Karen Hill

You may travel all over the United States, North, South, East, or West, or in any part of Canada or England, and find almost no one who isn’t familiar with one form or another of the expression “to lift or pull up oneself by the bootstraps”. It is hardly necessary to say that by its … Read more

The expression “to set people together by the ears” means to involve them in a quarrel; set them at variance; create among them. The original ears were those of quarrelsome animals, those of cats especially, which tore at each other’s ears when fighting. Thus Laurence Tomson in his translation (1579) of Calvin’s Sermons on the … Read more

No doubt those who are accustomed to think of “essence” as being connected only with extracts of one kind or another, as essence of turpentine, essence of roses, find themselves at a loss when encountering this expression. But some eighty years ago, especially in the phrase “of the essence”, it was a legal term, and … Read more

The expression “full of prunes” means, peppy, lively, energetic, in high spirits, feeling one’s oats, rarin’ to go. “Beans” was the first, and was originally said of horses after a feeding of beans raised for fodder, “horse beans,” so called. Undoubtedly the spirited state of a bean-fed horse was observed in remote times, Romans also … Read more

In the days when “carpet” retained its original sense, “a thick fabric used to cover tables,” to have something “on the carpet” had the same meaning that we now give to “on the table”; that is, to have something up for discussion, for consideration. Such was the usage in the early eighteenth century and is … Read more

Another Biblical phrase that has been taken in its early figurative sense directly into the language. He who “girds up his loins” prepares for action, usually physical and strenuous, but it may also be mental. In the physical sense the allusion was to the workman who, in preparation for work, tucked the long skirt of … Read more

The expression “to turn a new leaf” means to amend one’s conduct; begin a new life; go straight; reform. The leaf that one turns is not that of a tree, but that of a book, a book of lessons or of precepts, the book on which our sins of omission and commission are recorded. And … Read more

The expression “to kick against the pricks” means to use vain efforts; be recalcitrant; knock one’s head against a wall; suffer from one’s own misdeeds; kick against thorns or spurs to one’s own hurt. Saul, later called Paul, on his way to Damascus from Jerusalem, where he had received letters authorizing him to arrest any … Read more

The phrase “on the level” means in all sincerity, honesty, or truth; on the up-and-up; the real McCoy. Both of these expressions were taken from the ritual of Freemasonry and both are of legendary antiquity. In the rites of the lodges, however, the level, an instrument used by builders to determine a common plane, is … Read more

The expression “like greased lightning” means lickety-split; like a blue streak; like a bat out of hell; with extreme rapidity. Although this has the appearance of typical American exaggerated hyperbole, nevertheless the earliest printed record of use is in the Boston, Lincoln, and Louth Herald, published in Lincolnshire, England, the issue of January 15, 1833: … Read more

If you are a “Main Liner”, in or around Philadelphia, then you really belong. You are a member of the Upper Crust, one who can look down your nose at any other class of persons in Pennsylvania, at least, and perhaps elsewhere, except, possibly, a person from Boston’s Back Bay or an F.F.V. (First Family … Read more

What started the expression “skeleton in the closet”, no one knows. Perhaps it was an actual incident; perhaps a real skeleton was found walled up in the closet of some country house concealing some long-hidden family shame or sorrow. At any rate, The Oxford English Dictionary says that this expression and its meaning are known … Read more

The saying “praise from Sir Hubert” means the epitome of commendation; approval to the nth degree. The original Sir Hubert was a character in the eighteenth-century play, A Cure for the Heartache, written by Thomas Morton and first produced in London in 1797. Sir Hubert Stanley, in the play, was a kindly gentleman, filled with … Read more

The expression “even steven” means with no advantage to either; as, to swap knives “even steven.” Sometimes written with a capital, “Steven,” and sometimes appearing as “Stephen.” We’ve had the phrase as colloquial American for at least a hundred years, in print since 1866, but that is about all one can say of it. It … Read more

A lick and a promise is the act that Johnny, or Billy, or Jeff, or Chip, generally does with a washcloth. Just a hasty dab, enough, he hopes, to pass grandma’s not too critical eye before sliding into his place at the table. The “lick,” that is, has nothing to do with a thrashing, but … Read more

