from - come from, live

* Origin: In olden days, it was natural for sailing ships passing at sea to hail each other, and a ship that announced it was from a certain port was said in nautical jargon to 'hail from' it. The term gradually came to be transferred to people and their hometowns.

* Hair-raising - make one angry or resentful

* Origin: The hackle of a cock, peacock, pigeon, is the long shining feathers on the neck, which are puffed out when the bird is angry. The word was later used in the plural for the hairs on the back of a dog's neck, which also rise when it prepares to fight, and metaphorically for angry feelings in people.

* Halcyon days - calm, peaceful, happy time

* Origin: Halcyon is the Greek, and in English literature a poetic word, for a kingfisher.

In Greek mythology, this bird was fabled to breed at the time of the winter solstice (December 21), the shortest day of the year, in a nest floating on the sea, which it was able to charm into calmness so that its eggs could be safely hatched.

A period of calm usually lasting about a fortnight before and after the winter solstice was therefore known as the halcyon days, though the expression has come to have a wider application.

* Hamlet without the prince - event from which the principal performer or star attraction is absent

* Origin: The reference is to the play Hamlet in which the central character is the Prince (of Denmark), namely Hamlet himself.

It was Wordsworth who first noted, in a letter of 1793, the story of a company of strolling players who advertised a performance of Hamlet and announced, at the beginning of the performance, that they hoped the audience would forgive the omission of the character of the prince.

* Hammer and tongs - with great force or violence

* Origin: From the effort and energy needed by a blacksmith holding a piece of hot iron in place with tongs while hammering to on the anvil. The smith has to act quickly to strike while the iron is hot, for cold iron cannot readily be shaped. He may also have other irons in the fire, material being prepared for working on.

* Hand over fist - rapidly

* Origin: Normally used of making money or overhauling someone. This was originally 'hand over hand', a nautical expression applied to the speedy hauling in or descent of a rope by using alternate hands, rather than by the slower method of using both hands together.

* Hang by a thread - exist precariously

* Origin: Originally 'hang by a hair'. The sword of Damocles was, according to the Roman orator and philosopher Cicero, a sword hung from the ceiling by a single hair.

It was so placed at a banquet above the head of the sycophantic courtier Damocles by Dionysius the Elder, ruler of Syracuse from 404 to 367 BC, to remind Damocles of the precariousness of the power and privilege which he envied.

It is still a popular metaphor for any great and threatening evil that may befall one at any time.