Language

Abu-Bekr, the first successor to Mahomet, who died in A.D. 632, had been his faithful follower for many years. Upon taking the new title, Caliph, or “successor,” he relinquished his former title, “The Faithful.” This latter title was then taken by Omar, the man appointed to succeed him, who announced himself to be “Commander of … Read more

Helen, who later became noted as the owner of the “face that launched a thousand ships,” was the fabled Grecian queen whose abduction by Paris brought on the Trojan War described by Homer almost three thousand years ago. As a little girl in Sparta her beauty was even then so remarkable that, according to legend, … Read more

Usually in our jocular use of the phrase “going to town” we slur it to “goin’ to town.” It means alert and eager, full of life and vivacity, in the state or condition in which Fortune shines upon one. Although a very modern expression, we must seek its significance in the backwoods days of more … Read more

The full proverb for the expression “to set one’s teeth on edge”, as quoted by the prophet Jeremiah, ran, “The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” The thought of the proverb was that children would suffer from the iniquities of the father, a thought denied by the … Read more

The phrase “to mind one’s p’s and q’s” means to take pains; to be careful and precise. More conjectures have been advanced to explain the original meaning of this phrase than upon any other equally obscure. Each has a certain degree of plausibility. The simplest explanation is that it was an incessant admonition among pedagogs … Read more

The expression “from pillar to post” means back and forth monotonously; from one thing to another; hither and thither. It is a very old saying, perhaps as old as the game of tennis, court tennis, that is, not lawn tennis. We who are familiar only with the rather new game of lawn tennis forget that … Read more

The modern expression “a fly in the ointment” suggests that something unpleasant may come or has come to light in a proposition or condition that is almost too pleasing; that there is something wrong somewhere. The older version was “a fly in the amber,” meaning merely that something is as unexpectedly out of place as … Read more

Robin Hood, or “Robert of the wood,” as some have explained the name, may have been altogether a legendary figure or may have actually existed. No one knows. The earliest literary reference to him is in Langland’s Piers Plowman, written about 1377. He may have lived, according to some slight evidence, toward the latter part … Read more

Sometimes the phrase is embodied in a simile: “as smart as,” or “as tricky as,” or “as shrewd as a Philadelphia lawyer,” or in such form as, “it would take a Philadelphia lawyer to figure that out.” But always the “Philadelphia lawyer” is an exceptionally astute person and, nowadays, the implication is that he is … Read more

Although the expression “to go haywire” is wholly American in origin and use and is comparatively recent, i.e., has gained popularity within the past thirty or forty years and is not found in literary use earlier than 1910, no one knows who coined it nor from what section of the country it first came to … Read more

In England, especially during the seventeenth century, the mannerisms and characteristics of the people of Holland were held in scorn. Thus Dutch courage came to mean cowardice; Dutch comfort or Dutch consolation meant “Thank God, it could be worse”; Dutch bargain, a one-sided bargain; Dutch nightingales, frogs. Even in America “Dutch treat” came to mean … Read more

The phrase “to call a spade a spade” means to call a thing by its right name, to avoid euphemism or beating about the bush. The saying is so old that what we have is just a translation of the original Greek. Perhaps it was old when Plutarch, in the first century A.D., used it … Read more

Whichever the spelling of the phrase “not worth a tinker’s damn”, the intent is that the thing or matter described by the phrase is utterly worthless, of no value. In Knight’s Dictionary of Mechanics (1877) we find the interesting explanation that a tinker, having a hole or the like to solder, erects a small barrier … Read more

The expression “fifth columnist” arose in 1936, and came to mean, without regard to the numerical sense, a person who acts secretly within a city or country toward furthering the interests of an outside enemy; a secret agent. The expression is attributed to General Emilio Mola who, leading four columns of armed rebels against Madrid … Read more

