Wear my heart on my sleeve

Volume 2. Issue 3. Valentine’s Day Edition!

What was said? I know what you mean, I wear my heart on my sleeve.

Did someone really say that? Yes, when discussing my need to work on my poker face, my co-worker Tony replied with that.

What does it mean? Show your emotions openly, without hiding your feelings

Origin: We have Shakespeare to thank for this one. Back in 1604, in Othello, the treacherous Iago’s plan was to feign openness and vulnerability in order to appear faithful to Othello (NOTE: The usual intent of the saying is not to deceive)

It is sure as you are Roderigo,
Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago:
In following him, I follow but myself;
Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
But seeming so, for my peculiar end:
For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In compliment extern, ’tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.

Another Option: Even earlier in the middle ages, knights in jousting matches are said to have worn the colours of the lady they were supporting, in cloths or ribbons tied to their arms.

Sources:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/403000.html
http://www.joe-ks.com/phrases/phrasesW.htm

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February 14, 2012 2

Knee-High to a Grasshopper

Volume 2. Issue 2.

What was said? Have you heard of “knee-high to a grasshopper?”

Did someone really say that? Yes, when discussing my idiom newsletter at a colleague’s farewell party, a Partner asked me if I knew of that idiom… which I naturally did not.

What does it mean? Two meanings: 1) To be very young 2) Very short

Used in context :

1) Back when I was knee-high to a grasshopper, I used to play hopscotch.
2) You will need a ladder… you are just about knee-high to a grasshopper!

Origin:

Originally recorded in 1814 as knee-high to a toad, this American Idiom has taken many forms… knee-high to a frog, bumblebee, splinter, mosquito, jackrabbit and…grasshopper.

In the Democratic Review in 1851 it was said “You pretend to be my daddies; some of you who are not knee-high to a grasshopper!

Among the >17k species of grasshoppers, reaching knee-high to a grasshopper would mean that a person is roughly less than an inch tall… that’s pretty short.

Sources:

http://www.bookbrowse.com/wordplay/archive/detail/index.cfm?wordplay_number=8

http://www.answers.com/topic/knee-high-to-a-grasshopper

http://www.allaboutstuff.com/Critters/Knee_High_to_a_Grasshopper.asp

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Grasshopper

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February 7, 2012 2

Shooting Fish in a Barrel

Volume 2. Issue 1. (It’s a new year, we’re moving on)

What was said? Come on guys… this is like shooting fish in a barrel.

Did someone really say that? Yes… in my virtual book club at work, the moderator said that when no one volunteered to give their opinion / answer to his question. (Also, an avid subscriber sent me the link to the YouTube video below).

What does it mean? It means that it’s a really simple action with guaranteed success.

Origin: Prior to the modern days of refrigeration, fish were packed and stored in large barrels. The barrels were packed to the rim full of fish. As such, any shot the entered the barrel would be guaranteed to hit at least one of them. This being the case, nothing would be easier than shooting fish in a barrel.

There are some skeptics out there, so this became a feature on Discovery’s MythBusters Season 5 (article below)… where they proved that “shooting fish in a barrel is a whole lot easier than finding the original source of that adage.”

Sources:

Check out this video:

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/db/animals/shooting-killing-fish-barrel.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_fish_in_a_barrel

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January 29, 2012 4

Go Pound Salt

“Making Heads or Tails of Idioms” Newsletter. Volume 1. Issue 10.

Original Release: 9/23/2011

What was said? Go Pound Salt (aka Go Pound Sand)

Did someone really say that? Yes, in a meeting about a month ago, the client said “if we tell our sales teams that, they’ll tell us to GO POUND SALT!”

What does it mean? Basically another way to say “get lost” or “go away”

Origin: Apparently, “Go pound salt” is the less vulgar version of “go pound sand”. The origin of the expression “go pound sand” is from a longer expression, “not to know / have enough sense to pound sand down a rat hole.” Since filling rat holes with sand is menial work, telling someone to pound sand down a hole is like telling them to go fly a kite.

The phrase originated in the US and is more common in the Midwest. It dates back to the early 20th century in which a more vulgar version was used in 1969 by Max Yasgur when arguing with local dignitaries over bringing his Woodstock to Bethal, New York, saying: “Well, you can all go pound salt up your a@#, because come Aug 15, we’re going to have a festival!”

