Karen Hill

The phrase “caviar to the general” means something that is an acquired taste; something too racy or too unfamiliar to be acceptable to the general public. The expression is from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act II, scene 2, in which Hamlet, speaking of a play, says, “.. . it was never acted . . . the Play … Read more

A blow for a blow; an ill deed for an ill deed. The phrase “tit for tat”, which expresses a moderate retaliation, goes back only about four centuries in its present form, but before that it was “a tip for a tap,” which goes back certainly a hundred years earlier and probably much more than … Read more

When we hear someone say he had such and such a piece of information “straight from the horse’s mouth,” we know that he means that he received it from the highest authority, from the one person whose testimony is beyond question. The expression comes from horse racing and has to do with the age of … Read more

No evidence has been found, either in proof or denial, yet the fact that the earliest record of the phrase “to be neither fish nor flesh” coincided almost exactly with the break between Henry VIII and the Pope, a break that could not have occurred unless preceded by a long period of disaffection, makes us … Read more

Legend has it that the expression “a gone coon”, which is applied to a person or thing in a hopeless situation, originated in the Revolutionary War. An American spy, it is said, seeking information on the number of British forces that were to be attacked, dressed himself in raccoon furs and, by night, stealthily climbed … Read more

Cotgrave, in his Dictionaire of the French and English Tongues, published in 1611, shows us that we are still using, by translation, an expression known to the French more than three centuries ago. The same saying in Dutch is used in the Netherlands and can be traced there back to the Middle Dutch. The phrase … Read more

Back in Shakespeare’s time this was a game played on horseback, with two or more players. It began, apparently, with a race to see which player could take the lead; then, willy-nilly, the losers followed him at set intervals wherever he might choose to lead. The name came from the resemblance to wild geese in … Read more

Four centuries ago the saying “between cup and lip” was “between cup and mouth,” at least it is so recorded in Prouerbes or Adagies, by Richard Taverner, published in 1539: “Manye thynges fall betweene ye cuppe and the mouth.” The saying itself, however, is much older than that, for Taverner was merely translating into English … Read more

The saying “to put one through a course of sprouts” means to give one a thorough and disciplined course of training, or, by extension, to give one a grueling examination. What the source may have been cannot now be determined, though the Americanism is not much more than a hundred years old. The “sprouts” could … Read more

Both in England and America when one permits a swing to come to rest one “lets the old cat die,” yet no one knows positively why this saying is used. It seems to be so old that the original allusion is lost. In our opinion, however, it comes from the same source as the other … Read more

“Troubled waters” is itself an idiomatic phrase, used since the sixteenth century to mean mental perturbation or disquiet. And at about the same period our ancestors fished in the same kind of water; that is, they took advantage of another’s mental perturbation to gain something desirable for themselves. The earliest instance of use thus far … Read more

Because the wolf, from remote antiquity, has been noted for its ravenous appetite, seemingly never able to get enough to eat, it has always stood as a symbol for hunger, for want and necessity, in English as well as in other languages. The figurative intent was so well understood as far back as 1457 that … Read more

The expression “room to swing a cat” means space in which to move around freely. This is generally used in the negative, “no room to swing a cat,” meaning cramped quarters. It was a common saying, according to the records, as long ago as the middle of the seventeenth century, and the origin is not … Read more

Cats have been getting their back up, when angry, as long as there has been a feline family. But, from the written evidence, it has been only some two centuries that human beings have figuratively been arching their backs when aroused into anger.

At first, the phrase “hand over fist” was a nautical expression with a very lateral meaning , advancing the hands alternately, as in climbing a rope, hoisting a sail, or the like. Then, still nautical, it acquired a figurative sense, advancing continuously, as if by pulling something toward one by a rope. Thus, in overtaking … Read more

Nowadays the expression “to paint the town red” has no greater significance than to go on a spree, usually in company with others of like mind. As far as the records go, the term is less than a hundred years old, but as is so often the case, usage probably antedates the printed record by … Read more

The phrase “to sleep like a top” means to sleep so soundly as to be utterly quiescent. Efforts have been made to derive the “top” in this saying from the French taupe, mole, and thus imply that one sleeps as quietly as a mole; but this solution does not hold, for the French idiom is … Read more

The expression “to have an ax to grind” means to flatter a person or to be obsequious when seeking a favor from him. It is from a story entitled, “Who’ll turn the grindstone?” first published in the Wilkesbarre Gleaner in 1811, often credited to Benjamin Franklin, but actually written by Charles Miner. It purports to … Read more

We use the phrase “to see which way the cat jumps” in a figurative sense as meaning to notice how events are shaping, so as to be able to act accordingly. It is the general assumption that the saying came from the game of tipcat, which boys have been playing since the sixteenth century at … Read more

The expression “to play ducks and drakes” means to squander foolishly or carelessly. The allusion is to the ancient pastime of skipping stones over the water, in some places called “playing ducks and drakes” because the stones, skimming over the surface, arc supposed to resemble water fowl rising from a pond. Many stones, thrown even … Read more

To a Nantucketer, the phrase “greasy luck” is just a way of saying “good luck!” It is a hang-over from the days of whaling, and meant that the well-wisher hoped that the whaleman would quickly fill his ship with oil.