The expression “Johnny come lately” means a newcomer; one recently arrived; an inexperienced person. Apparently this was originally, in the early quarter of the nineteenth century, the American sailor’s version of the British “Johnny Newcome,” any recruit aboard any of His Majesty’s vessels. Our earliest instance of usage appears in The Adventures of Harry Franco … Read more

Just as Cuffee (or Cuffy), back in the days of slavery, was the name often given by Blacks to a boy born on Friday, so Juba was the name of African origin frequently given to girls born on Monday (see Hennig Cohen in American Speech, XXVII, 103-04). But, unlike the white child born on Monday … Read more

According to the Dictionary of American Politics there was a time, on Southern plantations, back before the Civil War, when “the opening of a barrel of pork caused a rush to be made by the slaves.” Maybe so, though we doubt it. At any rate, even if so it had nothing to do with the … Read more

The expression “to go hog wild” means to become highly enthusiastic; especially, to become wildly excited, as hogs become when aroused; to run around like a chicken with its head cut off; hence, to become very angry, to get all het up; also, to become profligate, to spend money like a drunken sailor. Both of … Read more

The three cheers are self-explanatory, but why the “tiger”? It is, to be sure, a vociferous yell or howl added with utmost enthusiasm at the close of the cheering, perhaps emulating the roar or yowl of a genuine tiger. Well, here’s the story, retold from Bartlett’s Dictionary of Americanisms (1859): The Boston Light Infantry visited … Read more

The expression “on the cuff” means on credit. We surmise, but can’t prove, that this phrase and its interpretation originated in the barroom, the saloon of old. The bartender, short of convenient paper for keeping records of amounts due, but having starched white cuff and pencil handy, just wrote “John Jones-30” on his cuff, transferring … Read more

The phrase “I declare to Betsy” is an exclamation expressing positive affirmation, surprise, close interest, or similar emotion; equivalent to “Well, I do declare,” etc. We are afraid that this Betsy, as also she of “Heavens to Betsy,” was a homeless waif of no particular parentage. Like Topsy, she just “growed.” “I declare to goodness,” … Read more

The expression “hanged, drawn, and quartered” means to be subjected to the direst penalty; originally a judgment rendered upon a criminal sentenced to death, but now often jocularly threatened to a person in mild reproof. The original sentence was anything but a joke. Prior to the fifteenth century it meant that the person so sentenced … Read more

“The wicked go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; Which will not hearken to the voice of the charmer, charming never so wisely.” Psalms, lviii, 3-5. Or, in the language of the Early … Read more

The expression “to keep one’s eyes peeled” means to be very observant or extremely alert; to keep a sharp lookout. No record of this American expression has been turned up earlier than 1833, but the fact that it then appeared in a newspaper (The Political Examiner, of Shelbyville, Kentucky) is a fair indication that it … Read more

Way back in Revolutionary times, perhaps earlier, there was a woodsman maxim, “Never waste powder on a dead duck.” From that, “dead duck” became popular slang, still in use, for anything , person or article, that is no longer worth a straw, that is done up, played out. Some bright wit a hundred years ago, … Read more

The phrase “ham actor” means one who is pretty far down the scale in acting ability. Sylva Clapin, in A New Dictionary of Americanisms (1902), defines such an actor, or the variant ham: “In theatrical parlance, a tenth-rate actor or variety performer.” Why such a term was so applied was long a matter of speculation, … Read more

The saying “dead as a herring” means very, very dead. Any dead fish soon acquires an exceedingly ancient odor if left exposed for only a few hours, but the odor of a dead herring becomes twice as noticeable. That is the reason herrings are used, by dragging them over a trail, in the teaching of … Read more

In American usage, one is “caught flat-footed” when he is unprepared, asleep at the switch, inattentive, or surprised. Previously, we said that the expression probably arose from the American game of football, “for it applies most pertinently to the player who, having received the ball on a pass, is caught by an opposing player before … Read more

