Colloquialisms

A few will be aware I have been known to speak on various subjects over the years. Fundamentally these all revolve around my favourite subject of etymology. Have always enjoyed bringing this fascinating subject to others. It’s not for me to say whether the audiences have, although many have asked me to return.

Thought it might be worthwhile sharing a snippet or two from these etymological presentations, continuing with Colloquialisms. We use these words and expressions every single day of our lives yet never pay them a second thought. Taken out of context the phrase is meaningless. So where do these come from? How did they start and why do they continue to be used today? In this talk put the speaker in the LIMELIGHT and attempt to CURRY FAVOUR or STEAL MY THUNDER as you hear about that OLD CHESTNUT and why these four colloquialisms and many others have come to be a part of the English language. There is a PowerPoint presentation to accompany this talk if required.

A mere taster starts with:

AT A LOOSE END: a nautical term, and when the rigging relied on checking the ropes regularly the captain, seeing the crew standing around idly instead of checking no ropes had worked loose, asked that question.

BLACK AS NEWGATE’S KNOCKER: refers to gloom and doom, rather than colour. The huge knocker on the door of Newgate Prison in London implied the toughness and darkest experience of the age, a simile suggesting the worst of experiences. That really is the knocker of Newgate Prison.

GET ONE’S GOAT: originated in the USA, first seen in print in 1904, transferring across the Atlantic by 1924 when appearing in John Galsworthy’s White Monkey (yes more animals) when he states: “That had got the chairman’s goat! Got his goat? What expressions they use nowadays!” Nobody really knows why this phrase came to be but, and this positively reeks of folk etymology, it has been said that racehorses, known for being skittish, would be stabled or grazed with goats to keep them calm. Unscrupulous individuals, hoping to make a killing at the bookies, removed the calming influence and the horse performed badly – someone gets my goat.

NOSY PARKER: most often said to refer to Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1559 to 1575. He attempted to learn certain facts about his fellow clergy using certain inappropriate methods. This, coupled with his large proboscis, earned him the soubriquet Nosy Parker. The problem is, he never made inappropriate enquiries nor did he have a prominent conk. This comes from the end of the 19th century, when novelist Mary Elizabeth Braddon edited the Belgravia Magazine and wrote, in the May 1890 edition, “You’re a askin’ too many questions for me, there’s too much of Mr Nosey Parker about you, an’ I’d ‘ave you to know as I’m a laidee.” Not until the beginning of the 19th century did ‘nosy’ begin to mean ‘inquisitive’, prior to that it was someone with a large nose and until attached to ‘nosy’, the word ‘parker’ only ever referred to a park-keeper. Want to know the real Christian name of Parker from Thunderbirds? It was Aloysius.

If you think you know someone who would like to hear me speak on this subject, drop me a line.