The expression “to cut one’s eyeteeth” means to acquire wisdom; to learn the ways of the world. An eyetooth is a canine tooth, the third from the center in the upper jaw. The expression is somewhat literal, for the implication is that by the time a person has got his permanent set of canine teeth, … Read more

If you decide to veto a matter under discussion or to express disapproval of a person or thing, don’t try to air your Latin by saying “pollice verso”; better just stick to the English “thumbs down.” We know what that means and what the accompanying gesture is; but nobody knows exactly what gesture the old … Read more

The saying “on the nail” is used chiefly of money transactions, having the force of “spot cash,” and we use it also to mean “now; at once.” But it is so old that no one can be quite sure of the allusion. The same expression occurs in German (auf den Nagel) and in Dutch (ep … Read more

We use the expression “to spike one’s guns” now only in its figurative sense, to deprive one of his power, to make one’s authority or arguments valueless. Its literal sense amounted to exactly the same thing, for the expression arose back in the seventeenth century and earlier when guns were fired by igniting the charge … Read more

The phrase “to thumb a ride”, like a number of other current expressions, is recorded in this volume for the convenience of future generations. We know that it means to obtain a lift toward one’s destination by requesting it in dumb pantomime. It originated after the automobile had become so commonplace, around 1920, that pedestrianism … Read more

Those of us who are familiar with Landseer’s painting, “The Stag at Bay,” know the meaning of the phrase “to hold at bay”; when facing a desperate situation, to hold it at a standstill. Despite the picture, the fact that the dogs are obviously barking or baying is just a chance double meaning of the … Read more

We use the expression “to go up the pike” so commonly in America to mean up or down the road that we never stop to inquire the source. It is not used in England and is almost unknown there, and if we were to say “up the turnpike,” by which we would mean just the … Read more

A trivet is just a three-legged stool or table. The name, somewhat distorted, comes from the same source as “tripod,” three footed. Anything that is three legged, as a milking stool, will stand firmly on any kind of surface. So the phrase, right as a trivet, means thoroughly right, perfectly stable. From the evidence of … Read more

We use the expression “to take French leave” now to mean to take one’s departure secretly or without authorized permission; thus, a soldier may be said to take French leave if he surreptitiously absents himself from quarters. But, despite the fact that the French counterpart of the expression is, “to withdraw as the English (filer … Read more

The expression “to cook with gas”, at the time this is written, is classed as slang. It is included here because almost every other phrase in this book was, at one time, slang and eventually passed into literary use. Perhaps this will too. Currently it is used to mean to be strictly up to date, … Read more

When first coined, the expression “hitting on all six” was “hitting on all four.” It may become, as we adjust our speech to the progress of the machine age, “hitting on all twelve” or sixteen or other multiple of two. Whatever the alteration in the numeral, it means “functioning perfectly.” We get it, prosaically, from … Read more

The phrase “to leave in the lurch” has nothing to do with the lurching of a ship or a drunken man. But we can’t do very much with it except to trace it to an old French dicing game called lourche, which somewhat resembled the present game of backgammon and which was played some time … Read more

The expression “on the nose” had its origin in the radio studio. It means exactly on time. Those who have attended the broadcast of a radio program know that the director of the program stays within the soundproof control room during the performance. Thus he is able to see each performer and, via the engineer’s … Read more

We use the expression “to a T” very commonly in the sense of minute exactness, perfection; as, the coat fits to a T; the meat was done to a T. It is easy to dismiss the origin of the expression, as, we am sorry to say, some of our leading dictionaries do, by attributing it … Read more

This expression means very dead, of course (or deaf, or dumb), completely and absolutely non-responsive. It is very old, has been traced back to 1350 in literary use and was therefore probably used in common speech long before that, possibly for several centuries. But just why our remote ancestors conceived a doornail to be very … Read more

The expression “to get one’s goat” is now almost as commonly heard in England as in America, but although the first printed record of its use is as recent as 1912, one cannot say positively how it originated. It means, of course, to goad one into signs of irritation; to annoy, tease, exasperate. There has … Read more