The expression “playing with loaded dice” means having little chance; playing a game of chance or engaging in any undertaking in which the odds are rigged against one. Obviously the expression derives from a game of dice in which the player who is discriminated against is given dice cleverly weighted which give him little or … Read more

The expression “to bite off more than one can chew” means to attempt more than one can accomplish; to try to do more than one has time for, or the ability for. A very human failing; one that is often quite praiseworthy, but also one that is often quite exasperating. The former could be said … Read more

The expression “to go to the dickens” is nothing more than a polite, or if not polite, at least euphemistic, way of saying “go to hell,” or to perdition, or to the devil, or to ruin in some uncomfortable manner. It has nothing to do with the novelist, Charles Dickens, for “dickens,” in this sense, … Read more

The collective critical comments of those opposing any measure, political or otherwise; as, “Any proposal made by Franklin Roosevelt met with a resounding anvil chorus of Republican senators.” The term has a musical background, referring originally to the cacophony of anvils or cymbals and timpani beaten rhythmically in the accompaniment of the so-called “Anvil Chorus,” … Read more

The time will come to each of us to chuck one’s weight around; to exhibit a period of ostentation, influence, or power. It may be long in the coming, but, according to the old proverb “every dog has his day”, everyone will at some time, at least once, be able to emulate the dog that, … Read more

The expression “to tilt at windmills” means to wage battle with chimeras; to take up the cudgels against an imaginary wrong or evil. The saying and its meaning take us to the redoubtable knight, Don Quixote, in the book of that name by Cervantes in 1605. The eighth chapter, Vol. I, begins: “At this point … Read more

The saying “to carry the ball” means to be responsible; to be in charge. The allusion is to the American game of football, to the player to whom, on a given play, the ball is assigned. Transference from literal to figurative usage became, at first, commercial lingo probably around 1925.

The expression “love me, love my dog” means whatever my faults, if you love me you must put up with them. Regrettably, sometimes one’s dearest friend or son or daughter construes this saying literally and thinks himself or herself quite at liberty, because of that friendship, to bring the hugest and smelliest Saint Bernard or … Read more

The expression “no ifs, ans, nor buts” means no back talk; no impudence; no argument. Our British cousins, from all that we can gather, limit this expression merely to “ifs and ans,” as in the meaningless doggerel that my brother and we used to recite, If ifs and ans Were pots and pans, There’d be … Read more

Those who use the term “double entendre” may find themselves scorned or held in ridicule by one who is really familiar with French. He will scoffingly say, “There is no such French expression. What you mean is ‘double entente.’” The latter is, in fact, present French usage, but, nevertheless, back in the seventeenth century, as … Read more

The expression “to box the compass” means to make a complete turn; also, to adopt successively all possible opinions on a question. Of course, any mariner would say that is all stuff and nonsense, and in his way of thinking he would be right. With him the phrase has just one meaning; to recite in … Read more

The phrase “let sleeping dogs lie” means to let a matter or person which at the present is at rest stay at rest, rather than to create a disturbance by bringing the matter up again or arousing the person. Chaucer wrote this in just the reverse form, “It is nought good a slepyng hound to … Read more

The expression “to have up one’s sleeve” means to have (something) in reserve in case of need; an alternative. Usually it is some bit of testimony, evidence, argument, plan, or project, or the like, that one has up his sleeve in readiness to spring or act upon if or when the original proposal turns out … Read more

Nowadays we say in the dumps, blue, low-spirited, instead of “in the doldrums”. Nobody knows what a doldrum was originally, but possibly the word itself was derived from dull, “stupid,” or from the Middle English word dold, which had the same meaning. At any rate doldrum referred originally to a dull or sluggish person, a … Read more

The phrase “a stiff upper lip” means courage, or stoicism, which one keeps or carries. The significance of the idiom is well indicated by one of its earliest appearances in print, John Neal’s down Easters (1833): “What’s the use of boohooin’? Keep a stiff upper lip; no bones broke, don’t I know?”

