Karen Hill

Because the expression “with a grain of salt” for skepticism, doubt, or distrust is so familiar to us in its Latin form, “cum grano salis”, we sometimes assume that it has great antiquity. Perhaps it does, for Pliny, in telling the story of Pompey’s seizure of the royal palace of Mithradates, says that Pompey found … Read more

The phrase “not worth a Continental” is a long way of saying “worthless.” But it is a good reminder of the early days of the United States, especially of the financial status of the country. During the War of Independence and until the Constitution was adopted, or for a period of about fourteen years, the … Read more

It may sound a little far-fetched, but nevertheless it’s true that the expression “that’s the ticket” for approval had its origin in a mispronunciation of the French word “etiquette.” Try it yourself. Put the accent on the second syllable. You will get “uh-tick’ut.” Someone, perhaps a schoolboy, may have jocularly made a persistent point of … Read more

When we call anyone “a peeping Tom” we mean usually that he is a despicable person with a prurient mind. “Prurient,” to spare you a trip to the dictionary, means “inclined to lewd thoughts or desires.” A peeping Tom may be a person who peers into windows with a desire to satisfy curiosity; but whatever … Read more

At best, the expression “to kick the bucket” is a disrespectful synonym for “to die.” Perhaps if we used it only of animals, or especially of animals slaughtered for food we might approach a literal meaning and the phrase would lose its humorous concept. The evidence on the original meaning is slight and perhaps future … Read more

The expression “three sheets in the wind” means, of course, pretty drunk, reeling from too much indulgence in strong drink, somewhat more tipsy than “half-seas over.” Like many other common expressions, the phrase dates back to the times when ocean navigation was entirely by sail. But in nautical use, a sheet is not a sail, … Read more

The expression “in one’s black book” has no more sinister meaning than a loss of favor, more or less temporarily; but at one time to have one’s name entered upon an official book with a black cover was a very serious matter. The first of these historic books of ill omen was one compiled in … Read more

The expression “to jump over the broomstick” isn’t very common now, though it is used occasionally by writers. The dictionaries are not very explicit, saying merely that it means to go through a mock marriage ceremony, in which both panics jump over a broomstick. During the times, a few short centuries ago, when marriage laws … Read more

In stock market slang, a bear is a speculator who sells a stock that he does not own in the belief that before he must deliver the stock to its purchaser its price will have dropped so that he may make a profit on the transaction. A bull, on the other hand, is optimistic of … Read more

Henry Carey, who died in 1743, was both musician and poet. The song by which he is best remembered is “Sally in our Alley,” though his original air for the song has been replaced by a tune composed by another. He is also reputed to have been the author and composer of the British national … Read more

The “pope’s nose” is the part of a chicken that last goes over a fence; that is, the rump of a fowl. The name is said to have been applied to this tidbit during the days following the reign of James II of England when feeling was intense against the possibility that the British throne … Read more

We use the expression “gone to pot” now to mean ruined; destroyed; disintegrated. But the earliest English usage, which goes back at least to the sixteenth century, seems to have been literal, actually gone to the pot, chopped up into pieces, as meat, for stewing in a pot. There seems to have been a figurative … Read more

As far as the word “jig” is concerned, whatever its origin it seems to have been a very old term for a happy and lively dance, probably a dance commonly known throughout all western Europe fifteen centuries or more ago. But in England, around 1600, the term “jig” became also a slang term for a … Read more

Taken literally, it would be most unpleasant and irritating to have a flea in the ear, and the original sense of the phrase carried, figuratively, an even greater unpleasantness. To be sent away with a flea in the ear indicated that one had received a sharp and stinging reproof or rebuff, often wholly unexpected. Modern … Read more

The plural form of the expression “at sixes and sevens” is comparatively modern, dating back only a hundred and fifty years or so. The older form, “on six and seven,” however, was so old and well known in Chaucer’s day that, worse luck, he didn’t bother to explain what it meant when, about 1375, he … Read more

