“Making Heads or Tails of Idioms” Newsletter. Volume 1. Issue 5. Part 2 of 2.

Original Release: 12/20/2010

**Special Edition** Pop Culture Idioms

What was said?  “Oh ya, then you’ll hug me with those alligator arms of yours.”

Did someone really say that? YES! A partner was on the phone with the client talking about a potential dinner… the client asked the partner to dinner, the partner said yes, then the client quietly said the phrase above…no one paid any attention to it… if they only knew what it meant.

What does it mean?  “Alligator Arms” – this made me think of Semine’s T-Rex skit with a different twist. Alligator’s as we all know have short arms, and the phrase to have alligator arms refers to someone who doesn’t reach for their wallet when the bill comes, or doesn’t reach for the check (basically a cheapo). Another meaning for this 21st century term is an American football reference when an offensive player (he or she) cowardly decides not to catch a football due to the anticipation of physical contact.

Origin: Probably from alligators.

Source:  http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=alligator%20arms

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“Making Heads or Tails of Idioms” Newsletter. Volume 1. Issue 5. Part 1 of 2.

Original Release: 12/20/2010

**Special Edition** Pop Culture Idioms

What was said?  “Well, somebody’s gotta make the doughnuts around here”

Did someone really say that? YES!

Doughnuts: Kari Steinberg texted me saying that it was used three times in her meeting. Then a week later, the partner on my project said it.

What does it mean?

“Somebody’s gotta make the doughnuts” means somebody’s gotta do the work. Originally, I thought it meant that making doughnuts is a difficult, laborious process, but no… I was wrong.

Origin:

Somebody’s Gotta make the Doughnuts: Fred the Baker in a Dunkin Donuts commercial from 1983 woke up saying “time to make the doughnuts” while he was getting ready to go to work to “make the doughnuts.”

Sources:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=time%20to%20make%20the%20doughnuts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_to_make_the_donuts

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“Making Heads or Tails of Idioms” Newsletter. Volume 1. Issue 4.

Original Release: 11/14/2010

What was said?  Out of Office Message… “I will be out of pocket for the remainder of the week and can be reached on my cell phone at…”

Did someone really say that? Yes. Constantly.

What does it mean?  Out of pocket has roughly three meanings.

In the sentence above, it is used to explain that the individual is unreachable / unavailable through the end of the week even via email and telephone, especially for work purposes. Another definition usually refers to expenses that are not reimbursable and therefore one has to pay it out of their own pocket, especially as it charges / payments that are not covered by health insurance. Finally, the third meaning usually references something “out of whack” and is typically used on the streets (according to my sources)… if someone is wearing something ugly “that girl’s clothes are out of pocket” (however replace girl with another word).

Origin: Around 1974 “out of pocket” started being used to mean “out of touch” or “unavailable.” No one seems to know exactly why this sense arose or what the “pocket” in this case might be… however below is an interesting theory:

“Out of pocket” refers to the quarterback on a passing play in American football. When “in the pocket,” the quarterback is protected by the linesmen, and is therefore in his/her normal mode of operation, operating ideally, relatively stationary (seeking out receivers). When he/she is chased out of the pocket, he/she is on the run, not able to pass effectively, and is unprotected from the vagaries of the other team. “In the pocket” is used multiple times per game by color commentators, and “chased out of the pocket” (also “scrambling”) is used very frequently, or at least was in the 80’s. People who tell me they are “out of pocket” are on the run (on a business trip), not operating ideally (maybe they have their laptop but no high-speed Internet connection), and unprotected (schedule in flux, not at home, etc).

A more common phrase meaning the same thing is “out of the loop,” which first appeared around 1983 and is probably rooted in computer terminology.

Sources:

http://www.word-detective.com/102603.html

http://ask.metafilter.com/87766/Out-of-pocket

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=out+of+pocket

My Corporate Flashcards  – with a pic of someone going in an ambulance and the following quote “Looks like he’ll be out of pocket for a while.”

