Saturday 21 October 2023

Break Idioms

Several words have found themselves used in a number of phrases. We looked at 'money' last time and this time it's 'break'.

Break even, in a financial sense, has been known since 1914.

The straw that broke/breaks the camels back began as an English proverb "It is the last straw which breaks the camel's back" which sounds much better to me. First seen around 1755, by the time it had become fixed (around 1830s) the phrase had undergone many changes. Different forms in the late 18th and early 19th centuries saw the camel replaced by a horse or an elephant.


Break bread, a phrase meaning 'to share a meal with', is not recorded before the end of the 14th century.

Break dancing is not recorded in print before 1982, although the dance style was known in the late 70s in South Bronx.

Break one's heart - it seems nobody had their heart broken, at least in print, before the end of the 14th century.

Gaol (Jail) break has been used since at least 1735.

Breakneck, earlier not just associated with speed but anything deemed hazardous, is first recorded in the 1560s.

Breakwater, that structure which produces a safe harbour by holding back the worst of the waves, is first recorded in 1721.


Break wind, fart if you prefer - and I did hear it on the BBC's Blue Peter (the word that is, not the fart) making it most certainly acceptable - did not appear in print until around 1550. Did people break wind before 1550? Yes, they just didn't refer to it as such.

Break the ice is not known before 1600.

Break a leg, the traditional theatrical way to wish someone good luck, is a tradition which is only from 1948, although that reference does suggest it was used since the 1920s. There is also a German version, which translates as 'break your neck and leg'.

No comments:

Post a Comment