The phrase “the real McCoy” means the genuine article; the person or thing as represented. The story is told, and has not been denied, that this expression had its origin in a true incident that occurred about the turn of the present century. A prize fighter who traveled under the nom de guerre of “Kid … Read more

In modern usage, especially in America, the term “grass widow” is used generally to mean a woman who is separated from her husband by divorce; but this is a recent extension of an older meaning and is virtually unknown in England. Formerly, and still in England, a “grass widow” was one who was temporarily separated … Read more

We use the expression “beyond the pale” now as if it had the same meaning as “on the wrong side of the tracks”; that is, socially unfit. That is an acquired sense. “Pale” means the region or district under the jurisdiction of a governing body, the part figuratively enclosed by a paling or fence. In … Read more

Every youngster knows that the expression “to run the gantlet” means, nowadays, to run between two rows of one’s fellows who will try to strike him, in penalty for some fault. The extended meaning is figurative, to encounter a series of unpleasant happenings. The original literal meaning, however, was sinister, often terminating in the maiming … Read more

That is the way Shakespeare wrote it, m-a-n-n-e-r, not m-a-n-o-r. The phrase occurs in Hamlet, Act 1, scene 4. The friends of Hamlet are amazed at hearing a flourish of drums and trumpets at midnight and ask him the meaning of it. He says that it is a royal drinking custom, “But to my mind, … Read more

We are likely to forget that civilization in Malaya extends further back than the founding of Rome, so when we ascribe the origin of this phrase to the Malays we must bear in mind that it is not an indiscriminate custom of the people, just isolated practice. The Malay word amoq means “frenzied,” or, with … Read more

If the ghost of Edmond Hoyle were to listen to some of the heated controversies about various games of cards, all of which are settled amicably as soon as some one is able to say, “according to Hoyle, it is thus and so,” he would be the most amazed ghost that ever returned to earth. … Read more

Back in 1940, in April to be exact, a new radio “quiz” program was started under the name “Take It or Leave It,” with Bob Hawk as its master of ceremony. Hawk was succeeded in December 1941 by Phil Baker. Contestants, as usual, were selected from the studio audience, and each in turn as he … Read more

We use this when we mean that an article is genuine, not an imitation but the real thing. Sometimes for greater emphasis we say, “the real Simon pure.” The author of the phrase has long since been forgotten, an English female dramatist at a period when women could make a livelihood by writing, least of … Read more

Judge Haliburton, Thomas Chandler Haliburton, has about vanished from the memories of most Americans as one of the earliest of our humorists; yet he was the “Mark Twain” of the early nineteenth century. Born in Nova Scotia in 1796, trained for the bar, and raised to the bench at the age of 32, he began … Read more

The phrase “half seas over” is what we say of a man when we wish to imply that he is pretty thoroughly drunk, not yet under the table and still able to get along, after a fashion, on his own two legs; not quite “three sheets in the wind.” The English allusion is probably a … Read more

The expression “bring home the bacon” may be used literally or figuratively; it means “to succeed in gaining the prize, or in winning one’s point.” Although there is still an ancient annual custom in Dunmow, England, of awarding a flitch of bacon to any married couple who can rake oath that they have never once … Read more

The expression “baker’s dozen”, we all know, means thirteen. But why? The answer appears to take us back to the thirteenth century, to the reign of Henry III, though it may go still further, to the reign of King John or even to the middle of the twelfth century. A loaf of bread, like a … Read more

The phrase “a flash in the pan” takes us back to the days of the flintlock musket, from the late seventeenth century until, roughly, a hundred years ago. In those muskets, sparks produced from a flint struck by a hammer ignited powder in a small depression or pan; this powder was the priming by which … Read more

Though sour grapes are mentioned in the Bible, both by Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the reference there is to the ancient proverb, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” Our figurative use of the expression, however, is derived from the story of “The Fox and the Grapes,” in Aesop’s … Read more

