The young boy has just
spilled his can of soda on the floor and like many his age, he began
to cry. His mother tried to console him by saying...”There's no use
in crying over spilled milk.”
“But is wasn't milk,
Mom,” he sobbed . “It was soda!”
Many of life's little
lesson are taught through the use of idioms, brief statements, often
with distant historical background and meaning. While most languages
are rich with idioms, the English language seems to have more than
its share, perhaps because many English words lack the color,
richness and romance of words found in other languages. I have heard
that there are at least 100 different ways to say “I love you” in
Italian, but in English...
Idioms often come from
strange and unusual sources, the Bible, ancient fairy tales,
folklore, different regions of a country or the world and are
influenced by the local culture and tradition. The southern part of
the United States has some real 'classics.'
Many of the present day
idioms date back hundreds and even thousands of years, and while
experts may not always agree on who, where or when, what they do seem
to agree upon is that the 'saying' can often be confusing when it
comes to their intended meaning and significance and their 21st
century use.
For example, “Friends,
Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!” This expression is said to
come from one of Shakespeare’s plays. Now I am sure that someone
was not going to lend an ear as you might lend your neighbor a
hammer, but over the years, the saying and expression caught on and
is often used by many of today's political leaders... 'to get the
public's attention!” Well, that may be pushing a point.
When I asked a friend
how he were feeling, he replied that he had recently “been under
the weather' but was now feeling a bit better. With the weather being
what it has been this winter, being under it may or may not be a bad
thing if it meant avoiding it, but I suspect that was not the
original intent. Believe it or not, the “under the weather”
expression dates back to the early 1800's and is attributed to
people becoming sea sick while sailing in stormy weather on the
Mississippi River. Who knew?
Often, after working on
a project for a long time and not seeing success, I have felt like
'throwing in the towel.' Would you believe the origin of 'towel
throwing' dates back to the early 1800's and boxing rings in Great
Britain? I give up! Some of these idioms come from very unique
places.
Getting the facts
about an issue is important. Getting the correct facts and truth is
even more important. If you want to make sure that what you are being
told is true, you might want to “get it directly from the horse's
mouth,” especially if, for example, you are in the process of
signing up for something important, like the new healthcare plan.
So you are buying a
horse and want to know its real age. Horse traders know to check the
size and shape of the teeth to determine the horse's age...thus the
notion of 'straight from the horse's mouth'. And purchasing health
care? Try getting the facts about the new healthcare plans directly
from a 'horse's …...'.
Justin Bieber has been
in the news a great deal lately. I am not sure how much talent he has
or who may be advising him regarding an appropriate life style, but
being a 'young man' with money to burn and a great deal of notoriety
right now, he certainly is 'sowing his wild oats', wasting his time
and money on reckless activities and life styles. My guess is that
'sowing wild oats' has been around a long time and a tradition with
young men...as its origin dates back as early as 190 B.C. in Greece
and Rome. Oh those young and foolish hooligans. When will they never
learn?
There are many idioms
with origins coming from the Bible. “Seeing eye to eye” has
several Biblical references, implying that different people, looking
at the same thing may or may not have the same view or be in similar
agreement.
Putting your best foot
forward to make a positive impression, putting your foot down to
make a point, or being willing to support what you believe by putting
your money where your mouth is have all become part of what makes our
language rich in meaning and yet so confusing to those not familiar
with it. Can you imagine the image of a person with ten $20. bills
stuck in his or her mouth! And a number of idioms make reference to
body parts? Why is that
Without 'going too far
out on a limb', idioms have become part of the way we communicate our
thoughts and ideas, even if the original meaning of the words has
changed over the years. It will be interesting to look back 50 years
from now and see what new idioms we may have added to the list. Let's
“stick it to them.”
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