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Phrase Origins

Throw in the Towel
 

In the old boxing days many bruised fighters couldn't get to their feet when the bell for the new round began. Their managers new they could do nothing but give up since they were took weak to continue. As a signal, one of them would toss in an article used to soak up blood -- a towel or sponge.  Today's boxing regulations are meant to limit the brutality of the past. But the saying today meaning when you are forced to give up of "throwing in the towel" still remains.

Dead as a Doornail 

Before the days of the electric or mechanical doorbells, anyone coming to your house just had to pound a metal knocker that was nailed to the front door.  Sometimes it took a lot of heavy smacks to get attention.  This meant that the nails holding this metal plate on the door got a lot of wear, eventually having the life pounded out of them the knocker fell off.  Today anything that is totally withered or a failed project or situation that is hopeless is considered to be as dead as a doornail.

The Handwriting on the Wall

We know it today as a sign of some upcoming doom. But the origin goes back to the bible when Belshazzar, the successor to King Nebuchadnezzar got drunk one night and drank from  sacred vessels from the temple of Jerusalem. Afterwards, it was said that a mysterious hand appeared and wrote four strange words on the banquet room wall.  Only Daniel (the prophet) could interpret this writing, which he said was ominous. So, any warning today is referred to "the handwriting on the wall." 

The Life of Riley
 

This is not just an old television show from the 1950's.  Back in the 1880's an Irish comic/singer named Patrick Rooney created a song about Mr. Reilly, who imagined what his life would be like if he hit it rich in California. The song describes his wonderful life of leisure. Soon, many who heard it identified with how nice it would be and would repeat the song, making the phrase represent having a real easy life.

To Read Someone The Riot Act
 

It's real! Back in 1716, King George I of England issued a proclamation that if 12 or more people engaged in a demonstration, his officers were told to read these people this specific Act and send those rioters home. Only a few continued once the edict was read because you could be sent to prison for life. So, once this Riot Act got read, people calmed down rather quickly.

It's as easy as falling off a log
 

When something requires no skill at all, it is said to be as easy as falling off a log. Well, we all know how easy it is to fall off a log, right? Apparently, back in the old logging days, when city folks saw the loggers walk on the logs while they were in the water, they thought it was pretty easy, until they tried it. Then PLUNK!  It required no skill at all to fall off those logs. (The skill was staying on them!) This is how the phrase came to be.

Get the Sack
   

Today it means to get laid-off, probably with severance pay and even an explanation?  But, in the old days, artisans came with their own tools for the job (usually in a sack). When an employer wanted to fire someone, all he did was hand him his sack and tell him to take his tools and go! No justification was needed. Since the 17th century, the phrase has remained as an expression of losing your job (whether fired or laid-off).

Barking Up the Wrong Tree

Settlers hunted raccoons, possums and squirrels. Most hunting dogs would chase them up a tree and then bark until their masters came and shot the animals. Sometimes, the animal managed to sneak across to another tree w/o the dog seeing. So, the dog would continue to bark up a tree that didn't have any prey.  Soon, the phrase became known in social circles to mean anyone who is wrong about something and/or is being mislead. 

Face The Music
   

When you've got some unpleasant situation, you simply just grin and bear it and deal with it. This is what a soldier who was being discharged dishonorably had to do. He was given his walking papers, then forced to walk through the ranks of his fellow comrades while instruments played some march for ousted soldiers. The ritual wasn't fun, but the soldier had to deal with it directly. Thus, he had to face the music (instruments playing) and his fellow soldiers.  This didn't mean he was guilty. Just like today, someone might have to face a bad situation that he had no cause in.

You're locked out of your car and you need to get in, here's what to do!  

1. Using your cell phone, make a phone call to somebody that has access to the spare remote controller and ask them to get the remote.