The expression “a fine Italian hand” is used to mean characteristic or individual style, and it may be in a favorable sense or an unfavorable one. Thus we may say that we see a certain artist’s “fine Italian hand” in a piece of work, intending thereby to say that we are able to detect his … Read more

The phrase “before one can say Jack Robinson” means in a couple of shakes, two shakes of a lamb’s tail, or, in plain English, immediately, with no loss of time. The expression arose during the latter part of the eighteenth century and, as far as anyone has been able to discover, it was no more … Read more

The expression, often in the form, “carrying a chip on his shoulder,” is of American origin. It is used to describe a person who assumes an air of defiance or a truculent attitude, as if daring an adversary to strike the first blow. One cannot say when the saying originated; all we know is that … Read more

From the evidence, the expression “to go the whole hog” first attained popularity in the United States in the early nineteenth century, though it was not long before it was also being used in England. That is, the earliest printed use was American, in 1828, but that does not debar the possibility that it was … Read more

The saying “to flog a dead horse” means to try to revive interest in an issue that appears to be entirely hopeless. “Dead horse” has long been used (for more than three centuries) as meaning something of no present value, as, “to pay, or work, for a dead horse,” to continue to pay or labor … Read more

In Norse mythology, there was a famous, furious fighter who scorned the use of heavy mail, entering battle without armor, thus acquiring his name, Berserker, or “Bear Shirt.” It was said of him that he could assume the form of wild beasts, and that neither iron nor fire could harm him, for he fought with … Read more

The dictionaries say, “source unknown,” so we’ll do a little guessing. The expression “to peter out” originated in America; this much is very certain. Because it was known and used by Lincoln when he was a young man, a store in which he was a partner “petered out” when he was in his thirties, we … Read more

The phrase “apple of discord” means anything that furnishes a cause for disagreement. The allusion is to an oft-told Greek legend which relates that Eris, goddess of discord, angry because she alone of all the goddesses had not been invited to the wedding of Peleus, king of Thessaly, and the sea n mph, Thetis, threw … Read more

The expression “like a bull in a china shop” means one, who, heedless of physical damage or the personal feelings of anyone, shoulders his way through delicate situations. This is another of the numerous idiomatic waifs in English literature which, like Topsy, apparently “jus’ growed.” One would expect a story back of the saying, but … Read more

In Greek legend, Procrustes was a notorious robber, living on the roadside near Eleusis. Unsuspecting weary travelers who stopped at his home for an overnight rest were always accommodated. But Procrustes had two beds, one that was overly long and one that was unusually short. A tall traveler would be given the short bed, whereas … Read more

The allusion for the expression “not to turn a hair” is to a horse which, though hot, as from racing, has not become sweaty and, therefore, its hair has not become ruffled. The horsy expression saw literary use first by Jane Austen in North-anger Abbey. When used figuratively it means unexcited, composed, unruffled.

We use the expression “on tenterhooks” now always in the figurative sense, “in anxious suspense.” But a tenter is really a device used in the final processes of the manufacture of woolen cloth; its function is to stretch the cloth, thoroughly wetted in a previous process, in such manner as to rid it from wrinkles … Read more

In modern parlance, “to fight like Kilkenny cats” would be an all-out fight, tooth and nail, no holds barred, a fight to the finish. There are three stories that have been advanced to explain the Kilkenny cats, and probably none of them is true. One is a legendary battle between a thousand cats of Kilkenny … Read more

As far as is known, Anita Loos originated the expression “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” when selecting it as the title of her book. But she may have taken the idea from an amusing book, The New King Arthur, which first appeared anonymously in 1885, but was written by an American poet, Edgar Fawcett. The book is … Read more

To accuse a person of lying in his teeth is the strongest of accusations, implying that the person is such a double-dyed liar as to be unfamiliar with truth. It is very old, traceable to the early 1300s, as in The Romances of Sir Guy of Warwick, “Thou liest amidward and therefore have thou maugreth … Read more