The host or hostess, if properly conforming with the precepts of Emily Post, “keeps the ball rolling” at a dinner party or other occasion by maintaining conversation or relating some anecdote or by providing other entertainment that will keep the interest of the guests from flagging. The saying is of British origin, dating back to … Read more

Nowadays the phrase “hue and cry” just means a great to do over some matter, especially one accompanied by clamor. But originally, and at least until the early part of the nineteenth century, it was the outcry raised by one who had been robbed, or by the constable or other officer of the law, calling … Read more

It was known to both Pliny and Plutarch, in the first century A.D., that oil poured upon a stormy sea would quiet the waves. Five centuries later, according to the Venerable Bede, Bishop Aidan, an Irish monk of Iona, also knew this “miracle,” for after foretelling that a storm would arise, he gave e seamen … Read more

Nowadays we usually think of the knuckles as the joints of the fingers, but there was a time when the knuckle meant the knee or the elbow, especially the rounded part of the bone when the joint is bent. This sense survives chiefly in allusion to a joint of meat and in certain phrases. Thus, … Read more

A tailor, making such a coat, would pay no attention to the pattern in the cloth nor to warp or woof; he would make it out of whatever material there was at hand, taking advantage of every scrap, regardless of the appearance of the ultimate garment. It is likely that tailors, and mothers, have been … Read more

When you enrich someone with money in the hope or expectation of having a favor from him in return, you “grease his palm.” The present expression has been in vogue since the beginning of the eighteenth century, changed since the early sixteenth century only in the substitution of “palm” for “hand.” Our present form, however, … Read more

The expression “to bring down the house” means to call forth such wild applause, as at a theater, that the very walls seem to tremble and be about to fall. Possibly this could be done actually, for, we are told, a regiment marching in cadence across a bridge could cause its destruction. We have not … Read more

Some suppose that the tick to which the simile “full as a tick” alludes is the bed-tick, the old-fashioned flat, rectangular bag of cloth which was stuffed with feathers, straw, or the like to form a bed. It had to be full, of course, or one might find one’s poor bones resting on the floor. … Read more

That which is said to he “in apple pie order” has a perfection of orderliness, but no one has been able to figure out the reason for this with certainty. The expression is of British origin, and has been used since early in the nineteenth century at least. Some have tried to figure that it … Read more

Though it is only within the past fifty years, apparently, that we in America have used the phrase “an itching foot” to mean a craving to travel, we have ancient precedent for such a figurative expression. Away back in the thirteenth century a writer used “an itching ear” to mean a craving to hear gossip, … Read more

In wood, the fibers are arranged in parallel lines which run lengthwise along the line of growth of the original tree, and this we call the grain of the wood. The wood may be easily split, sawed, or planed along those parallel lines, or, as we say, “with the grain.” We use “against the grain” … Read more

The term “blind tiger” is the name for a place where liquor is illegally sold. and is scarcely more than sixty years old, though the reason for the appellation can now only be surmised. We think it likely that the “blind tiger” began its career in the back room of a faro establishment, for this … Read more

The expression “a horse of another color” means something of a different nature from that under consideration. Just how long it has been that this phrase has had such a meaning is anyone’s guess. It was known by Shakespeare, though he used it as “a horse of the same color” when describing the plot hatched … Read more

A youngster, or an adult for that matter, who struts around trying to impress others with his importance, is said to be “too big for his breeches.” Just as with the independent hog on his chunk of ice, this expression gives us another instance of an absurdly recent first appearance in print of an obviously … Read more

Winston Churchill had just been appointed prime minister. The war against Germany had been going badly; an attempt to overcome the German invasion of Norway had met with severe losses, and British morale was at low ebb in the spring of 1940. The populace and Parliament hoped for miracles, but Churchill wanted them to know … Read more

Originally, the expression “to hold one’s horses” had nothing but its literal meaning, to keep one’s team of horses from getting excited. In the United States somewhat more than a hundred years ago, however, the expression began to be applied to people, always as a mild adjuration. And because of an assumed rustic source, the … Read more

