THE ORIGIN OF COMMON ENGLISH IDIOMS - 2

 

There are literally thousands of expressions across all languages, that we take for granted and give no thought as to their origins. More often than not, their explanations are truly fascinating and allow us to step back in time to when people’s lives were very different from our own today.

As you will discover, many phrases stem from such things as social class, historical events, sport, and religion. So here are the second set of idioms:

 

Bite the bullet: Meaning - To endure something difficult or unpleasant; e.g. The pandemic has forced the Prime Minister to bite the bullet and force a harsh lockdown.

Origin: The phrase was first recorded by Rudyard Kipling in his 1891 novel The Light that Failed. It is said to have derived from the practice of having a patient clench a bullet between their teeth as a way to cope with the extreme pain felt during a surgical procedure without the privilege of anaesthesia. It has also been suggested to have evolved from the British Empire expression ‘to bite the cartridge’, dating back to the Indian Rebellion of 1857. In addition, the phrase ‘chew a bullet’, holds a similar meaning and dates back to at least 1796.

 

Break the ice: Meaning - To end conflict or initiate friendship or to say or do something that makes people feel more relaxed; e.g. Can America and China break the ice after years of chilly relations during Trump presidency?

Origin: This phrase originates from the 1580s, referring to the carving of ice to create passages for ships on trade routes. Oftentimes, the ships would get stuck in the ice during the winter. The receiving country would send small ships to ‘break the ice’ in order to make way for the trade ships. The first recorded use actually goes back to the 17th century (1678) when Samuel Butler used it in his poem Hudibras. "The Oratour - At last broke silence, and the Ice."

 

Butter up someone: Meaning: To to charm or beguile with lavish flattery or praise; e.g. I am not so good at buttering up people just because I can be quite direct and blunt.

Origin: Now this has an Indian background. In ancient India, is was custom to throw butterballs of ghee (clarified butter commonly used in Indian cooking) at the statues of the gods to seek favour and forgiveness.  Similarly, a Tibetan tradition dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618–907) involves the creating sculptures from butter for the New Year with the belief that such offerings would bring peace and happiness during the full lunar year.

 

Cat got your tongue: Meaning: When a person is at loss of words e.g.  Don’t you have anything to say to defend yourself? Has cat got your tongue?

Origin: There are two possible sources for this phrase, both equally morbid, sadly. The first one refers to the use of the whip, cat-o’-nine-tails. Used by the English Navy, victims were left speechless from the pain inflicted upon them after a flogging.

The second possible source comes from medieval times. Liars and blasphemers were punished by having their tongues cut out and then fed to cats. In ancient Egypt, cats were considered to be Gods and it was seen an offering to the Gods to give them the tongue of a liar.

A third explanation is that a long time ago, a witche’s cat would steal the tongue of a person to prevent them from telling others.

 

Bury the hatchet: Meaning - To end conflict, and make peace; e.g. War is a costly proposition and not good for either countries; they should bury the hatchet for the sake of progress and prosperity.

Origin: This phrase comes from North America during the 1600’s. During peace talks between the Puritans (a group of English Reformed Protestants) and the Native American. After a peace agreement was made the chiefs of tribes buried all their hatchets, knives, clubs, and tomahawks, thus making all weapons inaccessible.

 

Caught red handed: Meaning - To be caught in the act of doing something wrong; e.g. The Finance Minister was himself involved in the banking fraud; he was virtually caught red handed.

Origin: Dating back to Scotland in 1432, this term refers to an old English law that sought the punishment of any person who butchered an animal that wasn’t his own. In order to be convicted, he had to be caught with the animal’s blood still on his hands.

 

To let one’s hair down: Meaning - To relax or behave in an uninhibited manner; e.g. after winning the championship the players let their hair down and partied all night.

Origin: This phrase was first reference in John Cotgrave’s, The English Treasury of Wit and Language published in 1655.  During the 17th century, women were obliged to wear elegant hair-dos that were normally pinned up. The women in the upper classes wore their hair in extremely elaborate hairdos, replete with feathers or flowers and towering two feet and more in height. It was only during brushing or washing that their hair was let down. This was an informal occasion and a relaxed atmosphere when they had their hairs unpinned.

 

Pull someone’s leg: Meaning – to trick, tease or fool someone; e.g. don’t worry about what he said about your company closing down. He’s just pulling your leg.

