Flower Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘book’ and now look at ‘flower’.

Flower boxes may be fairly common in the 21st century, and probably were before they were first noted in 1818, simply not known as such until then.

Flower arrangements are first mentioned in 1873.

Flower children is first heard in the hippie movement in 1967.

Flowerpots have been named since the 1590s.

Sunflowers were named from the 1560s, although they had been in Europe since 1510 and in Britain from 1590.

Sunflower state, more often known as Kansas, has only been known as such since 1881.

Wallflowers have been known as such since the 1570s. For more than two centuries it was known as a ‘wallfair’.

Cornflowers have only been known as such since the 1570s.

Mayflowers are first named as such around 1600, It has been used to refer to the hawthorn, lady’s smock, the marsh marigold, and several other plants blooming in the month of May. Of course the most famous Mayflower was the ship taking the first settlers to the New World, although this name was common to many vessels in the early 17th century.

Cauliflowers were originally known as cole florye or ‘flowered cabbage’, a direct translation of the Italian cavoli fiori from the 1590s. Not until 1907 did the term ‘cauliflower ear’ come to be used for the swollen ears of boxers.

Deflower – as in maidens and virgins – dates from the late 14th century. But the term had been in use for two centuries, used to describe ‘excerpts of the best pages of a book’. And if you can work out how the latter works – don’t bother writing to me.

Book Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘wall’ and now look at ‘book’.

Book is also used to refer to a record of bets made, this is first seen in 1812. Although ‘bookmaker’ is seen as early as 1862.

Book of life dates from the middle of the 14th century.

Nobody had the book thrown at them (in a legal sense) before 1932.

Nobody did anything ‘by the book’ until the 1590s.

Book-burning used to be a fairly common phrase, this from a time when it would have limited access to what some might consider inappropriate material, and first seen in 1850.

Domesday Book, a record dated 1086, but the first time anyone used the phrase was in 1178.

The red book, a list of peerages, is seen in 1788; but the more famous Little Red Book (Chairman Mao) comes from 1967.

The term schoolbook first appears in 1709.

Copybooks made their debut in the 1580s.

Fieldbooks, used by naturalists, is seen from 1848.

Bookplates have been written about since 1791.

Nobody used a cheque book until 1872.

Scrap books have been known since 1821.

Matchbook, which contains matches, is seen from 1913.

We have seen songbooks since the late 15th century.

Storybooks have been seen since 1711, these always then referring to books for children.

Bookends have been utilized for many years, and certainly predate the first written mention in 1907.

Textbooks have existed since 1779.

Bookkeepers have been known since the 1550s.

Wall Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘bridge’ and now look at ‘wall’.

To give someone the wall is a phrase seen from the 1530s, it describes walking on the wall side of the pavement which, at the time, would have been cleaner.

Nobody went ‘up the wall’ before 1951.

Nothing was described as ‘off the wall’ until 1966.

Not until 1933 did anyone go ‘over the wall’.

Wall Street has described the financial world in the US since 1836. It was the street running along the inside of the defensive wall when New York was New Amsterdam and a Dutch colonial town.

Wall-to-wall is a practical sense has only been in use since 1939; and in the disparaging sense since 1967.

Wall-eyed, a term I have never heard but apparently means ‘speckle-eyed’ (again something I’ve never seen), has been in use since the early 14th century.

Hole in the wall has been a pub name for around three centuries, likely began to refer to a very small place. It was applied to the place where refreshment was handed to coach drivers and guards during the era of the coaching inns, they would also log the time here, too. It was an early reference to an ATM in Britain.

Wallflower, he or she who has no dance partner (unlike me, not always by choice) dates from 1820.

Firewall was originally used to refer to a firefighting defence, first used in 1851, but was reborn in the computer sense in 1990.

Modern builders have referred to a ‘drywall’ since 1952, but the reference to a wall constructed without mortar has been around since 1778.

Wallpaper was coined in 1827 – and hopefully will soon die off completely.

Wallboarding made its debut in 1912.

Stonewall has meant 'to prevent or bar' since the early 18th century.

Bridge Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘hot’ and now look at ‘bridge’. Incidentally the original idea of a ‘bridge’ would be seen more as a walkway through modern eyes, for it was simply a beam of log laid across wetland.