The term “apple polishing” is recent; the practice was known to your grandfathers and probably goes back to the Garden of Eden. Undoubtedly the wily serpent saw to it that the apple of the tree of knowledge looked attractive before offering it to Eve. The apple polisher of today is one who offers blandishments; one … Read more

In the figurative sense the phrase “to burn the candle at both ends” originally referred to the wasting of one’s material wealth, as when a husband and wife were both spendthrifts. We still use it with that sense, but our usual application is to the wasteful consumption of one’s physical powers, as when a person … Read more

There have been many terms devised through the centuries for flattery, many of which have been retained in the language. “Soft soap” came into vogue sometime during the early nineteenth century, probably in allusion to the peculiarly unctuous quality of the semi-liquid soap that is called soft soap. Its predecessor was “soft sawder,” or “soft … Read more

One may be feeling “on the burn” when he’s not OK physically. It is an American expression, dating back fifty years or so. George Ade was the first to use it in print, but it comes from a dialectal English use of “bum,” which for four hundred years has been a childish word for drink. … Read more

A round robin is a petition or the like signed by a number of persons in such manner that the order of signing cannot be determined, usually as if the signatures were spokes radiating from a hub. This method of submitting a petition is supposed to have originated among British sailors during the seventeenth or … Read more

Whether Latin or English, German (unter der Rose) or French (sous la rose), it means in strict privacy, utter confidence, absolute secrecy. This ancient expression it is said, came down to us from the Greeks who, seeing the Egyptian god, Horus, seated under a rose and, depicted with a finger at his lips, thought that … Read more

The expression “to take to the tall timber” is the twentieth century version of the nineteenth century “to break for high timber,” and with the same meaning, i.e., to decamp suddenly and without ceremony. The original notion, back in the early 1800s, seems to have been literal, to make a break for heavily timbered regions … Read more

The expression “catch as catch can” is what we say these days when we mean to catch in any manner that one can devise, by hook or by crook. But six hundred years ago when the expression was new our forefathers said, “catch that catch may,” or, in the quaint spelling then used, “cacche that … Read more

To abase oneself; be obliged to accept or do something extremely disagreeable. Though this homely American saying is not found in print prior to 1877, there is no doubt that it was in common use many years earlier. According to an account in an 1888 issue of the Atlanta Constitution, the incident which gave rise … Read more

The ancient Grecian sages, Pittacus and Thales, both of whom lived in the sixth century B.C., and the Latin writer of fables, Phaedrus, who lived in the first century A.D., all advised the ambitious person to seize the opportunity or the occasion at the moment it was presented, so this saying has been attributed to … Read more

The expression or proverb “to look a gift horse in the mouth” is so old that its origin cannot be determined. It has been traced to the writings of St. Jerome, one of the Latin Fathers of the fourth century, who then labeled it a common proverb. The expression, or a variant proverb, occurs in … Read more

The term “Black Mario” is the popular name for a police wagon or van, the vehicle sent from a police station to pick up or transport persons under arrest. The source of the name is altogether traditional, not known to be fact, but generally accepted. The name is said to be the familiar sobriquet of … Read more

Typical of American vaudeville since the 1870s have been performers who, coming upon the stage, open the act with a song and follow it with a dance. In theatrical parlance, such performers are called “song-and-dance artists,” and many stars of later life have been included among them. Because of the nature of the performance, however, … Read more

One who has seen a lamb shake its tail, can see that the saying “in two shakes of a lamb’s tail” means with no loss of time, for a lamb can shake its tail twice “before one can say Jack Robinson.” Usage appears to be entirely American, going back a hundred years or longer. The … Read more

The phrase “the goose hangs high” means things are propitious; all is well. This is sometimes regarded as a corruption of “the goose honks high,” on the supposition that, in fair weather, the geese fly high and honk as they fly. The editors of the Dictionary of American English, however, report that they find “no … Read more