2. Now tell them to hold their cell phone out in front of them while pointing the remote control at their cell phone's mouthpiece; the part they speak into.  Holding it about one inch away while repeatedly pressing the remotes' open button over and over again for about one minute.  Tell them not to listen to the phone while doing this because that interferes with sending a good signal.  The Idea here is to send the remote release signal over the cell phones to unlock the car.  if the lock does not open, try again repeating the process.  It may take several attempts. 

3.  Now while that is going on take your cell phone and point the part of the cell phone you hear with at the keyhole area in the door of the car about 2 inches away.  You'll need to move your cell phone around slowly using a back and forth, up and down motion. You want to cover an area the size of a dinner plate or a little larger, do not move too fast.  Different manufacturers put the lock receiving unit in different locations in the door but general speaking its located around the keyhole position.  

4.  This isn't a fool proof method but, with any luck, your door should unlock. 

Here are some reasons why this trick may not work.

a. Battery in the remote is weak. 

b. Cell phone reception is weak.

c. The person on the second remote is trying to listen to the cell phone  while pressing the release button.

d. They are not repeatedly pressing the release button. 

e. Not pointing the remote at the cell phone mouth location while pressing the remote button. (about one inch away from the phone)

f.  Lock receiving unit is located in a different spot on car door other than where you're holding the phone. You need to slowly move the phone around the lock location while the second person repeatedly pressing the release button on the remote.

Note:  It's important for the person to repeatedly press the release button on the remote because this gives you time to move the phone to different locations around the lock trying to locate the receiving unit. 

This method does not always work for several reasons, but its a good first try before calling a locksmith to unlock your car.

It would be a good idea if each spouse would carry the remote control to each others car with them or at least have it close by.

Practice this method at home before you need to use it.  Make sure the car is out of range of the remote control before attempting to locate the door release unit with your cell phone.  If the car is too close you will not be able to tell if the door is opening because your holding the cell phone in the correct spot or the door opens because the remote is in range of the car. 

Good Luck!

Safe combination stop working. (for mechanical safe dials)

There are several reasons why a safe combination has stop working.  The most common reason is that the safe owner has failed to get the safe serviced on a regular basis.  Yes, mechanical safe locks should be serviced at least every two years, preferably each year. The interworkings of a safe lock is made of brass and machined to very close tolerances.  The lubricant can start to dry up in these locks over time, they also collect dust and gum up. When this happens things can change in the safe lock ever so slightly so that your combination stops working or works sporadically.  Its time to get your safe lock serviced but first you need to get it opened.

At this point there is not much a homeowner can do but you can try this before calling a professional.

Sometimes a wheel pack in the safe lock will slip a little due to poor maintenance of the safe lock, age, and a few other factors. When this happens the number set to that wheel (there are 3 wheel packs) may slip a little.  For example a number 32 in the combination may now be a half number higher or lower 32 1/2 or 31 1/2.  Usually this only happens on one wheel, but that's enough to keep you locked out of the safe.  Try dialing the combination to the safe 1/2 number higher and 1/2 number lower from the set points.

For Example, if your combination is 10 -30 -50 then dial it like this;

In this picture the dial is sitting at 48 1/2

10 1/2 - 30 -50

9 1/2 - 30 -50

10 - 30 1/2 - 50

10 - 29 1/2 - 50

10 - 30 -50 1/2

10 -30 -49 1/2 

Each time you complete the combination try to unlock the door.

It would be unusual for more than one wheel to have slipped, but it is possible that it could happen.

If you were successful at getting the door open, DO NOT LOCK IT AGAIN before getting it serviced. Take it to a locksmith or schedule a locksmith to come to your location to have it serviced.  And do not try to service the lock yourself; your asking for trouble. 

You can just bring in the door to the safe in the case of a floor safe with a lift out lid. If the safe door is small enough the door can be lifted off the hinges by pulling straight up. You can bring in just the door to be serviced.  On larger safes do not attempt to remove the door, it can weight a hundred pounds or more.