Bridge of the nose has only been seen since the early 15th century.

A bridge on a stringed instrument is not described as such until the late 14th century.

Interestingly the bridge on a ship is not found in print until 1843, although prior to that the ‘ship’s bridge’ was a narrow platform from where the captain gave out orders rather than an enclosed area.

Bridge as a card game is certainly seen from 1886, although some sources point to an earlier reference from 1843 – the latter is questioned as it may not have been the same game.

Footbridges have been seen in writing since around the early 16th century.

Drawbridge, as associated with castles, are described as such from around 1300.

Suspension bridge is first seen in 1819, although the same technology existed prior to this and was described as a suspended bridge from 1796.

Bridgehead is used to mean ‘that part of the bridge closest to the enemy’ from 1801; and not until 1930 did the term come to be viewed as ‘that part of the advance closest to the enemy’. Essentially the same thing, albeit the former is more defensive and the latter invasive.

The place name of Woodbridge would seem to be of obvious derivation but, with there no obvious location for a bridge here and its close proximity to the site of Sutton Hoo, it has been suggested this may refer to odde breg or ‘the promontory of the king’. More in my Suffolk Place Names

The place name of Weybridge is as it would appear, ‘the bridge over the River Wey’. More in my Surrey Place Names

The place name of Uxbridge comes from ‘Wixan’s bridge’. More in my Middlesex Place Names

The place name of Tonbridge is from ‘the bridge at the farmstead’.

The place name of Stourbridge is, unsurprisingly, ‘the bridge on the River Stour’.

The place name of Stocksbridge is said to have been a bridge built by John Stocks near his fulling mill in the early 18th century.

The place name of Stalybridge began as steaf leah or ‘the wood where staves are obtained’, the addition clearly coming when the bridge was built here.

The place name of Sowerby Bridge takes its name from the name of the bridge here. More in my West Yorkshire Place Names

The place name of Kingsbridge in Devon is self-explanatory.

The place name of Bruges comes from the Flemish brug meaning ‘bridge’.

The place name of Bristol is recorded as Brycgstow in Middle English, this tells us it was ‘the assembly place at a bridge’. This has acquired the modern spelling through the local pronunciation of adding ‘l’ to words ending in vowels or vowel sounds.

Hot Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘cold’ and now, rather predictably, look at ‘hot’.

Hot has been used in the sense of ‘spicy, biting’ since 1540.

Hot has been used in the sense of sexually attractive since as early as the beginning of the 16th century.

Hot flushes have been described since 1887.

Hot stuff, principally American English, has been used since 1889.

The hot seat has been occupied since 1933.

Hot potato, used in the figurative sense, has been in use since 1846.

Hot cakes have been used as a description of something selling well since 1839; although ‘hot cake’ had been in use for 150 years prior to that when it was used to describe – well, hot cake.

Nobody was hot and bothered until 1921.

Yet hot under the collar is first recorded in 1895.

Hot dogs have been eaten since 1886 as hot dogs, although the concept was described 14 years earlier. Originally the hot dog was simply the sausage – which is why there are early references (from 1901) to the hot dog sandwich and even simply the sausage sandwich. Prior to the edible hot dog, it was used to describe a heated bolt used in engineering.

Hot dog as an exclamation of how rather excellent something was comes from 1896.

People have been in hot water in the figurative sense since the 1530s. Weirdly, nobody used the term of ‘hot water’ in the literal sense prior to about 1400.

Hot water bottles are first described in 1813.

Hot spots, as in a dangerous situation, is seen from 1838 – as in a skin irritation from the following year – as a nightclub from 1931 – in firefighting from 1938 – and as a place of conflict from 1941.

Hot rods, American English for a vehicle, is seen from 1945.

Hot foot or ‘hastily’ is seen from 1300.

Red hot meaning ‘lively, passionate’ from 1600 – red hot momma, American English once again, is used to described an earthy female singer from 1926.

Hotwire, to start a vehicle bypassing the ignition, dates from 1966, although the term was used to refer to electrical wires from 1889.

Hot pants were worn from 1970 – but the phrase had been used as early as 1927 when it described sexual arousal.