This may he jocular or serious; one is sometimes taken for a ride when he suffers nothing more severe than being kidded, made the butt of some joke. But in a sinister and the original sense the person taken for the ride rarely returns. The expression was of underworld origin, coined in the United States … Read more

If all the truth were known, our ancestors probably knew and practiced more sales tricks than the sliest and most unscrupulous merchants ever heard of today. Elsewhere is told one reason why a n was warned not “to buy a pig in poke,” but, so it is said, was another more potent reason, one might … Read more

Gilderoy was an actual person. Just when he was born isn’t certain or important; but he died, unmistakably, at Edinburgh, Scotland, in June, 1636. His real name was Patrick MacGregor; the nickname “Gilderoy” came from his red hair, “Gillie roy,” a red-haired gillie, or red-haired laddie. But Gilderoy got into evil ways; he became a … Read more

The phrase “Garrison finish” means a spectacular success when defeat seems inevitable. The expression is usually applied to a race, but is often used in connection with a political campaign or the like in which a candidate whose chance seems hopeless makes a strong and unexpected last-minute effort that wins the victory. Edward H. Garrison … Read more

The expression “to whip the devil around the stump” means to evade a responsibility or duty in a roundabout manner; to get deviously around a difficulty. It may be that this old American expression is an offshoot of the familiar “up a stump,” which means in perplexity, in confusion, and which in turn came from … Read more

One who climbs or gets on or aboard the bandwagon, in the United States, is he who accepts or espouses a popular movement or cause that some leader has organized. It had a political origin, from the parades honoring a candidate for office and led by a loud band of musicians riding upon a large … Read more

The expression “from Dan to Beersheba” means all over the world; from one side of the world, or the country to the other. The expression comes from the Bible, Judges xx, 1, telling of the assembly of Israelites from one end of the country to the other to do battle against the Benjamites, from the … Read more

The phrase “to teach one’s grandmother to suck eggs” means to offer needless assistance; to waste one’s efforts upon futile matters; especially, to presume to offer advice to an expert. This particular expression is well over two hundred years old; it is just a variation of an older theme that was absurd enough to appeal … Read more

The expression “to do a brodie” has a variety of meanings, depending largely upon where and by whom it is used, and whether “to do” or “to pull” is the accompanying verb. In sporting circles, “to do a brodie” is, generally, to take a chance, sometimes a daring chance. In theatrical circles and in some … Read more

When Dionysius was ruler of Syracuse, back in the fourth century B.C., the courtier, Damocles, wishing to curry favor, began to praise the ruler one day. He exclaimed over the power that Dionysius wielded, extolled his great wealth, and admired, above all, the luxurious life that he led and the comfort with which he was … Read more

The bone, originally, was a bone of contention, some difference of opinion to argue about or to settle, thus resembling an actual bone tossed between two dogs to determine which should be the master. One has a bone to pick with one when one has an argument to settle or something disagreeable to discuss or … Read more

The phrase “to chew the rag” means to talk, or to make a speech; especially, to talk at length, to grumble continuously, or to rant. As with any slang expression, the parentage and time of birth of this cannot be positively determined. Records of written use are simultaneous in England and the United States, in … Read more

If small Johnny has taken the facecloth and lightly washed his mouth and cheeks, he has given himself a lick and a promise, about what the cat could do in one hasty swab of the tongue and a promise of a complete job in the dim future. We say that one who has worked half … Read more

A person with a stentorian voice and powerful build is said to be a “bull of Bashan.” The reference is to the Bible, to Psalms xxii, 12: “Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.” The … Read more

In some localities the “Catherine Wheel” type fireworks is called a pinwheel, because the smaller sizes may be pinned to a tree or post where they rotate merrily, giving forth showers of sparks. The large sizes used in big celebrations have the more exalted name. Little is definitely known of the girl or woman whose … Read more