According to legend, the people of Troy, especially those who accompanied Paris in his abduction of Helen, were endowed with prodigious strength, endurance, energy, and capacity. English acceptance of the legend dates back to the Benedictine chronicler of the fourteenth century, Ranulf Higden. But it was not until the nineteenth century that English and American … Read more

Among the instruments of torture used, especially in Scotland, in the late seventeenth century was the screw or thumbscrew. It was a clamp or vise applied to one or both thumbs of the victim which could be tightened under the slow and inexorable pressure of a screw. The device was used for extorting confession from … Read more

The word buff, as we use it most frequently today, is a color, a light yellow. But it is also the name given to a soft, undyed and unglazed leather, especially a leather made from a buffalo hide, for it was from this leather that the color got its name. Someone, about three hundred years … Read more

Customarily, the expression “a hair of the dog that bit you” applies to a drink taken as a pick me up on the morning after a spree, to a drink taken for relief from an excess of drinks. Heywood, in 1546, thus recorded it in his “Dialogue conteynyng prouerbes and epigrammes”: “I pray the leat … Read more

This we do when we take something formless or not fully in readiness to meet the critical eyes of the world and put it into form or make it ready. The saying comes from the ancient belief that, to quote from the unknown translator (about 1400) of de Guilleville’s “The pylgremage of the sowle”, “Beres … Read more

This is the American expression, and, according to the record, we and our grandsires before us and their sires or grandsires also used it when expressing mastership or authority. The original analogy was, undoubtedly, the rooster, who is cock of the walk in the hen yard. It is very likely, however, that the American saying … Read more

So far as we know, batfowling was never an American sport. Perhaps game has always been too plentiful. But we have to go way back to this ancient practice in the fifteenth century for the origin of this expression. Batfowling was nothing more than the hunting of birds at night, the hunter armed with a … Read more

The expression “to catch a Tartar” means to have a bull by the tail; to stir up a hornet’s nest, or, in plain English, to take something that one expects to be advantageous and find it to be an unpleasant attachment that one cannot be rid of, like marrying a woman for her money and … Read more

The phrase “the apple of one’s eye” literally means the pupil of the eye. In ancient times it was called an apple because it was thought to be a solid globular body. But even by the time of King Alfred, that is, in the ninth century, because injury to the pupil would render one blind, … Read more

According to the. Bible (II Samuel x), Hanun, to whom David had sent his servants as a mark of respect for Hanun’s father, who had just died, was persuaded that they were actually spies; he had them seized, half their beards shaved off, and then sent them back to their master in derision. The servants, … Read more

The same expression or one closely allied to it is common to many languages. In the second century the Greek equivalent was “out of the smoke into the flame”; the Italian and Portuguese, “to fall from the frying pan into the coals”; the Gaelic, “out of the cauldron into the fire,” and the French, from … Read more

One must remember that “turtle” applies, scientifically speaking, to the marine member of the family, and that “tortoise” should properly be used to describe the land or fresh-water member. The sea beastie is the one most highly prized for food, nowadays chiefly appearing on the menu as “turtle soup.” Our English-speaking ancestors, however, called both … Read more

In present day American use, one who is made “to walk the chalk” must walk a line of rectitude and sobriety, not deviating a hair’s breadth, or he must obey the rules closely. The significance is alleged to have been of nautical origin, a straight chalk line drawn along the deck, or a narrow lane … Read more

The expression “to spill the beans” means to upset the plans; to relate something fully or prematurely; to let the cat out of the bag; to upset the apple cart. This American saying came into general use early in the present century, and, of course, the incident that gave rise to it, whatever it may … Read more

The word “berth” came into the language early in the seventeenth century from sources unknown. It was a nautical term employed to mean roomway for a ship in which to operate. The early phrase was “to give a good (or, a clear) berth to,” which meant, literally, to avoid, or to keep well away from, … Read more

The expression “to lead apes in hell” was common in the times of Shakespeare and is found in The Taming of the Shrew in the lines where Katharina says to her father, “Nay, now I see she is your treasure, she must have a husband; I must dance bare-foot on her wedding day and for … Read more

The phrase “to bark up the wrong tree” means to mistake one’s course of action; to be on the wrong course; to have one’s attention diverted from the intended object. Literally, this American phrase referred to a hunting dog used in the pursuit of raccoons. When this nocturnal animal takes to a tree, the dog … Read more

When one is left holding the bag he is being made the scapegoat, he has been left in an awkward predicament not of his own devising, or blamed for or punished for all the faults committed jointly by himself and others. George Washington may have been familiar with the saying during the Revolutionary War, for … Read more