White hot has been used since 1820.

Hot-blooded meaning ‘passionate’ has been in use since 1590.

Hot air or ‘boastful talk’ is first seen in print in 1900 – some 87 years after hot-air ballooning is first described.

Hotbed was originally a bed for plants where heat was generated by fermenting manure – this described since the 1620s.

An important person has been described as a hot shot since 1933, for ten years prior to that it referred to a fast train, and since 1600 the meaning was rather different in describing ‘a foolish or reckless individual’.

Cold Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘snow’ and now look at ‘cold’. Note nobody suffered from a ‘cold’ until the 1530s.

Left out in the cold is not used prior to 1861.

Cold has been used as in ‘unmoved by strong feeling’ since the late 11th century.

Cold as a synonym for ‘dead’ is first used in the 14th century.

Cold is used in the sense of a lost trail, as when hunting, is seen from the 1590s.

Cold is used when speaking of games as in hide and seek since 1864.

Cold fronts have been on the weather map since 1921.

Cold sweats have been around since the 1630s.

Cold calls have been made since 1964.

Cold comfort is first seen in the 1650s.

Nobody threw cold water on anything in the figurative sense until 1808.

Cold cream, as a cosmetic, has been around since 1709 – this a translation of the Latin ceratum refrigerans and a preparation of oil, wax, and water which was first used by the Greeks in the second century by the physician Galen.

People have been cold-blooded since the 1590s, but was not applied to creatures relying on the sun to heat their bodies until 1828.

Nobody was given the cold shoulder until 1816, this in the writings of Sir Walter Scott.

In the 19th century, cold pig was a term used to describe throwing cold water on one sleeping to wake them up.

Cold wars were first fought in 1945, when it appeared in the writing of George Orwell.

Cold turkey, as in withdrawal symptoms, appears in 1910.

Nobody had cold feet before 1893.

Cold-hearted is first seen in the early 17th century.

Snow Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘pound’ and now look at ‘snow’. The word which would have come into use in Sanskrit is snihyati which literally translates as ‘he gets wet’.

Snow as slang for cocaine is first used in 1914.

Snow-white, an adjective, not a person, is first used in Middle English. The fairytale character first appears in 1885, although is known by the German Schneewittchen.

Snowblind is first used in 1748.

Nobody described a snow-shovel until 1820.

Snow tyres have been used only since 1952 – of course this is an American concept, ever being ready for snow in the UK is something we Brits have yet to consider (and then we wonder why the country comes to a standstill after half a centimetre falls).

Snowgoose have been known as such since 1771 – you’ll probably already have guessed these birds have white feathers.

Snowshoes will have been worn for millennia but is not recorded as such until the 1670s.

Snowboot appears from 1773.

Snow ploughs have been described as such since 1792, although in America known as snow plows – clearly not a British thing, it would require being ready for snow and, as already established, Brits don’t rate snow.

Snowbirds were any of several white feathered avians from 1680, but from 1923 it was also a slang term for northern US workers who fled south for the winter to work, and from 1979 was used to describe seasonal tourists.

Snowballs were first described as such in 1400; and from 1910 we see the ‘snowball’s chance in hell’ used to refer to ‘no chance’.

Nobody was snowbound until 1814 – except the Brits, of course, who are still wondering what to do with that 1.3 centimetres.

Snowman does not appear until 1827 – but then we couldn’t afford to waste coal or carrots until then.

Snowflakes are first recorded in 1734.

Snowstorms have been known as such since 1771.

Snowdrifts became a problem from the early 14th century – and as the US hadn’t been ‘found’ then, these must have been British snowdrifts, and yet we still ignore the snow until it’s too late.

Snowmobiles have been driven since 1831.

Snowfalls have only been described as such since 1821.

Snowdrops were first recorded in the 1660s.

Snow flurries have been seen since 1883 – although ‘flurry’ had been used to me ‘confused, agitated’ since 1757.

Pound Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘line’ and now look at ‘pound’.

Pound cake is first recorded in 1747 and is said to have a pound of each of the ingredients.

Pound of flesh is first seen in The Merchant of Venice, which Shakespeare is thought to have written between 1596 and 1598.