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Welcome New Subscribers! Adam, Amanda, Andrea, Mihir, Emily, Rachel, Manav, Puja & Jeff!

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

Original Release: 10/11/2010

What was said? My golden handcuffs are really tight.

Did someone really say that? Yes – Kari said it to me when talking about our jobs… and it’s one of my corporate phrase flashcards (a gift from Chloe)!

What does it mean? A series of raises, bonuses, etc., given at specified intervals or tied to length of employment so as tokeep an executive from leaving the company. Basically monetary incentive to stay at one’s job i.e. salary + benefits + perks that will be forfeited if the employee resigns.

Origin: In Beware of the Golden Handcuffs, the phrase “Golden Handcuffs” was applied to traditional jobs, not just those with stock options or super lucrative deals. The idea is that one is locked down to his/her job and is “handcuffed” per say. The idiom dates back to the 1976 (according to Meriam-Webster Dictionary of Idioms) and was stated by John Steinbeck, who described San Francisco as a ’golden handcuff’ without a key.

Sources:  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/golden+handcuffs

Beware of the Golden Handcuffs: http://www.ratracetrap.com/the-rat-race-trap/beware-of-the-golden-handcuffs.html

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/111050_10-business-Idioms-you-might-want-to-know

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

Original Release: 8/30/2010

I know… I took a 6-month hiatus from the last email…but now that I’m working, I seemed to have found the time;)

What was said? Boil the ocean

Did someone really say that? Yes- day 3 training at work….the slide read “60% of data collection and analysis effort is wasted in a typical ‘boil the ocean’ approach….”

What does it mean? Boiling the ocean is an idiomatic phrase that can have a few related meanings. One is that it is obviously impossible to boil the ocean. Where would you start? Thus boiling the ocean can refer to an impossible task — something so complicated it’s hard to know where to begin.

Another definition of the boiling the ocean is used in business and tends to relate to projects that are hugely complex, perhaps overly so. The idea of boiling the whole ocean means that you are concerned with a minutia of fine details. This may mean that you’re being thorough or it could mean that you have made something so complex you can never accomplish your goals.

Some people, when they have ideas, may be warned not to boil the ocean, which makes a good deal of sense. It can be applied to lots of situations in business and personal life. If you have something you want to accomplish, you may be able to reduce the steps it takes to accomplish it. On the other hand, if you keep adding on extra details and trying to “cover all your bases,” you may be accused of boiling the ocean. It’s also possible that if you do too much or plan for too many contingencies, you can never see your idea or concept come to fruition.

Origin: This is the one most websites agree upon: When asked how the US should handle the problem of German U-boats, during World War I, Will Rogers recommended that the ocean be boiled. A reporter asking the question supposedly followed up by inquiring how this could be done. To which Rogers replied: “I’m just the idea man.”

Sources: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-boiling-the-ocean.htm   http://www.netlingo.com/word/boil-the-ocean.php http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?BoilTheOcean  http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/13/messages/1284.html

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Rema’s First Ever: “Making Heads or Tails of Idioms” Newsletter. Volume 1. Issue 1.

Original Release: 2/21/2010

To all receiving this email for the first time… Welcome! You have probably been referred by Lee.
To those who know what this is all about… Welcome back!

TWO ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1)      Winner of the “name that newsletter” contest is Miss Chloe- this is now knows as the “Making Heads or Tails of Idioms” newsletter. THANK YOU! This newsletter is in honor of YOU!
2)      Winner of the most referrals is, as noted above, Mr. Lee. Lee would frequently point to all of the people in a room and say “I refer him, I refer her, and so on. CONGRATULATIONS! Your prize is this bullet point.

What was said? Making Heads or Tails of Idioms

Did someone really say that? Yes- It’s the name of this email if you haven’t noticed already!