“Fauvel” was the name of a fallow-colored horse, in the fourteenth-century allegory, Roman de Fauvel, a horse used to symbolize fraud and cunning. The allegory achieved great popularity in France as well as in England. Perhaps in ironic jest, a person who indulged in fulsome flattery was said “to curry Fauvel,” meaning that he sought … Read more

There are no ands, ifs, nor buts in the statement of one who “comes out flat footed”; you know exactly what he means and where he stands. We picture him as planted firmly on both feet, with an air of defiance, daring one to try to shake him from his opinion. The expression originated in … Read more

This is what we say in America; the British equivalent is “to go off half cock” or “at half cock.” Either way the meaning is to speak or do something hastily, without adequate preparation, prematurely. The original reference, back in the middle of the eighteenth century, was to the musket which, if the hammer was … Read more

“Not a Chinaman’s chance” means having no chance at all; afforded no opportunity whatever. In the early days of the California gold rush something over forty thousand Chinese came into the United States, most of them staying in California. They were not popular in the gold camps, for they were willing to work for almost … Read more

“Punch” is the chief character, the hump-backed clown, in the comic puppet show, Punch and Judy. The dialog differs, probably, with every showman, but invariably “Punch” is a pompous vainglorious character who in the end lords it magnificently over his shrewish wife, “Judy,” and is conspicuously pleased or proud over his ultimate victory, thus giving … Read more

Strangely enough, we have had the expression “upside down” only since the time of Queen Elizabeth. Before that, when one wanted to say that a thing was overturned or in a state of disorder, he said it was “upsedown,” or, with the same meaning, “topsy-turvy.” From a variety of evidence, the early form of upsedown … Read more

The expression “within an ace of” means about as close as possible; on the very edge of. At dice, an ace is the lowest number, and ambsace, literally, both aces, from the Old French, “ambes as”, is the lowest possible throw, hence the epitome of bad luck, almost nothing. Thus, “ambsace” very naturally came to … Read more

The explanation of this American saying appears in the first printed account of its use. This was in the Oregon Weekly Times in 1854: “A boy said to an outsider who was making a great ado during some impressive mortuary ceremonies, ‘What are you crying about? It’s none of your funeral.’” The boy meant, of … Read more

Unlike “flat-footed” in the phrase, “to come out flat-footed,” one is caught flat-footed when undecided or unprepared. It is likely that the term came 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 he has … Read more

The expression “to steer between Scylla and Charybdis” means to steer a mid-course between perils. Scylla, according to Homer’s Odyssey, was a fearful monster that dwelt in a cavern on the face of a high cliff that overlooked a narrow channel of the sea. She had six heads, each on a long neck, and from … Read more

The phrase “best bib and tucker” means one’s best clothes. The expression as a whole dates from the late eighteenth century. The bib was an article of attire similar to that worn by children then and now, but also formerly worn by girls and women, and extending from the throat to the waist. The nicker, … Read more

The phrase “all beer and skittles” occurs more generally in British literature than in American. Dickens used it (with “porter” instead of “beer”) in Pickwick Papers, in the scene in which Mr. Pickwick, convicted of breach of promise, is introduced to Fleet Prison as a debtor. His conductor has shown him that other debtors manage … Read more

The phrase “to fly the coop” is American slang, apparently twentieth century, though it is likely that it was criminal cant originally and may date back to the nineteenth century. “Coop” is slang for prison, jail; the original meaning was, therefore, to escape from prison. By later extension the phrase has come to mean to … Read more

In these days, one engaged in the occupation of splitting hairs might very likely be engaged in some profound scientific work, trying, perhaps, to find some microscopic cause for the dividing of long hair at the ends. But three hundred years ago when the phrase was coined there was no thought of scientific research; it … Read more

The phrase “to know the ropes” means to be familiar with all the details. There have been differences of opinion about the origin of this saying, for it so happens that the earliest records make it appear that the phrase was first used by the gentry of the racetracks, and, because of that, some hold … Read more

The expression “to blow hot and cold” means to be inconsistent; to vacillate. We are indebted to one of Aesop’s fables for this meaning. A satyr, he tells us, came upon a traveler in the winter who was blowing upon his fingers. “Why do you do that?” asked the satyr. “To warm my fingers,” replied … Read more

“To kesten kang eien upon yunge wummen,” was the Old English way of expressing the same thought, “to cast sheep’s eyes at”. In modern words, that would read, “to cast wanton eyes upon young women,” to gaze upon them amorously. John Skelton, who was decidedly a humorous versifier of the early sixteen century, softened those … Read more

