Most of you will be familiar with the phrase " pinch punch, first day of the month ", but where does the common saying come from?
The commonly used phrase which crops up monthly sees people pinch one another as the beginning of a new month emerges.
There are two theories, the origins of which are unknown, which have developed about the habit the phrase.
Here, we take a look at both of them.
'Make the witches weak'
Some believe the superstition started from the medieval times. It was thought by some that salt made witches weaker.
A "pinch of salt" was used to weaken them and a "punch" was supposedly added to banish them for good.
The George Washington legend
The second theory is a legend that dates back to the first US President George Washington in the 1700s.
According to the old tale, he would bring fruit punch with a pinch of salt to Indian tribes on the first of each month.
The tradition became known as "pinch and punch on the first of the month".
Keep up to date with the latest news in west London via the free getwestlondon app.
You can even set it to receive push notifications for all the breaking news in your area.
Available to download from the App Store or Google Play for Android now!
