I love the study of etymology and researching the origin of phrases! I have links to several great sites that discuss the origin of many common phrases and sayings and many of yours I have read myself! As a matter of fact, everything you just posted comes directly from this site I have bookmarked!!
Phrases
"Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite" originated from the old "rope beds" which had ropes instead of springs to hold up the mattress. The weight of one or two sleeping adults would loosen the ropes, making for a poor night's rest. Every day they had to be tightened or the sleepers' butts would hit the floor by the end of the night!I have two antique rope beds and I can tell you, they do sag unless you tighten them! And the mattresses, especially in poorer homes, were most often filled with marsh hay which was loaded with bugs and creepycrawlies!
"Tied to her/his mother's aproan strings" evolved from the practice of mothers literally tying their toddlers to their apron strings while they worked lest they wander into the large open fire hearths and get burned!
In Colonial America, baths were indeed a luxury, taken perhaps once during the colder months. The heavier outerwear, e.g. shirts, vest, pants, jackets were washed once over the winter; the undergarments perhaps once a month!
The most common cause of death in Colonial days (for women) was infection resulting from burns; NOT childbirth! Women working all day at those large, open hearths were at great risk of their long skirts catching on fire. As a rule, most women wore wool, instead of cotton skirts, even during the summer, as the wool, as opposed to cotton, first smolders rather than igniting in flames!
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