Most people love a slow and leisurely stroll around the pretty towns and villages of the P-O, but did you know that the word ‘saunter’ may originate from the French ‘à la sainte terre’ (to the Holy Land)?

When pilgrimages were popular in the middle ages, pilgrims passing through France would tell people that they were heading ‘à la sainte terre’ (to the Holy Land).

These people became known to English speakers as ‘sainte-terre-ers’, then saunterers.

Of course, this is just one theory for the origin of the word, but it works for me!

Get a copy of ‘March Hares and Monkeys’ Uncles:Origins of the Words and Phrases We Use Every Day’ here!