When using your safe, if you notice that its getting more difficult to dial open that's a warning sign that you'll soon be having a problem getting the safe opened at all.  Get the safe lock serviced immediately!  You could have your safe combination changed at the same time you have the safe lock serviced.

Lube your locksets annually

If you ask 3 different locksmiths what to use to lubricate your locksets with you'll get 3 different answers.  Some lubricants are better than others but they all should do a good job.  One thing to consider; when you decide on a lubricant stick with that brand as sometimes mixing two different types can have a undesirable effect on the lock.  Do  not spray a wet lubricant into a lock that has been lubricated with graphic. . . you will get mud. We use and recommended Tri-Flow lubricant when servicing a lock but we do not spray it directly into the key hole.  We spray it on the key that operates the lock and then insert and remove the key a couple of times and then turn the key in the lock.  That's all that is needed to keep the lock in good operating order.  Now wipe off your key.  If you spray directly into the lock the lubricant will pool and every time you use your key to open the door lock there will be a bunch of lubricant on your key.  That can get messy especially in your pocket or purse.   

Also, give a little shot of Tri-Flow to the latch and turn the knob or lever a few times to work it in.  It doesn't take much so go easy.  Don't forget to include your deadbolt locks as part of your annual lock servicing.

Don't drive with a heavy key ring hanging from the ignition.

Here's one you may have heard of; driving your car with a large ring of keys hanging out of the ignition.  Don't Do It!  7 or 8 keys on a key ring is not going to damage your ignition, but something like what's pictured on the right may very well cause your ignition to stop working. The weight of the key ring moving back and forth will cause the key and wafers in the ignition to wear out prematurely causing the lock to stop working.  You can usually tell when you are starting to have a problem because you have to move or 'jiggle' the key around in the ignition to get the car started.  This can be a very expensive repair depending on the type of car you have.  If you must have that many keys on your key ring consider using a quick key release pictured below.

Quick Key Release, they come in different colors.

Using something like this you can remove the car key quickly from the large ring of keys and not have to worry about the weight of the key ring moving around while driving. When you get out of the car just pop the key back on the key ring. 

Fake TV Burglar Deterrent

The risk is real.  Each year about one in every 50 households has a break-in.  You probably know someone who has been burglarized, and how it effected them.  But burglars avoid houses they think are occupied, because they do not want to get caught.  FakeTV makes it look like someone is home watching TV.  From outside the home after dusk, you do not see the television picture instead you just see the light filtering through the curtains.  FakeTV does not make a picture, but makes the same sort of flickering light.  And when they see the light from a television, most people assume someone must be watching it so they move on to another location. 

To see the FakeTV in action watch this short video below. 

The FakeTV Burglar Deterrent, uses a fraction of the electricity a regular TV set uses.

Look around the internet for the product.  They have several models to choose from to simulate different types and sizes of TV's. 

Stop your gate from slamming shut.

The Kant-Slam is excellent for any self-closing gate or door requirement. It can be used on virtually any type of fencing material for residential, commercial or secured access applications. The Kant-Slam also meets self-closing swimming pool enclosure requirements!

Kant-Slam is great for any self-closing requirements. A special feature found only in the Kant-Slam is that the closing pressure is self-contained within the unit and is transmitted through components of the closer to the mounting bracket on the frame. The result is no more pressure on the gate or door than from closing by hand.  The exclusive Kant-Slam unit is based on a toggle arrangement of four levers and a vertical hydraulic cylinder. The levers open as the gate or door opens and are closed by two strong springs. The toggle action causes leverage to increase as the spring tension decreases, giving ample closing force at the latching point.  Closing speed is controlled by the patent pending cylinder that regulates the flow of oil which in turn produces the desired closing speed.  The Kant-Slam closing unit is not affected by inclement weather and can be installed indoors and outdoors. The Kant-Slam can be mounted on many types of gates and doors.  Kant-Slam can be installed on wood, chain link or iron gates.  You can even install it on a door.  

Comlock Security Group, Inc.

714 633-1499