“0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” This passage from Matthew xxiii, 37, was the source of the expression “to take under one’s … Read more

According to Plutarch’s Life of Julius Caesar, “The die is cast!” was the remark made by Caesar when, in 49 BC., he decided to march toward Rome to protect himself against the machinations of Pornpey. His words, of course, were in Latin, “A lea est jacta!” Pompey, also a great Roman general, sharing with Caesar … Read more

The phrase “skeleton at the feast” means an element of gloom or depression; an omen of misfortune; a reminder of possible disaster in the midst of pleasure. The allusion is to a custom in ancient Egypt as related by Plutarch (c. A.D. 46 to 120) in his Moralia. He tells us that at the conclusion … Read more

Croesus succeeded his father and became king of Lydia, a country of Asia Minor, in 560 B.C. Through successive wars he greatly increased his dominions and, by such means and through trade within his own realm and with neighboring kingdoms, he became enormously wealthy. Probably his wealth was not actually as great as it was … Read more

The expression “to crack a crib” is not modern slang. In the cant of thieves, “crack” has meant “to break open” since the early eighteenth century or earlier, and “crib,” meaning “a house, shop,” was known to Charles Dickens when he wrote Oliver Twist in 1838, and was used by the underworld thirty years or … Read more

The expression “one’s cake is dough” means one’s plans have miscarried; one is disappointed. The proverb was old in the time of Shakespeare. In Taming of the Shrew, Act I, scene 1, he has Gremio saying to Hortensio, both suitors of Bianca, “Their love is not so great, Hortensio, but we may blow our nails … Read more

The sense of the phrase “to speak by the card” is nicely shown by Shakespeare’s use of it in Hamlet. There, in Act V, scene 1, he has Hamlet himself use it in his conversation with the grave digging clown who takes everything that Hamlet says in its most literal meaning. Finally Hamlet turns to … Read more

The phrase “a bone to pick” means a difficulty to be solved; a nut to be cracked; a complaint, dispute, misunderstanding or the like to be settled. The original idea was something to mull over or to occupy one as a bone occupies a dog. The Germans had the same idea but used a different … Read more

The phrase “A number one” means superior, first class, the best of its kind. An American nautical classification of British ancestry, both of which referred originally to sailing vessels. The British term, usually written “A 1,” was thus described in Lloyd’s Register: “The character A denotes new ships, or ships renewed or restored. The stores … Read more

The expression “to strike while the iron is hot” means to act at the most fitting moment; to seize the most favorable opportunity. It was, of course, the blacksmith who was originally so exhorted. If he failed to swing his hammer while the metal on the anvil was still glowing, nothing would do but to … Read more

The saying “in the dumps” means feeling blue; depressed; dejected; low in spirits. People felt this way and so expressed themselves four hundred years ago, though no one knew then (or now, for that matter) just what “dumps” meant. Sir Thomas More, in A Dialoge of Comforte against Tribulation (1534), has: “What heapes of heauynesse … Read more

Let’s quote some passages from Hoyle’s rules for the game of faro: “The cards are shuffled and placed in a dealing box, from which they can be withdrawn only one at a time. The dealer pulls out two cards, one at a time, the first card being laid aside, the one under it being placed … Read more

The expression “a hair of the dog that bit you” stems from the ancient medical maxim, Like cures like, Similia similibus curantur. Thus, even in the Iliad we find the Greek belief that a wound caused by the spear of Achilles could be healed by an ointment containing rust from that same spear. And to … Read more

An exclamation, usually indicating complaint or astonishment; as, “For crying out loud, why did you do a thing like that?” Many of the users of this expression would be shocked to learn that it is in the category known as a minced oath; that is, a substitute based on, but slightly differing from a profanity. … Read more

Of course, the old Romans had neither teacup nor tea, but they did have a saying similar to “a tempest in a teacup” usually translated in our wording: excitare fluctus in simpulo. The literal meaning is “to stir up a tempest in a small ladle”; hence, to storm about over trifles, to make much ado … Read more

There was a time when coloring matter was not used in the making of cheese. Consequently, chalk and cheese were of the same whiteness. Such, at least, was the state of affairs in the fourteenth century. Perhaps, too, an unscrupulous tradesman would now and then take advantage of an innocent young housewife and sell her … Read more