Prefaced by some such adjective as fine, nice, or pretty, the expression “a kettle of fish” is an ironic way of saying a terrible mess. It was so used by the British novelists, Samuel Richardson, in Pamela, and Henry Fielding, in Joseph Andrews, back in 1742. The expression is assumed to have arisen from a … Read more

Today we would say “the whole works,” and mean the same thing as “lock, stock, and barrel”. The expression is of American origin and, though the earliest literary record appears to be in one of T. C. Haliburton’s “Sam Slick” stories, it probably goes back at least to the American Revolution. The three items of … Read more

The expression “to bury the hatchet” means to settle one’s differences and take up friendly relations. We in America are accustomed to think of this as an Indian custom; that it was a literal action, after the cessation of hostilities against the whites or a neighboring tribe, with considerable ceremony to bury a war tomahawk. … Read more

The phrase “to cook one’s goose” means to frustrate one; to ruin one’s schemes or plans. As far as can be positively determined, the expression with this meaning is no older than the middle of the last century. It appeared then in a doggerel current in England at the time when Pope Pius IX, sought … Read more

That large portrait of your wealthy Aunt Jane, given by her and which you loathe but do not dare to take down from your wall; that large bookcase, too costly to discard, but which you hope will be more in keeping with your future home; these, and a thousand other like items are “white elephants”, … Read more

In figurative use the “to bell the cat” means to undertake a hazardous mission that may cost one his neck or his job, as when acting as ringleader in telling the boss that the working conditions are unpleasant. It alludes to an ancient fable of mice and a cat. A family of mice, finding that … Read more

The phrase “halcyon days” refers to the seven days preceding and the seven days following the shortest day of the year, believed by the ancients always to be windless and calm; hence, any protracted time of peace and serenity, rest and rejoicing. According to Greek legend, Haleyone and her husband, whom she had found drowned … Read more

It is usually a lie, a canard, or the like that one, emphatically, “nails to the counter.” By this, the one who does the figurative nailing means that he declares or asserts publicly that the statement is false, definitely and wholly false. The allusion is to a former practice of storekeepers when taken in by … Read more

The homely American phrase “to swap horses in midstream” is just our way of saying “to change leaders (generals, presidents, or what have you) during the course of an engagement (or at the height of a crisis),” and the point is always stressed that such change may lead to disaster. As a matter of literary … Read more

The phrase “to play to the gallery” means to seek popular acclaim. The expression came from the theater, as long ago, at least, as the seventeenth century. Originally, the notion seems to have been a play that was written expressly for those in an audience thought to have been of lower intelligence and, hence, to … Read more

If your employer dismisses you, or if your boy friend ceases to call, or if the newcomer on the next street rejects your friendly advances, you are, in modern American slang, getting the brush off; you arc being put aside. The thought seems to be that one is likened to an undesirable piece of lint … Read more

The phrase “in the nick of time” means, of course, at the critical or precise moment; just at the instant when our hero was saved at the last moment from onrushing death, for example. The expression is about three centuries old, formed when someone added the redundant “of time” to the older expression, “in the … Read more

We use the phrase “plain as a pikestaff” now to mean thoroughly obvious, quite clear; but originally it meant bare and unadorned. The reference was to the metal shod staff or walking stick used by pilgrims or foot travelers during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. That staff was for service, rather than for show, and … Read more

When Bill, or even his sister, stays out too late, or drives too fast, or commits some other indiscretion which, we feel, requires stem reproof or threat of severe punishment upon repetition, we “read the riot act”; that is, we administer a severe scolding and a warning. The allusion is to the actual Riot Act … Read more

Gordius was the king of ancient Phrygia, in Asia Minor, during the times of Alexander the Great. He had, according to tea legend, tied the yoke of his chariot with an exceedingly intricate knot; so intricate that, by promise of the oracle, all of Asia would become the subject of whatever man could succeed in … Read more