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Easy English for Kids

Hello!!!, We are here with Easy English for Kids, the brand new segment which makes English learning, easy and enjoyable. Today, let us learn about two unknown terms, Baker’s Dozen and KISS!

Baker’s Dozen:

So, many of you know what a dozen is, don’t you? Dozen means 12 things or number 12!

Now, what is a Baker’s dozen? Do you have any idea? Let me tell you.

Baker’s dozen means 13, simply 12 + 1. There is a story behind this usage in English.

Centuries earlier, in England, selling lesser quantity of bread at higher cost was considered a serious crime, as bread was their staple food. Generally, each pack of bread contains 12 loafs bread, ie., a dozen, and the pack should be of a stipulated weight! The bakery owners were punished severely if they were found guilty of selling bread that weighed less! Bakery owners, who were afraid of the punishment, added an extra piece of bread to make sure that the bread didn’t weight less.

This habit is unanimously followed all over England and the fear of getting punished made the sellers sell 13 loaves of bread at the price of 12 loaves! People called the 13 loaves of bread as long bread and gradually this term has been changed to Baker’s dozen.

Baker’s dozen is also used as an idiom to represent things that are given free of cost! 

KISS:

Do you know what the funny meaning of the word KISS is? It is an ACRONYM. It expands to ‘Keep It Simple Stupid’! This term was derived by an engineer in the US Navy. It is predominantly used across various sectors in the United States and now in many countries. The Navy, Marine Engineering, Software industry, Construction industry, etc use this term as a code word to get things done quickly. The term is simply means finding the easy solutions to problems.