It is the poet, Alfred Lord Tennyson, to whom we are indebted for the saying “a rift in the lute”, and he expressed its meaning in the lines from The Idylls of the King (Merlin and Vivien, 1870) in which it appeared: Faith and unfaith can ne’er be equal powers: Unfaith in aught is want … Read more

On the theory that the smaller they come the cuter they are, the modern American metaphor “cute as a bug’s ear” epitomizes the acme of cuteness, for if a small ear is cute, the ear of a bug, if bugs have ears, must be the cutest thing imaginable. Sometimes the expression is paraphrased into “cute … Read more

In early usage, six hundred years ago, when anyone wanted to express close intimacy, he said (or wrote), “cheke bi cheke.” But some two centuries later someone thought it would be more picturesque to substitute the Frenchified “jowl”, variously written jowl, foul, joll, joie, geoul, chowl, for the second element, and this has been our … Read more

The expression “to make no bones about a matter” means to speak frankly; to come out flat-footed; to talk straight from the shoulder; hence, to have no scruples; to show no reluctance, also, to make no mistake (about it), to count on (it). The Paston Letters (1459) contain the line, “And fond (found) that tyme … Read more

There was actually an individual who was called admirable Crichton, though not during his brief life. His real name was James Crichton, a son of Robert Crichton, lord advocate of Scotland. He is believed to have been born in 1560, and to have died at the early age of twenty-two, but his learning and athletic … Read more

A white collar worker is anyone who performs non-manual labor; a professional person, such as lawyer, doctor, banker, clergyman, etc.; specifically, an office worker, rather than a shop worker. An anonymous newspaper columnist recently stated that the expression started “when medicine became a respected profession and doctors began to wear white collars as part of … Read more

A paragrapher in Ladies’ Home Journal (Vol. LXX, No. 12) asserted without hesitation that the term “Charley horse” for muscular stiffness came about thus: In the 1890’s, a horse (named Charley) which drew a roller in the White Sox ball park in Chicago had a peculiar limp. Hence, the fans applied the name “Charley-horse” to … Read more

Whichever the phraseology, the saying “to cash in one’s checks or chips” adds up to the one result, to die. The allusion is to the American game of poker, in which a player may at any time drop from the game and turn in (hand in, or pass in) his chips or checks to the … Read more

Back in the fourteenth century, in Wyclif’s time, they “chewed the cud”, and we still do, in imitation of the reflective appearance of cows as they lie patiently working their jaws. But to chew the fat, or rag, does not necessarily involve meditation; it usually involves nothing more than working the jaws in complaint, disputation, … Read more

“Dark and bloody ground” is a title sometimes given to the state of Kentucky, so called because of the numerous raids by Indians upon white settlers in the early days of colonization. Very little was known about the region before 1752, and the first white colony was not established until 1774, at Harrodsburg. Few Indians, … Read more

The expression “to back and fill” means to shilly-shally; to be vacillating or irresolute; to assert and deny, hem and haw; not to know if one is on one’s head or heels. Originally this was said of ships, of sailing ships especially, attempting to negotiate a narrow channel when wind and tide were adverse and … Read more

Beans, like straw, have long indicated small value. “Not to care a straw” means that the speaker has little more than the slightest concern over that of which he speaks, no more than the value of the straw trampled upon by householders of old. And the bean has long had no higher regard. (“Hill” is … Read more

The phrase “to sit like a Stoughton bottle” means to sit (or stand) dumbly apathetic, stolidly, without expression, stupidly, like a bump on a log. I know well its meaning, as my wife’s father, a New England country doctor, used it frequently during his lifetime in referring to anyone, member of his family or not, … Read more

Everyone has seen the way a cat acts with a mouse that she has caught. The poor little animal, half dead with fright or injury, waits with beating heart until the cat has apparently forgotten it or gone to sleep, and then may get halfway to its hole or other place of safety, only to … Read more

