Egg Idioms

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

Bad egg is a phrase used for the first time in the figurative sense in 1855.

Nobody was described as appearing foolish with the expression ‘to have egg on one’s face’ until 1948.

Eggs Benedict did not appear on a menu (or a recipe book) until 1898 – might have been the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

Nobody was ever said to put all their eggs in one basket until 1875.

The first record of a person being ‘egged on’ or encouraged dates from as earlier as the beginning of the 13th century and came to English from Old Norse. Nobody was ‘egged on’ in the sense of being pelted with eggs until 1857, and a third sense of ‘covered or mixed with eggs’ is seen in culinary terms from 1808.

Eggnog is first recorded around 1775, ‘nog’ being an old term for ‘strong ale’.

Although the sandglass used to measure time has been known since at least the eighth century, they probably weren’t made from glass until the 14th century, and they were not referred to as ‘egg timers’ until 1873. Yes, I did wonder how they ended up with a soft-boiled egg before then. However……

…. they probably had soft-boiled eggs at that time, for egg cups were described by 1773.

Egg rolls, those pseudo-Chinese dishes invented by the Americans, is first described in 1917. I am told that modern egg rolls often contain no egg but cabbage instead.

Egg beaters must have been used before 1828, but not produced or known as such. From 1937 the same phrase was used as a slang term for the helicopter.

Nobody referred to an ‘egg white’ until 1881.

The eggplant, most often known as an aubergine in the United Kingdom, is first recorded in 1763.

Addle, a word meaning ‘to spoil, go rotten, putrid’, is first seen in the 1640s. However, this must have come from an earlier phrase of ‘addle egg’, as that is recorded as early as the middle of the 13th century.

Egg shells are not described as such until the early 15th century; although people were ‘walking on egg shells’ by 1734; used as a reference to something delicate and fragile by 1835; and the term was first used to describe a colour in 1894.

Job Idioms

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

Job lot is first recorded in 1832, but an earlier obsolete sense of ‘cartload’ and even ‘lump’ existed. Now this earlier sense probably has a different etymological trail (albeit the same root) in an early Germanic gob which, again, means ‘lump.

Job is used in the slang sense of ‘theft, robbery’ from 1722.

Nobody is recorded as being ‘on the job’ until 1882 – no, then it would have been describing someone hard at work; which is clearly the beginnings of your initial understanding. Let’s move swiftly on.

Job security appears for the first time in 1932 – predictably job insecurity followed four years later.

Nobody ever thought of job sharing until 1972.

Job hunting was not seen in print until 1928.

The phrase ‘job of work’ is first seen in a work by Trollope in 1873.

Job is also used in the sense of ‘to buy and sell as a broker’ in the 1660s.

Another sense of ‘job’ is seen from 1721, when the word described those dealing in their own stocks and shares rather than using a broker.

In 1903 ‘job’ became slang for ‘cheat, betray’ – and from the earlier use of the word to mean ‘the perversion of justice for one’s own benefit’..

I’m not going to say nobody had a blowjob before 1961 - although earlier it had been simply ‘to blow (someone) off’ and had been since 1933 – because blow jobs were used as military slang from the 1950s, as USAF pilots used this to describe their jet aircraft.

In the 1940s the phrase ‘hand job’ appears, but describes ‘a piece of work done by hand’.

A nose job, correctly rhinoplasty, is seen from 1948.

Nobody was jobless until 1892.

And from the 1680s, and now obsolete, comes jobation, which is defined as ‘a long, tedious scolding’. Here the term probably comes from the Biblical character Job, he seen as a patriarchal figure (and a very wealthy individual).

Elephant Idioms

Several words have found themselves used in a number of phrases. We looked at 'silver' last time and this time it's 'elephant'. To see the elephant, an Americanism from around 1835, refers to gaining knowledge by experience.

Elephant jokes have only been told since around 1960. Of course I will – What wears glass slippers and weighs over three tons? (Cinderellephant)

Nobody bought a white elephant until 1851.

Elephantiasis is one of two diseases, normally by a thickening of a part of the body (usually the legs) or a wrinkling of the skin akin to that of an elephant – both seen from around 1580. Note the skin version is also known as Egyptian leprosy.

Elephantine, used to describe something very big, is first seen in the 1620s.

Oliphant is first seen in the early 17th century, not a reference to the animal but to its ivory tusk, while heffalump is first seen in A. A. Milne’s books from 1926, although we are never overly sure it is actually an elephant.

Silver Idioms

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

Silverware, ie articles made from silver, is first seen in the early 14th century.

Silver age was a term used to describe the years 18AD to 133AD and the literature produced during those years, it clearly wasn’t as good as the golden age which reigned for the previous 88 years.

Silver spoon in the literal sense is seen from the early 15th century, the metaphorical sense in referring to affluence is seen from 1719.

Silver hook may not be in general use these days, but from 1600 it was used to refer to anyone (or anything) can be lured if the potential prize is seen as worth it. Daniel Defoe wrote “The Golden Bait and the Silver Hook will catch Fish upon dry land” in 1708.

Silver bullet is a reference to a remedy so effective as to be almost magical, while weapons of silver have been lauded as guaranteed to defeat the foe since Greek times.

Silver lining, which as we all know every cloud has, is first recorded in 1843, when John Milton wrote Comus.

Silver star was a US military decoration from 1918, when a small badge was given to be worn on the campaign ribbon, then the medal itself was established on 8 August 1932.

Silver screen, a reference to the movie industry, is seen from 1924. However, the term had been recorded for the three preceding years and referred to the colour of the projection screens as the metallic paint gave a better result by being more reflective.

Quicksilver, an alternative name for mercury, is seen in late Old English cwicseolfor meaning ‘living silver’ as it is a liquid at normal temperatures and pressures. Thus this dates from around 1200 years ago.

Silverfish, that insect also known as the bristletail and which tends to eat paper, is recorded from 1855. References prior to that are simply generic terms for any fish.