Idioms and their Origin

(First collaboration project between the Twin Bloggers and Lively Writing of SSB [Link] )

Every language in the world has a group of words that do not make sense. For example: “The lights are on, but nobody’s home,” the sentence could be perceived in a literal manner, though it also holds a figurative meaning. It is satirically used to describe a dimwitted person, who cannot grasp the gist of something, or even someone who can be deliberately obtuse.

These are known as idioms, which are used to figuratively portray an abstract concept. Idioms play a substantial role in our daily communication, by being an aid in expressing complex and large ideas succinctly, through simple and few words.

While some idioms have a known origin, there are many more on the list whose mainspring is unfamiliar, though there are several theories. Here is a list of bizarre idioms that you may have probably not even heard of:

Bob’s your uncle

Still of common usage in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, this idiom is generally used when a certain result is reached or is used as an expression to conclude a set of rules. It is similar in meaning to American expressions such as ‘easy as pie’ or ‘piece of cake’, and the French phrase ‘et voila!’. “Bob’s your uncle” is also used to convey statements like “and there you have it” or “there it is”. A common theory behind this idiom’s history revolves around the third Marquess of Salisbury Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil ("Bob"), who committed an alleged act of nepotism by appointing his nephew Arthur Balfour as Chief Secretary of Ireland in 1887.

Eat crow

Majorly used as a colloquial idiom in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and other English-speaking countries, it refers to the ignominy of disproven of something after taking a strong stance on an issue. The idiom has a close connection to other common idioms such as ‘eat dirt’, ‘eat your hat’ that refer to accepting the mistake of taking the wrong position.

But why crow and not any other bird? In many poems like “Dust of Snow” by Robert Frost, the crow has been portrayed as a symbol of bad omen and is often used to symbolize a certain negative emotion or quality. Crows are carrion-eating omnivores that are supposedly repulsive in taste, and thus “eating a crow” is as onerous as swallowing emotions of guilt.

Running around like a headless chicken

This idiom’s application is suitable to describe the behavior of frenzied and disorganized people. Its origin is uncertain, and the idiom by itself sounds very comical and ludicrous, though there is a theory that dates back to the fourteenth century in England when chickens were beheaded for their meat with an ax, and reports reveal that the headless chickens used to run around in a crazed fashion before flopping dead on the ground. The most prominent case is of “Mike the Headless Chicken”, which achieved national recognition in Colorado for surviving eighteen months, even after its head being cut off.

The elephant in the room

The idiom is used to refer to an object, question, or solution that is apparent to everyone who has knowledge about the situation but chooses to ignore it, believing that it may cause immense mortification. It is based on the idea that a thing as conspicuous as an elephant can be overlooked, which metaphorically relates to its obvious, present, and persistent problems, is and that the issue won’t go away by itself unless some action is initiated.

Its origin may be traced back to the fable titled “The Inquisitive Man”, which describes the experiences of a man who visits a museum and observes a variety of petty objects, but fails to notice an elephant.

A wet blanket

Do you remember that one particularly annoying person who spoils the fun every single time? Well, in this case, he or she is probably called a ‘wet blanket’. The idiom is used to depict a person who spoils the excitement and fun in the situation or someone who exasperates others. Curiously, this expression dates back to the 1870's when chefs and cooks kept a wet towel or ‘blanket’ in the kitchen to smother fires quickly, which was later taken as an expression to refer to putting out fun rather than fire.

Let your hair down

Interestingly, this expression dates way back to the 17th century. Women in those early days were not allowed to let their hair loose while they were outside their homes. Those who left it unpinned outside their homes were said to be untidy and disheveled.

Even though now, the term disheveled refers to someone who is unkempt and untidy, back in those days it particularly referred to those who had their hairs unpinned. As a result, women could unpin their hair only at their homes, thus bringing in the expression, ‘let your hair down. The phrase emphasizes relaxing or being free, naturally enjoying oneself.

Cat got your tongue?

The origin of this idiom is one of today’s many unsolved mysteries. There are several speculative theories regarding this, of course, but none that can be corroborated by substantiating evidence.