What does it mean?  It means being able to make something out. Alternatively, not being able to make heads or tails of something means that it is ambiguous, puzzling, or unclear. The phrase head or tail is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘one thing or another’, so etymologically speaking, the singular makes some sense.  In England, they say “making head or tail of whatever” in the singular version… damn brits.

Origin: back to the time when money was created.
Heads or tails or Head or tail<http://onlinedictionary.datasegment.com/word/head+or+tail>, this side or that side; this thing or that; — a phrase used in throwing a coin to decide a choice, question, or stake, head being the side of the coin bearing the effigy or principal figure (or, in case there is no head or face on either side, that side which has the date on it), and tail the other side.

Sources: http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/2007/07/making-heads-or-tails.html;http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_meaning_of_the_phrase_’not_able_to_make_heads_or_tails_of_it‘

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REMA’s “It’s Not SUMMER Anymore” IDIOMS! Vol. 1 Issue 6

Original Release: 11/1/2009

What was said? The hair of the dog that bit you.

Did someone really say that? Yes- Lindsey said it yesterday and then reminded me about it today.

What does it mean?  It is a colloquial English expression predominantly used to refer to ingestion of alcohol as treatment for a hanger. It is occasionally used with respect to dealing with the after effects of use of other recreational drugs. (Source: Wikipedia)

Origin: The origin of the phrase is literal, and comes from an erroneous method of treatment of a rabid dog bite by placing hair from the dog in the bite wound. The use of the phrase as a metaphor for a hangover treatment dates back to the time of William Shakespeare. Ebenezer Cobham Brewer writes in the Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898): “In Scotland it is a popular belief that a few hairs of the dog that bit you applied to the wound will prevent evil consequences. Applied to drinks, it means, if overnight you have indulged too freely, take a glass of the same wine next morning to soothe the nerves. ‘If this dog do you bite, soon as out of your bed, take a hair of the tail in the morning.'” He also cites two apocryphal poems containing the phrase, one of which is attributed to Aristophanes. It is possible that the phrase was used to justify an existing practice, and the idea of Simila similibus curantur (“like cures like”) dates back at least to the time of Hippocrates. (Source: Wikipedia)

For more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_of_the_dog

SIDE NOTE: Rema’s “It’s Not SUMMER Anymore” Idioms would like to give a welcome new subscribers Joyce, Jason, Mike, Walid, Pablo & Christina, Ben, Fabrice, Karim, Kristina, Lee and Jeff.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS: ***2 CONTESTS***
NAME THAT NEWSLETTER!  Be a part of my Idiom Email more than you ever thought you could!
Since it’s not longer Summer (:() and soon Fall will be over too, I need a new newsletter name!
Please send in your suggestions and on a day of my choosing, I will pick the best one.

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THANK YOU FOR THOSE PLAYING IN THE CONTESTS!
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REMA’s “It’s Not SUMMER Anymore” IDIOMS! Vol. 1 Issue 5

Original Release: 10/12/2009

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS: ***2 CONTESTS***
NAME THAT NEWSLETTER!  Be a part of my Idiom Email more than you ever thought you could!
Since it’s not longer Summer (:() and soon Fall will be over too, I need a new newsletter name!
Please send in your suggestions and on a day of my choosing, I will pick the best one.

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On a day of my choosing, the person with the greatest number of referrals will win their very own “special edition.”

Now… on to the good stuff!

What was said? I need a Partner In Crime.

Did someone really say that? Yes, last night Lindsey said it to Lilian, to which Lilian said “What’s that?”

What does it mean? Basically it means someone to be by your side; someone who assists in a plot.
According to Urban Dictionary: “your significant other; someone you can depend on to help you get shit done! Your Boo”

Origin: I tried to find the origin but couldn’t. If you can find it… please send it along.