Earlier, a less vulgar version appeared in the Southeast Economist, Chicago, 1948: “From her store of memories, Mrs. Mary R. Stuart….recalls that ‘go pound sand in your ears’ meant to soft-pedal the noise”

Sources:

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/go-pound-sand.html

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/39/messages/777.html

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pound%20sand

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September 23, 2011 2

Playing Hooky

“Making Heads or Tails of Idioms” Newsletter. Volume 1. Issue 9. Part 2 of 2.

Original Release: 7/31/2011

***Theme: “I surprised myself and used Idioms!”***

What was said? Are you going to play hooky?

Did someone really say that? Yes… I did. One would expect that after two years of an idiom newsletter, that I may begin to use Idioms myself. Hence the “I surprised myself and used Idioms” SPECIAL EDITION newsletter!

What does it mean? Play hooky/hookey: to stay away from school without permission; sometimes refers to staying away from a job or avoiding a duty

Origin: A few theories of origin:

a) This Americanism meaning to skip school most likely comes from the Dutch hoekje, a name for the game of hide and seek (first recorded in late-1840s). However, it is sometimes suggested that the phrase may come from the phrasal verb “to hook it” meaning to run away or clear out.

b) Hooky first appeared in print in 1848, although the term had probably been in common use among children long before then. The phrase “play hooky” seems to have been an American invention and has a number of variations: in Boston, children who skip school were “hooking jack”.

c) Hooky may have developed from the colloquial phrase “hooky-crooky” common in the early-19th century, which mean dishonest or underhanded.

Sources:

http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/comments/hooky/

http://www.word-detective.com/back-m.html

http://Idioms.thefreedictionary.com/play+hooky

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July 31, 2011 6

Jump the Gun

“Making Heads or Tails of Idioms” Newsletter. Volume 1. Issue 9. Part 1 of 2.

Original Release: 7/31/2011

***Theme: “I surprised myself and used Idioms!”***

What was said? Sounds like I jumped the gun!

What does it mean? Jump the gun: to begin something before preparations for it are complete

Origin: Jump the gun is derived from track and field races and was preceded in the USA by the phrase “beat the gun” / pistol. From 1905 in Crowther and Ruhl’s Rowing and Track Athletics, “False starts were rarely penalized, the pistol generally followed immediately on the signal “Get Set!” and so shiftless were the starts and officials that “beating the pistol” was one of the tricks which less sportsmanlike runners constantly practised”

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_the_gun

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/jump-the-gun.html

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Welcome New Subscriber! Andrea

July 31, 2011 0

Slip Him a Mickey (Finn)

“Making Heads or Tails of Idioms” Newsletter. Volume 1. Issue 8.

Original Release: 5/3/2011

What was said? You just tried to slip me a mickey!

Did someone really say that? Yes on my project team, someone said it believing that the project estimate changed mysteriously since they last saw it. Note: this is not a correct usage of the term.

What does it mean? A Mickey Finn (or simply Mickey) is a slang term for a drink laced with a drug (especially chloral hydrate) given to someone without their knowledge in order to incapacitate them. Serving someone a Mickey Finn is most commonly referred to as slipping a mickey, sometimes spelled “slipping a mickie”.

Origin: The Mickey Finn is most likely named for the manager and bartender of a Chicago establishment, the Lone Star Saloon and Palm Garden Restaurant, which operated from 1896 to 1903 in the city’s South Loop neighborhood on South State Street. In December 1903, several Chicago newspapers document that a Michael “Mickey” Finn managed the Lone Star Saloon and was accused of using knockout drops to incapacitate and rob some of his customers. Moreover, the first known written example of the use of the term Mickey Finn is in 1915, twelve years after his trial, lending credence to this theory of the origination of the phrase.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Finn_(drugs)

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BLOG?? Please email me if you would like to see this idiom email in a blog (you will be able to look up past issues and provide comments). Note: The frequency of the posts will not increase if this becomes a blog.

Welcome New Subscribers! Jeff, Matt and Brianne!

May 3, 2011 1

Happy as a Clam

“Making Heads or Tails of Idioms” Newsletter. Volume 1. Issue 7. Part 1 of 3.