In today’s time, this idiom cum question is often posed to someone who is being notably reticent in a certain situation. Have a look at the text below:

"How I love a rainy day!" he said.

To this, I made no answer. I loved a rainy day too, but I was not disposed to say so just then.

"Oh ho! The cat got your tongue?" was his next remark.

It was a cold December in 1859 when the Wisconsin newspaper The Racine Democrat published the above text – making it perhaps the first time ever the expression “cat got your tongue” appeared in print.

So, what fascinating theories revolve around the origin of this idiom? Well, there are many, and some of them seem too horrendous to be plausible. One torturous story, for instance, tells us about the English Royal Navy of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and their unique torture device. This torture device was a whip called the “cat o’ nine tails”, or simply, the “cat”. This whip was often used to flog sailors as formal punishment by the Navy. Consisting of nine tails, – leather straps, each of them having three knots – the whip was designed to rip the skin in patterns that resembled a cat’s scratch. So, this was how, possibly, the whip came to be called the “cat”.

A sailor would often pass out, or even die, as a result of the painful whipping by his captain. Thus, literally, one would be forced into silence with the painful whipping of the “cat”. Other sailors may taunt him [if he survived the whipping] with questions like “Did the cat [the whip] get your tongue?”. Perhaps, this may have led us to the modern contracted expression “cat got your tongue”.

While the theory of the whip did not actually involve a real cat, there are a number of theories that are based on real ones. For instance, as many of you may know, cats were godly figures in ancient Egypt. If, at that time, anyone breached the law, lied, committed blasphemy, or went against the ruler, authorities cut his/her tongue off and fed it to nearby cats. This way the offender would be silenced forever. Thus, when you put two and two together, I think you can draw out how the phrase “cat got your tongue” might have originated.

An ostensible phrase of everyday use can unfold such mysterious stories, right?

To do a Devon Loch

Imagine you are running a race. Just as when you are about to reach the finish line and win it, you trip and lose. In other words, you do a Devon Loch and lose the race.

As you may have guessed, doing a Devon Loch refers to achieving an unprecedented last-minute failure in something, generally sports.

For example, this is how Stuart James used the phrase for an article in The Guardian in 2016:

"Without wishing to put any extra pressure on Ranieri and his players, it is starting to look as though it would take a Devon Loch-style collapse for Leicester to miss out on a place in the top four."

What does actually “Devon Loch” stand for? Or rather, whom does it refer to? As it turns out, Devon Loch is actually the name of a racehorse that took part in the 1956 Grand National. In the final stretch of the race, Devon Loch, who was winning, jumped into the air, fell down, collapsed on the ground, and was unable to continue the race.

Why Devon Loch jumped up and tumbled during a race is a question that is yet to be answered today. But the horse has undoubtedly contributed to the list of modern popular phrases that we use.

Idioms clearly help us understand many complex ideas in simple words. Using idioms in appropriate sentences can even make informative articles, letters, or even advice and speeches fun to listen to and read. They play a tremendous role in enhancing the specialty of the English language, and I am sure by now, you must have realized the same.

"Although we all have at least once eaten crow in our life, been embarrassed, humiliated, and lost all our self-respect, we need not run around like headless chickens. Despite all the predicaments, we find ourselves in, we never seem to pay attention to the actual issue, the elephant in the room. The busy life that we have plunged into, has exhausted us to a point that we have forgotten what feelings of tranquility and happiness are like. Our burdensome work has become a serious impediment, a wet blanket in our every moment. It may seem like the cat's got your tongue, and you do not know what to say, or how to act. But it’s quite simple when you think about it. Even if all your struggles were a Devon Loch, and went in vain. All you need to do is pause for a moment, and try to relax. And voila! Bob’s your uncle! You can finally see through the other side of the gloomy tunnel. You can let your hair down once in a while, you deserve that break."

A little flair added to the passage above does make the writing more embellished!

(First collaboration project between the Twin Bloggers and Lively Writing of SSB [Link] )