We don’t hear the expression “jot or tittle” very commonly nowadays, though it crops up on occasion and we find it in the Bible, as in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. The expression as a whole means a minute particle. And that’s just what it always meant. Jot is a corrupted form of the Greek … Read more

Our earliest record of the American expression “to face the music” is found, according to Bartlett, in the Worcester Spy in the issue of September 22, 1857. But a later collector of Americanisms, Schele de Vere, makes it earlier by saying that James Fenimore Cooper, about 1851, remarked that the phrase had more picturesqueness and … Read more

The Americanism “to fly off the handle” first got into print about a hundred years ago, meaning, as it does today, to lose one’s self-control suddenly, or, in popular parlance, to loose one’s head. The latter was the literal meaning, for the allusion was to the head or blade of a woodsman’s ax, which, if … Read more

One monkey arouses a great deal of amusement. Two more then double the interest and amusement. If one were to release a barrelful of monkeys, we must suppose that their antics would become hilariously comical. The expression “funny as a barrel of monkeys” is common among children.

The expression “to ride shanks’ mare” means to walk; to use one’s own legs, for the shank is the part of the leg below the knee. It has been a jocular expression for some two hundred years or so. Possibly it arose from playful allusion to a Mr. Shank who had no other means of … Read more

The phrase “to be in the groove” has no connection with being in a rut, for the current crop of American young people use it to mean to be exactly right, to fit exactly the mood or spirit. It seems to be a coinage of the jazz or swing era of music and to have … Read more

We are apt to forget that the expression “the land of Nod” comes from the Bible, in which “the land of Nod” is the place (Genesis iv, 16) where Cain dwelt after he had slain Abel. Jonathan Swift, famous satirist of the seventeenth-eighteenth century, turned the biblical phrase into a pun when he wrote that … Read more

Things are not always what they seem, and this is one of such. What we have in the expression “forlorn hope” is really an English spelling of a Dutch phrase, not at all a translation. The Dutch spelling is verloren hoop, which sounds very much like the English “forlorn hope.” But hoop doesn’t mean “hope”; … Read more

Legend has it that the saying “to pay through the nose” originated during the Norse or Danish conquest of Ireland back in the ninth century when, it is said, the Irish peasants and nobles were compelled to pay their oppressors a cuff tribute or suffer a slit nose. We can only say, “not proven”; there … Read more

We use the expression “to stand the gaff” usually in the sense of “to take punishment,” but often employ it for mental fortitude rather than physical, “to accept raillery in good spirit.” A gaff, of course, is a pointed hook on the end of a long rod and is used for landing large fish, or … Read more

There is excellent reason for the belief that the gentleman who gave life to this modern expression was given the name “Reilly” by his creator, not “Riley,” but as he lived only in song and the pronunciation was the same no one will cavil over the spelling. The original song which seems to have given … Read more

By this very modern expression “to be on the beam” we mean “to be on the right course”; hence, right, accurate, correct. It comes from the use of directional radio beacons established along lines of airplane travel. A continuous pulsating note emitted from the beacon is heard at its greatest intensity by an aviator when … Read more

To tell Johnny, “That’s quite a feather in your cap,” is to compliment him upon an achievement; he has done something to be proud of. Five or six centuries ago the expression was a literal statement; a man who had gained a distinction, especially upon the battlefield, actually wore a feather in his cap, or … Read more

A loggerhead, in Shakespeare’s day, was a person whom today we would call a blockhead, probably derived from an old word, logger, meaning heavy or stupid, plus “head”. But although Shakespeare used the term in that sense, the same word had a military meaning that was very different. In this sense it applied to a … Read more

Why the ancient town of Coventry, famed for the notable ride of the Lady Godiva, should have become a synonym for a place of ostracism, has been a matter of speculation for many years. The account favored by historians is rather tame. It relates to the Great Rebellion (1642-1649) in England, the struggle between Charles … Read more

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