Slightly Obsessed with Words

April 1, 2024

Being slightly obsessed with words, I’m also preoccupied with manipulating these words and idioms to conjure up my own confused meaning in verbal communication. I’m sure some of which is often unwanted communication that is used freely out of context.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history. There are many words that are used without any idea of the origin or context. Take for example a hippopotamus, which means, river horse. Its origins are from the Greek hippos, meaning horse, and potamos, which means river.

Once your feet get damp with the origins of words, the next “flying leap,” into oblivion, is the use of idioms. Vibrantly decorated phrases and bizarre groupings of words having a meaning that is not deducible from those of the individual words. 

Idioms are almost indispensable in language and are used to emphasize a point, or to make a statement more memorable. They are used in order to add variety and color to speech or writing.

Idioms are derived from popular culture and historical events such as movies, books, or songs. The phrase “I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” is derived from the book The Catcher in the Rye. “It’s all downhill from here,” is based on the Battle of Bunker Hill, where the American colonists were forced to retreat after suffering heavy casualties.

The phrase “square meal,” comes from the English Royal Navy during the time of Nelson. In order to stop plates and dishes slipping around on the table while ships were at sea, four pieces of wood were nailed to the benches in the shape of a square – hence the phrase “square meal.” Today, the phrase refers to a hearty, wholesome meal.

The word “sincere,” originates from the ancient marble quarries of Rome, where unscrupulous stone dealers used to cover imperfections in the marble with wax. The practice eventually became illegal, as the Roman Empire certified that all marble had to be “sine cera,” or ‘sincerus,” meaning “without wax.”

In Tudor England, “To let your hair down,” derived from ladies who wore pointed bonnets called wimples. Underneath their hats, their hair was piled high and pinned up. In the bedchamber, caps and hats were removed. It was a time for wanton behavior, but only in the bedroom.

“Saved by the bell,” came from times when there was a lack of places to bury people after they had died. Coffins were dug up after a number of years in order to reuse the graves. When the coffins were opened, a good percentage were found to have scratch marks on the inside. To prevent people from being buried alive, a string was tied to the deceased's wrist and guided up through the ground, where it was tied to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night and listen out in case it rang. This was also where “Graveyard shift,” came from. This job was not just listening for a bell; it was sitting in a graveyard overnight to guard against grave robbers.

British houses used to have thatched roofs made out of thick straw. It was the only place where animals could get warm, so dogs and cats often lived in the roof. When it rained, it became slippery; sometimes the animals would slip and fall off, so it was “raining cats and dogs.”

It has been said,  “rule of thumb,” derives from the belief that English law allowed a man to beat his wife with a stick so long as it was no thicker than his thumb. In 1782, Judge Sir Francis Buller was reported making this a legal ruling. Perhaps it could have also meant to test temperature. Before thermometers were invented, brewers would dip a thumb into their alcoholic concoction to find the right temperature for adding yeast.

The phrase “turn a blind eye,” dates back to a British naval hero Horatio Nelson. During 1801’s Battle of Copenhagen, when he was flagged to withdraw, the one-eyed Nelson supposedly brought his telescope to his bad eye and blithely proclaimed, “I really do not see the signal.”

The phrase “crocodile tears,” is used to describe a display of superficial sorrow. The myth dates back to the 14th century, from a book called The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. It used the passage describing a medieval belief that crocodiles shed tears of sadness while they killed and consumed their prey.

These days, angry parents threaten to “read the riot act,” to their unruly children. In 18th-century England, the Riot Act was a real document. It was often recited aloud to angry mobs. The Riot Act gave the British government the authority to label any group of more than 12 people a threat to the peace.

The phrase “paint the town red,” owes its origin to one legendary night of drunkenness. In 1837, the Marquis of Waterford, a known lush and mischief maker, led a group of friends on a night of drinking through the English town of Melton Mowbray. The bender climaxed in vandalism after the merry pranksters painted a tollgate, the doors of several homes and a swan statue with red paint. These mischief-makers' drunken escapades became the reason that “paint the town red” is used for a wild night out.

 “Running Amok,” is commonly used to describe wild or erratic behavior. The saying was popularized in the 18th century, when European visitors to Malaysia learned of a peculiar mental affliction that caused normal tribesmen to go on brutal and random killing sprees. Amok, derived from the “Amuco,” a band of Malay warriors who were known for their indiscriminate violence. Captain James Cook noted, “to run amok is to sally forth from the house, kill the person or persons supposed to have injured the Amock, and any other person that attempts to impede his passage.”

I may be crazy, as the “Mad hatter,” is from Alice in Wonderland. You might want to “turn a blind eye,” as I may also be “barking up the wrong tree,” but you taking the time to read this might insert some useless knowledge that makes no literal sense. It’s kind of like “the hair of the dog.”

Originally, the expression referred to a method to treat a rabid dog; hair from the dog was placed in the wound. So in that sense, having another drink is like taking hair from the dog that bit you. - dbA

You can find more of the unfiltered insight and the Art of Dan Abernathy at www.contributechaos.com.