Poundage is a tax, or a subsidy, based on weight and first seen in 1903.

Impound is not seen until the early 15th century.

Tower pound was a weight in the Middle Ages equal to 12 ounces.

Merchant’s pound was the equivalent to 15 ounces.

Avoirdupois pound equal to 16 ounces.

Troy pound equal to 12 ounces.

Pounding the pavements is a 19th century expression used primarily when speaking of prostitutes – shortly after used to refer to anyone looking for work.

Pounding the beat, used for policemen, appears around 1900.

Pound yarn is first described in 1749.

Pounded rice is a culinary term first seen in 1943.

Pounded as in ‘beaten’ or ‘assaulted’, is first seen in the early 12th century.

Line Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘fish’ and now look at ‘line’.

Line has been used to mean the same as ‘plumb line’ used in building since the 12th century.

Line in the sense of ‘boundary’ is first found in writing in 1590.

Line has been used instead of ‘crease’ (in the palm or on the face) since 1530.

Line, a reference to anything one-dimensional, has been seen since the 1550s.

Line as in ‘queue’ is first recorded in the same decade, the 1550s.

Line, as in ‘occupation’ appears from the 1630s.

Line in the business sense of ‘goods sold’ appears as recently as 1930.

Line in referring to insurance underwriting is seen from 1899.

Line of credit is first seen in 1958 – not suggesting nobody had credit prior to then, of course.

Line referring to public transport, ‘ships of the line’ for example, is seen from 1786.

Line as in ‘railway’ appears for the first time in 1825.

Line used to refer to a telegraph wire appears in 1847.

Line, as used by fishermen, is only described as such from the early 14th century.

Line as in ‘set of policies’ appears in 1892.

Nobody spoke of the political party line before the 1890s.

The line in the British Army, sometimes as ‘battle line’. Is seen from 1802.

To get a line on, ie to acquire information, appears in 1903.

Nobody was told to lay it on the line (in a monetary sense) until 1929.

Line of work first appears in 1957.

End of the line is not seen until 1948.

Line drawings are not described as such until 1891.

Line-ups are not seen until 1902.

Bee lines appear in 1830.

Lines, as in writing a letter, appears in the 1640s.

Lines as in dialogue for an actor appears from 1882.

Lines of communication is established from 1690, but then lost until re-emerging during the First World War.

No train ran on the main line until 1841.

A-line, describing the flared shape of a dress or skirt, is first seen in 1955.

Maginot Line, a defensive fortification appearing in 1936.

Off line, as in not connected to a computer, appears as early as 1950.

Clothes lines have been used since 1830 – and used to refer to a high tackle in rugby and American football since 1970.

Life lines have been cast to those needing rescuing since the early 18th century, and used to describe the line on ones palm since 1890.

Timelines have been described since 1876.

Nobody look the hardline until 1958.

Frontlines were used in the military sense from 1842.

Plumblines have been used since the middle of the 15th century.

The Mason-Dixon Line (if you don’t know, look it up) is coined in 1834.

And the bottom line, which can only come last, crops up from 1832.

Fish Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘devil’ and now look at ‘fish’.

Fish out of water is first seen around 1750.

Nobody was said to drink like a fish until 1744.

We have had other fish to fry since the 1650s.

Fish-eye, a type of lens, is first recorded in 1961.

Fish and chips made its debut in 1876.

Fish-fingers first appeared in 1962.

Fishing boats are seen for the first time in 1732, although they had obviously existed for millennia.

Fishing rods are recorded from the 1550s.

Fishing poles are seen from 1791.

Fish stories have been told since 1819, these being highly exaggerated.

Fish hooks must have used for a long time, although not described as such until the late 14th century.

Fish food is first mentioned in 1860 when it referred to fish eaten by humans as food. Three years later and we find the first reference to food fed to fish.

Nobody described their aquarium as a fish tank until 1921.m

Goldfish have been known as such since the 1690s.

Fishnet has been, from prehistory, something used to catch fish. Since 1881 used to refer to a stitch resembling that seen in a net, and since 1912 a reference to women’s attire.

Fishmongers are first referred to as such in the middle of the 15th century.

Fishbowls make their debut in 1850.

