Grammar: Why Do We Say That?

It’s or Its?

It’s is a contraction of it is or it has: “It’s nice to see you” or “It’s been a fun day.” 

Its shows that something belongs to someone: “The team celebrated its win.”

If you invite your friend over on Saturday, and he says, “Can I take a rain check?” he means he can’t come over Saturday, but he’d like to come over another time.

Why do we say “rain check” to mean “some other time”? It’s/Its all because of baseball. As you may know, baseball loses it’s/its appeal when it’s/its pouring rain. In the late 1800s, ticket sales were always down in the rainy months. Fans didn’t want to fork over money for a baseball game that could be canceled. So a new policy was made. If the weather turned bad during a game, fans had the option to leave and reuse their tickets later. This was called taking a rain check.

If you have a cold, you might say you’re under the weather—meaning you aren’t feeling well. But what does weather have to do with a case of the sniffles? 

This expression got it’s/its start on the sea. During stormy weather, when the ship was rocking back and forth, a sailor might start to feel sick. A sailor who felt really bad might go down below the deck to get out of the rain and wind for a while. He would quite literally go under the weather.

If you wear your heart on your sleeve, it’s/its hard to hide your feelings. Whether you’re happy, angry, or bored—it’s/its obvious to everyone around you.

Where does this phrase come from? It’s/Its origin is likely medieval Europe—specifically, jousting tournaments. In these games, knights on horseback raced toward each other holding long, pointy sticks called lances, trying to knock each other off their horses. (Ah, the good old days.)

If a knight was courting a lady, he would tie her ribbons around his arm as a public declaration of his feelings. He would, in other words, wear his heart on his sleeve.