Original Release: 3/2/2011

*** Special AQUATIC Theme ***

What was said? She’s as happy as a clam

Did someone really say that? At brunch, Rachel or Kari said it and looked immediately at me to see if I knew what it meant.

What does it mean? Happy and content

Origin:

1. a. Simple: It has been suggested that open clams give the appearance of smiling.

1. b. More Complex: Anyone who has ever hunted for clams knows they must be dug when the tide is low. They’re almost impossible to find in high tide, and it would be dangerous to venture too far out into deep water. Thus a clam is said to be quite happy at high tide, since it’s in no danger, at least from humans, of being made into a meal. The fuller version of the phrase, now rarely heard was “As happy as a clam at high water.” The phrase originated in the north-eastern states of the USA in the early 19th century. The earliest citation found is from a frontier memoir The Harpe’s Head – A Legend of Kentucky, 1833: “It never occurred to him to be discontented… He was as happy as a clam.” The expression was well-enough known in the USA by the late 1840s for it to have been included in John Russell Bartlett’s Dictionary Of Americanisms – A Glossary Words Aid Phrases Usually Regarded As Peculiar To The United States, 1848: “As happy as a clam at high water,” is a very common expression in those parts of the coast of New England where clams are found.

Sources:

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/as-happy-as-a-clam.html

http://www.wisegeek.com/where-did-the-saying-happy-as-a-clam-come-from.htm

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2680329/phrase_origins_happy_as_a_clam.html?cat=4

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Welcome New Subscribers! My Family and Kristi

March 3, 2011 0

Don’t Jump the Shark!

“Making Heads or Tails of Idioms” Newsletter. Volume 1. Issue 7. Part 3 of 3.

Original Release: 3/2/2011

*** Special AQUATIC Theme ***

What was said? Don’t jump the shark!

Did someone really say that? Someone said it to Jenn C. and she didn’t know what it meant… and naturally neither did I.

What does it mean? Don’t change a good thing

Origin: To reach the point in a TV series that denotes it is irretrievably past its best by introducing some ridiculous or otherwise unbelievable plot device or characterization in order to boost ratings. The phrase derives from a scene in the three-part ‘Hollywood’ episode of the American TV series Happy Days, broadcast in September 1977. The scene has ‘The Fonz’ (Henry Winkler), water skiing – unaccountably still wearing his trademark leather jacket – and jumping over a shark.

The episode, which came at a time when the long-running series was already considered past its best, was seen as the a virtual admission by the program’s makers that the series had run its course and that they were deficient of ideas. The phrase has been adopted in the USA – although it is rarely heard elsewhere – and has become a stock item in TV critic’s reviews whenever a show loses its way.

Popular and long-running series are particularly susceptible to accusations of running out of ideas and ‘jumping the shark’. Show’s writers appear to be well aware of this and have made numerous knowing references to it, including parody scene of Homer Simpson water-skiing over a shark.

Sources:

http://youtu.be/MDthMGtZKa4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark

http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2010/09/happy-days-writer-says-we-didnt-jump-the-shark.html

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/jump-the-shark.html

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March 2, 2011 0

The World is Your Oyster

“Making Heads or Tails of Idioms” Newsletter. Volume 1. Issue 7. Part 2 of 3.

Original Release: 3/2/2011

*** Special AQUATIC Theme ***

What was said? The world is your oyster

Did someone really say that? Lindsey D. said it to her husband when she said wanted him to choose the restaurant to dine at.

What does it mean? All the options are available to you… the world is yours for the taking, whatever you make of it

Origin: Getting the pearl requires the oyster to be opened. But despite the hardness of the oyster shell, they can be opened with ease. Oyster shells are held closed by a single muscle called the adductor. Oysters are shucked (opened) using a thin knife to cut the adductor muscle. Once the adductor is cut, the shell falls open. Thus…if the world is your oyster then it is a place where you can get something of great value with ease.

The proverb first appears in Shakespeare’s play ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ (1600).’Falstaff: I will not lend thee a penny. Pistol: Why, then, the world’s mine oyster, Which I with sword will open.’ Act II, Scene II.” From “Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings” (1996) by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).

Sources: http://www.eduqna.com/Trivia/177-Trivia-7.html

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March 2, 2011 2

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