The phrase “once in a blue moon” means extremely infrequently, so rarely as to be almost tantamount to never. From literary evidence the unusual tinge to the face of the moon which led someone to call it a “blue moon” was not observed until after the middle of the last century; nevertheless it is highly … Read more

Who started it and just when is not on the record, but there is little doubt that the “amen corner” was familiar in some American churches, probably Methodist, early in colonial history. Some little church, very likely, began it by placing a bench for the deacons in a corner up toward the front of the … Read more

In order to produce the harmony desired by the composer of an orchestral piece, someone must be willing to play the violin of lower tone, or second violin, while another plays the first violin and the leading part. Hence, metaphorically, we speak of anyone who occupies a subordinate position, especially of a person who steps … Read more

In ancient times, back when it was thought that a crocodile wept after eating a man, it was also the belief that a swan, unable all its life to sing like other birds, would burst forth into glorious song when it felt the approach of death. According to Plato, Socrates explained the song as one … Read more

A faithful Achates; a steadfast friend. The saving comes from Virgil’s Aeneid where Achates is described as the friend who accompanied Aeneas on all his wanderings.

The expression “to have one’s heart in one’s shoes” is no more than the current version of a very old saying that describes extreme fear. An ancient humorist, wishing to imply that his heart sank lower with fear than another’s could, wrote, in the early fifteenth century, that his heart fell down into his toe. … Read more

The expression “attic salt” has nothing to do with anything that may he found in one’s attic, but refers rather to Attica, the ancient kingdom and republic of Greece. The people of this country, especially of its capital, Athens, were noted for the delicacy and refinement of their wit. It was so nobably piquant or … Read more

In the United States, one raises Cain when he causes a disturbance, or, perhaps, when one gets so angry that he loses his temper. The saying is generally believed to refer to the first child of Adam and Eve, Cain, who killed his brother, Abel, through jealousy and whose name has always been synonymous with … Read more

The phrase “to paddle one’s own canoe” was probably used in nothing but its literal sense until the appearance in Harper’s Monthly, in 1854, of a song by Dr. Edward P. Philpots. Since then, however, it has been more frequently used to mean, to show one’s independence. The refrain of the song ran: Voyager upon … Read more

“An Achilles’ heel” means a vulnerable spot. In the Iliad, Homer’s marvelous legend, Achilles, the hero of the story, was the son of a king, Peleus, and of the sea-goddess, Thetis, and a great-grandson of no less than. Zeus himself, The account that Homer gives of the boyhood of so remarkable a being is reasonably … Read more

You can read about Thomas D. Rice in the encyclopedia. He was a comedian of a hundred years ago, turning to Negro minstrelsy almost at the outset of his theatrical career and rapidly attaining especial eminence in this field. He introduced a number of popular songs of that period, one especially, about 1835, with the … Read more

The phrase “through thick and thin” means through evil times and good; through foul weather and fair; steadfastly. The expression may be traced back to “Chauncer’s The Reeves Tale” where, in the escapade of the clerk’s horse, we read: And whan the hors was loos, he gan to goon Toward the fen ther wilde mares … Read more

“A bolt from the blue” is a bolt of lightning from the clear, blue sky. Such a phenomenon is, at least, unexpected and is also startling. Thus the news of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor was a bolt from the blue, in the figurative sense. Literary record of the use of the saying dates … Read more

“Between the devil and the deep sea” means on the horns of a dilemma; between Scylla and Charybdis; facing equally perilous dangers. William Walker, in 1670, when compiling his “Phraseologia Anglo-Latina”; or “Phrases of the English and Latin Tongue”, included this expression in his list, probably finding it used by some earlier writer of Latin; … Read more

Why the phrase “the lion’s share” always means the greater part in any allotment, especially the part that one gives to the “boss” or that, in serving the dessert, mother apportions to father, takes us back to one of Aesop’s fables. Two versions have conic down to us, which is not surprising, for old Aesop … Read more

Actors get the bird when the performance is so bad that audience rebels, by hissing or booing, or, in more recent years, executing the Bronx cheer. The expression “to get the bird” was the forerunner of getting the raspberry. It dates from about the middle of the nineteenth century, being first recorded in Hotten’s Dictionary … Read more

A dilemma, in logic, is a form of argument in which a participant finds himself in the embarrassing predicament of having to make a choice of either of two premises, both of which are obnoxious. It is a trap set by an astute person to catch an unwary one, like answering yes or no to … Read more

The longbow was the type of bow said to have been used by Robin Hood; that is, a bow about the length of a man, as distinguished from the old short bow used at the Battle of Hastings, or from the crossbow. The longbow, as compared with either of the others, was greatly superior in … Read more