Origin: This phrase stems from a method used by street thieves in 18th and 19th century London. Often working in pairs, one thief, known as a “tripper up,” was tasked with tripping up an unsuspecting victim using a cane, rope or piece of wire. The other thief robs the victim as he lay on the ground. Pulling your leg originally referred to the way the “tripper up” tried to make someone stumble. Today it only refers to tripping someone figuratively

 

Straight from the horse’s mouth: Meaning – from the most trusted authority or trusted source; e.g. The vaccine is safe as I was in the review committee and heard so straight from the horse’s mouth.

Origin: This expression comes from punters in horse racing. Tips on which horse is likely to win are much sought after and circulate amongst punters. But the most trusted authorities are those from the inner circle of the horse, such as stable lads and trainers. The notional ‘from the horse’s mouth‘ indicates one step even better than even the inner circle, that is, the horse itself.

 

Bust one’s balls: Meaning: A slang term referring to working hard or being punished e.g. He was ruthless in his dealings because his boss would burst his balls if he failed to meet the deadline.

Origin: Believe it or not, this expression arose out of the painful method of castrating a bull’s balls. This common practice involved breaking a calf’s testicles to turn them from a bull to a steer.

 

Let the cat out of the bag: Meaning - Divulge a secret carelessly or by mistake; e.g. They lost the contract in the last minute because a disgruntled worker let the cat out of the bag about their poor work ethics.

Origin: First recorded in the 16th century, this phrase stems from shifty farmers at markets who committed fraud by substituting a cat for a piglet in a bag. If someone let the cat out of the bag, the deceit was uncovered.

 

Pull out all the stops: Meaning - To make a great effort to achieve something; e.g. the government has pulled out all stops to ensure victory in the forthcoming elections.

Origin: This phrase refers to the ‘stops’ or knobs inside a pipe organ. These stops control the loudness and tones of the instrument. When all are pulled out, the organ can play all tones simultaneously, thus achieving the maximum volume possible from the instrument.

 

Eat humble pie: Meaning - To admit you were wrong or apologize; e.g. The Supreme Court pulled him up for defaming the Prime Minister; he had to apologize and eat a humble pie.

Origin:  In the 14th century during a post-hunt feast, the lord of the manor would eat the finest cuts of meat. The numbles was the name given to the heart, liver, and entrails of animals. By the 15th century this was shortened to ‘umbles. It was common practice for people of lower stature to be humiliated when served the ‘umbles baked into a pie. Thus, comes the term, ‘to eat humble pie’.

 

Run amok / Run amuck: Meaning - Behave in an unruly manner; e.g. After the election victory the party supporters ran amok in rural Bengal destroying opposition party offices.

Origin: This expression comes from the Malaysian word amoq. When translated literally it describes the behaviour of tribesmen who, under the influence of opium, became wild and attacked anybody in their path. During the 17th century, the phrase became popular in England when travellers would try to impress people with their knowledge of foreign cultures.

 

Burn the midnight oil: Meaning - To work late into the night, to work hard; e.g. Medicine is a tough discipline and one has to burn the midnight oil to succeed.

Origin: When people still used oil lamps for lighting, the most desirable and expensive of oils was whale oil. To ‘burn the midnight oil’ meant that you had a project that was so important that you burned your expensive oil in your lamp late into the night in order to complete it.

 

Take with a pinch of salt: Meaning - To accept something while maintaining a degree of skepticism.

Origin: First recorded in the English language back in 1647, this phrase stems from an ancient Roman belief. The idea was that food was more easily swallowed if taken with a small amount of salt. Pliny the Elder translated an ancient poison antidote with the words ‘be taken fasting, plus a grain of salt’. The Romans believed that adding a grain of salt would protect them from a lethal poisoning.

 

To meet a deadline: Meaning – To finish something in time; e.g. we have to meet the deadline of vaccinating our citizens to avoid a fresh wave of the pandemic.

Origin: This phrase has sinister origins, first appearing during the American Civil War (1861-1865). A line was drawn 20 feet from the inside wall of the stockade where Federal prisoners of war were kept. This line set the boundaries for the prisoners and was known as a deadline because any prisoner who attempted to cross it was shot.

 

There are many such stories associated with English idioms like writing on the wall, a big wig, get the sack, cost arm and leg and so on I will be able to collect each and every one of them only when pigs fly