Fishwife, used in an unkind sense to mean simply ‘woman’, is seen from the 1520s – an alternative, which fell out of favour rather soon after, was fish-fag.

Fishponds have been around since the middle of the 15th century, although these will have been for food fish rather than ornamental.

We have been overfishing since 1813.

Panfish, that is a fish of grew the right size to fit in a pan for cooking, is first described in 1814.

Flatfish, not a species but those which appear flat, are first described in 1710.

Jellyfish may be among the oldest lifeforms on the planet, but nobody called them that until 1796. By 1883 the term described someone of weak character.

Fishy, as in ‘questionable’, is an adverb first seen in the late 15th century.

Devil Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘god’ and now look at ‘devil’.

Dust devil has been seen since 1867.

A devil way is an early 13th century expression which then meant ‘the way to hell’ and the like. A century later it was used as an expression of irritation; and by 1680 described ‘an errand boy in a printing office’. The latter probably came about because of them suffering stains on their person from the printing ink, which was always black as were devils.

Devil’s books, seen since 1729, was used to refer to playing cards.

Devil’s coachhorse is actually a beetle, a rather aggressive little blighter first identifies as such in 1840.

Devil’s food cake is a real recipe for a chocolate cake, appearing in print for the first time in 1895, and probably named as it is quite different from angel cake.

Talk of the devil, said when someone seems to appear just as you’re talking about them, is first seen in print in the 1660s.

Devilment made its debut in 1771.

Devilled appears around 1800, it is a culinary term describing anything grilled with a hot condiment or sauce.

The devilfish was named in 1814, although it was used to describe a variety of marine creatures.

Devil-may-care first appears as a synonym for ‘reckless’ in 1828, but since 1815 had been used as an oath.

Daredevils made their first appearance in 1684, although then the reference was to those who showed little religious devotion. The modern use did not come into use until 1832.

Killdevil is first seen in 1670, when it referred to bad rum, although by early the following century it referred to one who sold his soul.

Tasmanian devils have been known as such since 1829; prior to that the locals called it pourinnah or taraba.

Devil-worship is recorded from 1719.

She-devil is seen from 1840.

Bedevil is first recorded in 1768.

God Idioms

Several words have become part of the language in being used in phrases. Last time we looked at ‘god’ and now look at ‘day’.

God bless you, said when someone has sneezed, has often been attributed to St Gregory the Great who lived in the 7th century, but it is recorded the Romans and earlier still the Ancient Greeks had similar customs and thus the expression has been in use for more than 2,500 years.

Gods gift to (whatever) first appears in 1931.

God squad, a reference to a religious group, first appears in 1969.

God’s acre, a reference to a burial ground, appears in the 1610s. It’s a poor transaltion from the German Gottesacker, which simply meant ‘field’.

God-daughters appeared in the middle of the 13th century.

Nobody was God-fearing until 1759, which tends to wreck many a Hollywood version of the Pilgrim Fathers aboard the Mayflower, prior to that the term was God-fright.

God-awful does not appear in a dictionary until 1924, but the OED states the term had been used in the sense ‘impressively terrible’ since 1897, and prior to that as meaning ‘impressive’ since 1878.

God-speed has been seen since the late 14th century.

Goddamn is seen as early as the 14th century, it is believed this came from the French godon, a term used by the French to describe the English.

Godsend, as in sudden good fortune, is seen from 1812 – prior to that it simply meant ‘shipwreck’.

Godless was first seen in 1520, and became the name of the organization who suppressed religion in the former Soviet Union.

Godfathers have been known since the early 12th century, but used in a more general sense since the release of the film of the same name in 1972.

Nothing was godforsaken until 1816.

Godparent is a term unrecorded before 1865.

Godism is first seen in 1861 as a contemptuous term for another’s faith.

The term demigod is not seen before the 1520s.

Nothing was said to be Godlike until 1510.

Godson is first recorded around 1200.

Godmother is seen from the late 13th century.

Godchild is also seen from the early 13th century.

My research unveiled this: “I want my lawyer, my colleagues, my friends, my family, and even my wife to believe in God. It will mean I will be cheated, robbed, lied about, and cuckolded less often."