One who is a member of a Lodge of Freemasons knows so well the original meaning of this common expression that he will see little occasion for its inclusion here. But there are many who use it freely, however, who suppose it to have some connection with criminal law. Thus, in the United States, a … Read more

The expression “at the eleventh hour” means with not a moment to spare; at the latest time possible; just under the wire. This is of Biblical origin, Matthew xx, 1-16: “For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And when … Read more

The phrase “to lead by the nose” means to dominate; to have control over; to have the whip hand or under one’s thumb; to hold under submission. The expression is a common one in European languages, and both Romans and Greeks of old “had a word for it.” The allusion is obvious: From the time … Read more

A huge grotesque image of the god Vishnu has been worshiped for the past eight centuries or more at Puri in Orissa, India. The local name of the god is Jagannath, a name which sounds to Occidental ears as Juggernaut. There are several curious customs connected with the worship of this god. Among them is … Read more

All the Presbyterians of Scotland bound themselves by a covenant, in 1638, to resist all attempts to alter their form of worship and to maintain the Presbyterian doctrine as the sole religion of their country. This oath was taken because Charles I, king of England, was then employing every device to bring Scotland into the … Read more

The story of how this word of Irish origin, Englished to tory from Irish toruidhe, robber, became a political term was told in 1711 by Daniel Defoe in his journal, The Review. The events he mentions occurred during his own lifetime. Titus Oates, to whom he refers, had been trained for the Protestant ministry, but … Read more

The makers of nostrums still loudly proclaim and advertise the remarkable curative powers of their remedies, sometimes claiming that they will cure anything from falling hair to ingrown toenails. The charlatans and quacks of the seventeenth century were no less modest. In fact, they went further. It was sincerely, though mistakenly, believed at that time … Read more

Originally the word tinsel was a much dressier word, the Old French estincelle , modern etincelle, and its meaning was also smarter. It denoted “brilliance; sparkle,” and the name was applied to a cloth of silk or rich wool in which strands of gold or silver were woven. Such cloth made up into robes or … Read more

In Norse mythology, as related in the Icelandic sagas, Thor was the most popular of all the gods. He was the son of Odin and Frigg (see WEDNESDAY and FRIDAY), and was represented as a man of middle age with red hair and beard, and of enormous strength. The chariot in which he rode was … Read more

In many parts of Europe it is still unusual to find a farmer who lives upon his farm. Generally he lives in a nearby village and walks each day to his fields. The custom is a survival from olden times when, for the sake of mutual protection at night, men slept within call of others. … Read more

Like comedy, the original intent of the Greeks in naming the type of play known as a tragedy cannot be determined. It is derived from the two words tragos, goat, and ode, song, ode. Thus the Greek tragodia was apparently a “goat-song.” The reason for the name has been variously conjectured. One thought is that … Read more

Most of the written literature of ancient times was on continuous sheets of parchment or papyrus. For convenience these sheets were wound into fairly tight rolls about sticks, one stick at either end of the roll. In reading, the scroll was thus unwound from one stick and, as the reading proceeded, wound upon the other. … Read more

Chief among the gods of the Scandinavian peoples was Odin. It was he, with the aid of his two brothers, who created the world out of chaos and who ruled the heaven and earth. His throne was in Valhalla. There, as the god of war, he received all those who were slain in battle, and … Read more

Chief among the Mongols ruled over by Genghis Khan were the people known as Ta-ta Mongols. Through their warlike qualities they had extended his dominions, before his death in 1227, to embrace all China, had successfully invaded northern India and Persia, and had crossed the Caucasus Mountains, penetrating as far westward as the Volga and … Read more

The original craft from which the vessel yacht derived its name was not used for pleasure. Its early Teutonic name, jaght, indicates that it was intended as a hunter; its modern German descendant, jagd, is “a hunt.” Thus, along the shores of the North Sea, the jaght of the sixteenth century was a speedy vessel … Read more

One of the great mysteries, for two hundred years, has been the source of the word Yankee. Some have thought that it came from the mispronunciation of the word “English” by the Indians of Massachusetts. Others, that its source was in the name of a Dutch captain whose name was Yanky. And still others, more … Read more