Dutch Idioms

Several words have found themselves used in a number of phrases. We looked at 'break' last time and this time it's 'Dutch'. Before coming to what turns out to be rather a longer list than I expected, it should be noted that none of these will have been in use before 1600. Furthermore, many of these will be seen as derogatory which is down to the trading conflicts between the English/British and the Dutch since the 17th century.

Going Dutch is where those dining in company pay for themselves.

If that's true I'm a Dutchman is a way of denying what was said. (Also: if not I'm a Dutchman - seeks to strengthen an argument.)

Dutch cure is to commit suicide.

Dutch bargains are settled over drinks.

Dutch auction is where the price starts high and steadily reduced until someone accepts the offer.

Dutch agreement is made when intoxicated.

Beat the Dutch is to exceed expectations.

Dutch collar is a horse collar.

Dutch comfort is to derive comfort by thinking things could be worse.

Dutch concert is to make a lot of noise.

Dutch courage comes from alcohol.

Dutch defence is no defence at all.

Dutch headache is more often called a hangover.

Dutch leaf might look like gold leaf, but it isn't.

Dutch leave when a military man is Absent Without Leave (AWOL).

Dutch gold is an allow of copper and zinc, it's what Dutch leaf (above) is made from.

Dutch oven is an enclosed cooking pot from around 1769, but there is also a later definition in which there are two people sharing a bed and one farts and pulls the covers over the other to give them the dubious benefit of the full experience.

Dutch nightingales are frogs.

Dutch reckoning is a high bill, especially one not itemised.

Dutch rub is when one rubs their knuckles firmly across the top of the head of another.

Dutch talent is best defined as more brawn than brain.

Dutch widow or prostitute.

Dutch wife is a long bolster pillow.

Double Dutch refers to one talking gibberish.

Dutch uncle is seen from 1838 and refers to a kindly figure but one who is straight-talking and strict.

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'.

Money Idioms

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

Your money or your life, is apparently how every highwayman in history confronted his (or her) victims. Yet it is not until 1774 that the first written evidence of the phrase is used.

In the money, describing someone as rich, originally referred to any competitor who finished a race or competition in a place where they won a prize and is first recorded in 1902.

Nobody put their money where their mouth was until 1942.

Money burned a hole in one's pocket as early as 1520, albeit correctly the phrase then included 'purse' instead of 'pocket'.

Money lenders were first recorded in 1765.

Money orders have been available since 1802.

Money maker is first seen in the 13th century when it really did refer to one who made (or minted) coin. By 1864 it had become used to refer to one who accumulates wealth, and the modern sense of 'to yield a profit' is first seen in 1899.

Money pit, something which swallows up cash as fast as it is thrown at it, is not recorded as a phrase until 1986 - the same year as a film of that name was released. The term had been used before, but in 1930 it was simply a pit found where a notorious pirate was held to have hidden his ill-gotten gains.

Smart money, cash used by those with prior information on a deal or bet, is first seen in 1926. However, the phrase is seen much earlier, for in 1760 it referred to money paid to buy the freedom of a recruit; and earlier still in 1690 it described cash paid to a sailor, soldier or other worker who had been disabled while employed.

Hush money, a bribe paid to get someone to keep their mouth closed on a subject, is first seen in 1709.

Ball Idioms

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

Ball of the foot dates from the 14th century and, unless your feet at very flat, there is a certain rounded shape to that part.

Ball point pen is first seen in 1946, and it does describe the pen rather well.

Ball of fire is not quite what you might think, for when first recorded in 1821 it referred to a glass of brandy; latterly used to refer to one who is highly successful in striving for success from around 1900.

On the ball, as in to perform rather well, is seen from 1912.

To keep your eye on the ball, which seems to me a rather wordy way to describe concentration, is first seen in 1907 and thought to be derived from golf.

To have the ball, an expression meaning to hold an advantage, is not particularly popular today but must have been when first recorded around 1400.

The ball was never in your court before 1956, although this tennis reference could well be much earlier as the name was played for centuries.

Ballcocks, useful in plumbing disasters to shut off the water, is a term used since 1790.

Puff ball, an accurate description of how this fungus distributes spores, has been found in print as early as 1640.

Stoolball, a game you probably have never heard of before, was an outdoor game similar to cricket. Played by women from the late 15th century, the 'stool' was the wicket and it seems likely the wicket used an actual stool.

Ball boy has been used to describe the laddie who retrieves tennis balls since 1896. Ball girls had to wait until 1953 before getting a mention, although girls were used from 1920.

Ballbearings are used to reduce friction in mechanisms, the term first used in 1874.

Ballrooms are designed for dancing, if you like that sort of thing, the term first documented in 1724. However, while we associate ballroom dancing with ballrooms, ballroom dancing is not recorded until 1872.

Mothballs, despite the very old and very bad joke, were used to deter moths from laying their eggs on our clothes. The term is first recorded in 1891.

And we can't go without giving some earliest dates for ball sports where, like football, 'ball' is a part of the name: football is found in a document from around 1400, and again in 1424 (where the reference bans the game); volleyball in 1896; racquetball from 1972; handball as early as 1885 (albeit a different game was also known as handball in the 15th century); basketball dates from 1892; and baseball from 1845.

Air Idioms

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

Up in the air, to mean 'uncertain', is first recorded in 1752.

Castles in the air, a phrase referring to ideas which are impractical, dates back to 1590. The following century we also see the word 'airmonger', describing someone who dreams of such visionary and impractical projects.

On the air or being broadcasted, is seen for the first time in 1927. Airplay also made its debut in the same year.

Air pollution may have existed before 1870, but reference as that is seen prior to then.

Air guitar was not played by anyone before 1983, at least nobody called it that.

Air traffic controller is first seen in 1956, presumably air traffic was controlled in the three or four decades or flight before then, even if the job holder did not have that job title.

Hot air, describing someone boastful, is seen from 1900, although hot air balloons were described as such from 1813.

Open air, or outdoors, is recorded as such in 1520.

Air fresheners were not recorded as such until as recently as 1945.

Air lock, such as those used in submarines and spacecraft, is used as early as 1851 when, we assume, they still hadn't built a spaceship.

Air brake, it works on compressed air, is a term first seen in 1872.

Air mail, that is mail delivered by aircraft, is first seen in 1913 - that is just 10 years after the Wright brothers made their first flight in the aircraft named, rather unimaginatively, Wright Flyer.

Air bags, I would have thought, was a comparatively modern invention and would certainly have come after the car. And I would be correct, with the first air bags fitted as safety features in 1970. But this is nowhere near the first mention of an air bag, this came in 1836. In that time air bags were used to raise sunken vessels.

Airspace today is that part of the atmosphere above a country for which they claim responsibility. Not possible before aircraft you would think, but you would be wrong for that use dates from 1910. Prior to that 'airspace' referred to the volume of air inside a room, in particular when speaking of whether the room could comfortably house a certain number and was used for boarding rooms, hospitals, etc., and first seen in 1852. But there is an earlier reference from 1847, used to refer to the airspace between the powder charge and the projectile in firearms. And there is an even earlier reference, this dates from 1821. Airspace in those days referred to the air filling a stove or furnace.

Air brush, as a verb referring to touching up images, dates from 1902. Prior to that an air brush was a noun, an atomiser for spraying inks and paints.