In this episode of Half-Arsed History, discover the origins of four commonly-used modern sayings: “beyond the pale”, “fiddling while Rome burns”, “red herring”, and “hoist with his own petard”.
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Image: Robert, Hubert. The Fire of Rome, 18 July 64 AD. Oil on canvas. 1785. Musee des Beaux-Arts Andre Malraux, Le Havre, France. Via Wikimedia.
Half-Arsed History 