SIDE NOTE: Rema’s “It’s Not SUMMER Anymore” Idioms would like to give a welcome new subscribers Laura and Lilian..Ni-Hao.
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REMA’s SUMMER OF IDIOMS! (Special Edition Double Feature)
Original Release: 8/19/2009

What makes this a special edition double feature you may ask?  Well, the following expressions are brought to you by TWO special guests!

Special Guests: Kelly & Alan 

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Second: Alan

What was said? All that and a bag of chips.

Did someone really say that?  Alan emailed it to me, said it to me twice and even talked to Meagan about it.

What does it mean? To mean that a person is all that and more. Usually it is an opinion and the only one who thinks it is that person. Other people usually don’t believe the person is “all that and a bag of chips.” The word chips can be replaced by almost any other word. Such as “all that and a bag of cookies.” Or “all that and a bag of candy.” Just to name a couple. Used in a sentence: “That bitch thinks she is all that and a bag of chips.”
Celebrities who have used this phrase include: “Damn baby, you are all that and a bag of chips” – Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1993); “What’s Next?” by Leaders of the New School, Busta Rhymes used to be in this group.  The line went “All that, and a bag of Chips Ahoy”.
Origin: 1990s

Sources:

http://www.inthe90s.com/generated/terms.shtml
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?defid=229803&term=all+that+and+a+bag+of+chips

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REMA’s SUMMER OF IDIOMS! (Special Edition Double Feature)
Original Release: 8/19/2009

What makes this a special edition double feature you may ask?  Well, the following expressions are brought to you by TWO special guests!

Special Guests: Kelly & Alan 

First: Kelly

What was said? Have one’s cake and eat it too

Did someone really say that? I don’t have to answer this.

What does it mean? To have one’s cake and eat it too or simply have one’s cake and eat it (sometimes eat one’s cake and have it too) is the instance of an individual consuming, exhausting, taking advantage of or using up a particular thing and, then, after that thing is gone or no longer reasonably available, still attempting to benefit from or use it. It may also indicate having or wanting more than one can handle or deserve, or trying to have two incompatible things. It is a popular English idiomatic proverb or figure of speech and is most often used negatively. The proverb’s meaning is similar to the phrases, “you can’t have it both ways” and “you can’t have the best of both worlds.”

As an example, an individual who is engaged to marry someone but is still dating others romantically would be said to be having one’s cake and eating it too.

Origin: The oldest recording is from 1546 as “wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?” (John Heywood’s “A dialogue Conteinyng the Nomber in Effect of All the Prouerbes in the Englishe Tongue’) alluding to the impossibility of eating your cake and still having it afterwards; the modern version (where the clauses are reversed) is a corruption which was first signaled in 1812.

Paul Brians, Professor of English at Washington State University, points out that perhaps a more logical or easier to understand version of this saying is: “You can’t eat your cake and have it too”. Professor Brians writes that a common source of confusion about this idiom stems from the verb to have which in this case indicates that once eaten, possession of the cake is no longer possible. Alternatively, the two verbs can be understood to represent a sequence of actions, so one can indeed “have” one’s cake and then “eat” it. Consequently, the literal meaning of the reversed idiom doesn’t match the metaphorical meaning. The phrase can also have specialized meaning in academic contexts; Classicist Katharina Volk of Columbia University has used the phrase to describe the development of poetic imagery in Latin didactic poetry, naming the principle behind the imagery’s adoption and application the “have-one’s-cake-and-eat-it-too principle”.

Interesting Fact: The reversal of this expression helped in the identification of the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. In the Unabomber’s “Manifesto”, it was written and signed “…you can’t eat your cake and have it too. To gain one thing you have to sacrifice another.” His brother David Kaczynski was able to identify Ted after reading the “Manifesto”. Ted and their mother both used the more accurate but older and less popular use of the phrase.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Have_one%27s_cake_and_eat_it_

SIDE NOTE: Rema’s Summer of Idioms would like to welcome new subscribers Kari and Lindsay (both are Michigan Wolverines).

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